5 



The Roller-like Birds 



FIG. 156. Madagascar Bee-eater, Merops madagascariensis. 

 Crested Kingfisher, Corythornis cristatus. 



but differing in possessing an even tail and more densely feathered nostrils, are 

 the two species of Bearded Bee-eaters (Nyctiornis), which range from India 

 through Burma and the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra and Borneo. Both are 

 thirteen or fourteen inches long, the Red-bearded (AT. amicta) being largely 

 grass-green above, with the lores and forehead pink, the throat and breast plumes 

 scarlet, and under parts pale green. The Blue-bearded species (N. athertoni] 

 has the forehead, throat, and breast a rich turquoise -blue, the other parts being 



