from the Ethiopian Region. 



289 



The principal differences between two examples, on compa- 

 rison, are as follows : — 



(S . Merops savignii : — in. 



Length of wing 5"5 



Length of bill 1-4 



Projection of middle tail- 

 feathers 1-9 



Top of head, neck, and back uni- 

 form parrot-green. 



Front of head white, slightly 

 tinged with yellow close to the 

 nostrils, and with light blue 

 where it blends with the gi-een 

 of the crown ; over each eye 

 light turquoise-blue. 



Beneath and parallel to the usual 

 black eye-stripe another blue 

 stripe extends as far as the 

 black on the ears. 



c? . Merops superciliosns : — in. 



Length of wing 6-8 



Length of bill I'o 



Projection of middle tail- 

 feathers 2-0 



Top of head dark metallic-green, 

 and when looked at in the sun 

 pure chestnut. 

 Front of head dirty white, ex- 

 tending, in a band of the same 

 colour, over each eye. 



Beneath the black eye-stripe a 

 pure white one extends as far 

 as the black one on the ears. 



3. Merops savignii, Swains. 



Pretty common at Mo9ambic, where I procm-ed some speci- 

 mens. I may here mention that Mr. Faulkner, one of the 

 Livingstone- Search Expedition, informed me that myriads of 

 Bee-eaters form their nests in holes on the banks of the Shire 

 river *. 



4. Nectarinia natalensis, Jard. 



I procured a male specimen of this most beautiful Sun-bird 

 at Mo9arabic, also a nest in an unfinished state. The structure 

 was hanging from a twig about six feet from the ground; it 

 was kidney-shaped, with the two lobes downward and the cir- 

 cular entrance opening from the bottom of one lobe ; the mate- 

 rial of which it was built was dry hay-like fibre and grass intri- 

 cately interwoven. The bird was not at all rare. 



5. Calamodyta rufescens (Keys. & Bl.). 



Flew on board the ship about 150 miles from the coast of 

 Madagascar. 



» \_Cf. Ibis, 18G4, p. 024.— En.] 



