564 AVES—BEE-EATER...EUROPEAN KINGFISHER. 
THE BEE-EATER! 
Ts well known on the continent of Europe, though it has never been seen in 
England. It is about ten inchesinlength. The forehead is of a blue green ; 
the top of the head, and upper part of the back, chesnut and green; the 
throat is yellow; and the under parts of the body blue green. Flocks of 
these birds are seen in Germany. It feeds chiefly upon insects, and is good 
food. There are about twenty different species, foreign and domestic. 
The Indian bee-eater is about the size of a common blackbird. Its bill is 
nearly two inches long, and its eyes are of a fine red; on each side of the 
head extends a black stroke, which begins at the corners of the mouth, and 
passes beyond the eyes. The base of the upper chap, and under the chin, is 
covered with bright pale blue feathers; the upper and back part of the head 
are of a dusky yellow; the back and wings of the same color, only shaded 
pretty strongly with a green; the tips of the quill feathers brown, the breast 
and belly green; the thighs and under part near the vent, of a pale yellow, 
with a small green mixture. The tail consists of about twelve feathers ; the 
outermost on each side are of a green and yellow mixture, about three 
inches in length, the two middlemost twice that length, ending in sharp 
points, of a brown or dusky color; the legs and feet black. 
They principally feed on bees, beetles, grasshoppers, and other insects. 
They build in hollow places or caverns five ot six feet deep, and lay six or 
seven eggs. 
THE EUROPEAN KINGFISHER? 
Tus kingfisher is not much larger than a swallow; its shape is compact; 
the legs, however, are disproportionably small, and the bill disproportionably 
long; it is two inches from the base to the tip; the “upper chap black, and 
the lower yellow; but the colors of this bird atone for whatever is inelegant 
in its form; the crown of the head, and the coverts of the wings, are of a 
deep blackish green, spotted with bright azure; the back and tail are of the 
most resplendent azure; the whole under side of the body is orange colored; 
4 broad mark of the same passes from the bill beyond the eyes ; beyond that 
is a large white spot; the tail is short, and consists of twelve feathers ofa 
eee Oe 
? Merops apiasicr, Lix. The genus Merops has the bill sharp edged, pointed, shyhtly 
curved; nostrils basal, lateral, ovoid, Ronee by hairs directe forwar s; tarsus short, 
three front toes united, the exterior to the second joint, the interior to the first joint of the 
middls toe; bind toe broad at its base; the second wing feather the longest. 
2 Alcedo ispida, Lin. The genus Alcedo has the bill long; sient quadrangular, 
pointed, edged, and very rarely depressed ; nostrils basa, lateral, pierced obliquely, 
almost wholly ¢ closed by a naked membrane; legs short, naked above ine knee ; exterior 
,oe united to the pecan joint and the interior to the first joint of the middle toe. 
