190 THE CHESTNUT BEE-EATER 



and their bold sweeping flight, as to term them the presiding deities over Egeria's 

 grotto. 



Rich as was the spot in historical and poetical associations, it was not less so in 

 pictorial charms. All was in admirable keeping ; the picturesque grotto with its ivy- 

 mantled entrance and gushing spring ; the gracefully reclining though headless white 

 marble statue of the nymph ; the sides of the grotto covered with the exquisitely beautiful 

 maiden-hair fern in the richest luxuriance ; the wilderness of wild flowers around the 

 exterior attracting the bees, on which the Merops was feeding ; and over all the deep blue 

 sky of Eome, completing the picture. 



On the 26th of April, 1841, three Bee-eaters, coming from the south, flew close past 

 H.M.S. Beacon, sailing from Malta to the Morea, but did not alight. We were then about 

 ninety miles from Zante (the nearest land), and a hundred and thirty from Navarino. On 

 the morning of the next day, when forty-five miles from Zante, and sixty west of the 

 Morea, a Bee-eater, coming from the south-west, alighted for a moment on the vessel, and 

 then flew towards Zante in a south-eastern directioa Soon afterwards, a flock consisting 

 of fifteen came from the same quarter, lurked about the lee side of the vessel for a short 

 time, and then proceeded north-east. One hour after their departure (ten o'clock) a flock 

 of eight appeared, and alighting on a rope astern the ship, remained there for nearly an 

 hour. They were perched so closely together and so low down on tihe rope, that by its 

 motion the lowest one was more than once ducked in the water, but nevertheless did not 

 let go its hold or change its position for a drier one. 



These birds were but a few yards from the cabin windows, and looked so extremely 

 beautiful, that they were compared by some of the spectators to paroquets, and not very 

 inaptly, on account of their gaudy plumage. After these left us, others were seen through- 

 out the day, but generally singly : they rarely alighted : all flew in the same course. 



When not very far to the westward of Cape Matafan, on the first of May, a flock of 

 twenty-nine of the Merops apiaster flew close past the ship towards the Morea." 



The Bee-eater is very common in Southern Russia, about the Don and the Volga, and 

 is a familiar inhabitant of Turkey, Greece, Egypt, and Asia Minor. Africa seems to be 

 its ordinary residence, from which country it migrates over the Mediterranean and pours 

 into the various districts of Europe. In Spain, France, Germany, and Switzerland the 

 Bee-eater is often observed, and is very common in Malta, Sardinia, and Sicily. 



The colours of the adult male bird are extremely varied and very beautiful. The top 

 of the head is rich chestnut brown, extending to the neck, back, and wing-coverts. Over 

 the rump the chestnut changes to light reddish yellow. The primaries and secondaries of 

 the wing are bright blue-green tipped with black, and their shafts painted with the same 

 colour, and the tertiaries are green throughout their entire length. The upper tail-coverts 

 are of the same hue as the wings, and the tail is likewise green, tinted with a darker hue, 

 graphically called by Mr. Yarrell " duck-green." The chin and throat are reddish yellow, 

 and around the throat runs a band of deep blue-black. The under part of the body is 

 green with a blue tinge, and the under surface of the wings and tail is greyish brown. 

 The ear-coverts are black, and the eye is light scarlet, which contrast beautifully with the 

 chestnut, black, and yellow of the head and neck. 



In the young birds the tints are not nearly so brilliant, and they are different in hue 

 and arrangement ; the rich saffron-yellow of the whole having a greenish tinge in the 

 second year's bird, and the chestnut hue of the head extending only to the neck. A first 

 year's bird, described by Mr. Yarrell, had the top of its head green, no red colour on the 

 back, and no black collar round the neck. The tail feathers were all of the same length, 

 whereas in the adult bird the narrow ends of the central pair of feathers extend beyond 

 the others. 



The female may be distinguished from the male by the paler hue of the reddish 

 yellow on the throat, and the reddish tinge that runs throughout the green of the body 

 and wings. In size the Bee-eater is nearly equal to the English starling. 



The CHESTNUT BEE-EATEE is most commonly found in the different islands of the 

 Indian Archipelago, but has also been taken in Malacca arid the South of France. 



