BRITISH BIRDS. 



291 



THE BEE EATER.* 

 (Merops * {piaster > Linn. Giicpicr vulgair.e y Temm.) 



THE bill is about one inch and three-eighths 

 long, from the tip to where the ridge on the upper 

 mandible meets the white feathers of the brow; 

 it is of a somewhat triangular shape, and of a dark 

 colour, thickish at the base, curved, and small at 

 the tip ; the nostrils are nearly covered with hairy- 

 looking feathers; the eye-brows green; a stripe of 

 black passes from the corners of the mouth over 

 the eyes, tapers off towards the hinder part of the 

 neck, and terminates behind the auriculars; the 

 crown of the head, hinder part of the neck, the 

 back, and upper plumage are mostly in deeper 

 and lighter shades of a brilliant reddish chesnut, 



* The order Alcyones of Temminck includes two British genera, 

 vi/.., the Bee-eater, and the King-fisher. 



