COMMON BEE-EATER. 1<53 



may be considered as the most brilliant in point of 

 colour. Its size is nearly that of a thrush : the 

 bill is rather long, slightly curved, sharp-pointed, 

 and black: the irides bright red : the crown of the 

 head and upper parts of the neck arid back are 

 orange-chesnut : the throat yellow, the scapulars, 

 lower part of the back, and wing-coverts pale yel- 

 low, more or less shaded or varied in different indi- 

 viduals with chesnut and green : the smaller quill- 

 feathers are rufous-chesnut, tipped with green, the 

 larger sea-green with dusky tips ; the rump and 

 tail sea-green, the latter of moderate length, and 

 slightly cuneated, with the two middle feathers 

 projecting, in a pointed form, to some distance 

 beyond the rest. It is to be observed, however, 

 that this elongation of the two middle tail-feathers 

 does not always take place, and is probably pecu- 

 liar to the male bird. The sides of the head, above 

 the eyes, and the whole under parts of the bird are 

 sea-green : from the corners of the bill, on each 

 side the head, passes a black streak across the eyes, 

 curving downwards, and nearly meeting the tips 

 of a black crescent placed across the throat, and 

 separating the yellow of that part from the sea- 

 green of the under parts : the legs are short, and 

 of a reddish brown colour. This bird is a native 

 of the warmer parts of Europe, and of many parts 

 both of Asia and Africa. In the northern regions 

 of Europe it is rarely seen. In Greece, as well as 

 among the islands of the Grecian Archipelago, it 

 seems to be extremely common, and we are told 



