154 Mr. J. H. Gurney's Notes on 



Mr. Ayres gives the following account of the colony of these 

 Swallows in the Transvaal, from which the birds and eggs sent 

 to Mr, Tristram were obtained : — "During the last Free-State 

 war with the Basutos many farmers left their homesteads to the 

 mercy of the Caffres ; and at one of these deserted houses 1 

 found many hundreds of these Swallows breeding in December, 

 the walls being lined with nests, one under the other and ad- 

 joining, for three or four feet under the eaves. There were over 

 five hundred nests on one wall in a length of forty feet. The 

 nests are round in shape, the opening facing outwards and 

 downwards, composed of mud, and well lined with the flowers of 

 grass and feathers. 



"The mosquitos and sandflies, elsewhere in the Free State 

 a complete plague in the summer months, are thoroughly 

 cleared off in the neighbourhood of these Swallows ; and whilst 

 resting under the shade of the peach- and lemon-trees, watching 

 the busy colony, one feels grateful to the tiny birds for the 

 peace and quietness enjoyed through their labour. 



" The whole length of this Swallow is 6 inches : iris dusky ; 

 bill black ; tarsi and feet dusky." 



109. Ceryle maxima, Pallas. Great African Kingfisher. 



As Mr. Layard, in his notice of this Kingfisher, mentions that 

 " in some specimens the under parts differ in the distribution of 

 the colours," I may refer to some details formerly given (Ibis, 

 1859, p. 244) of the distribution of the colouring on the 

 under parts of each sex of this species, both in its immature 

 and in its adult state, founded upon dissections made by Mr. 

 Ayres of specimens obtained by him in Natal. 



112. Merops savignii (Swains.). 



113. Merops ^gyptius, Forsk. Egyptian Bee-eater. 



I may here insert the following remarks, contained in a com- 

 munication with which I have been favoured by Mr. G. R. Gray, 

 whose assistance I sought with reference to the synonymy of 

 these Bee-eaters : — 



"Merops (Bgyptins, Forsk., is much the oldest name, being pub- 

 lished in 1775, while Cuvier's M. savignyi dates only from 



