14 AVES. 



are especially brilliant ; behind the ears is a patch of yellowish 

 white. 



Below, reddish yellow and white ; chin white. 

 Wings, scapulars dusky black, tipped with deep blue ; covers 

 rufous ; quills dusky black, edged with rufous on the inner webs ; 

 the outer quill is also edged with this colour on the outer web. 

 Tail, rufous, tipped with dusky black. 

 Total length, 5^ inches. 

 Length of bill, from gape, 1^ inch. 



„ of bill, from front, 1 inch 3 lines. 

 Width of bill, at gape, ^ an inch. 

 „ of bill, at nostrils, 4 lines. 

 Length of wings, 2| inches. 

 „ of tail, 1 inch. 

 „ of tarsus, 4 lines. 

 „ of toe, 7 lines. 

 „ of hallux, 4 lines. 



We have only met with one specimen of this bird in Labuan. 



FamUi/ Meropidae. 

 Sub-fam. Meropinae. 

 Gen. Merops. 



Merops badius (Bon. Cons. Av.). 

 „ castaneus (Latham). 



Above, head, neck, and upper back rich chesnut ; lower back 

 green, passing into light blue at the tail-covers. 



Below, chin blue, passing into grass-green at the upper throat ; 

 this green continues to the tail-covers, which are very light blue ; 

 the blue of the chin is separated from the chesnut of the crown by a 

 stripe of dusky black which passes under the eyes. 



Wings, quills, below dusky black broadly margined on the inner 

 webs with rufous, above green tipped with black and edged with 

 rufous on the inner webs ; covers green. 



Tail blue green above ; brownish black below . 

 Length, to the end of tail, 8| inches. 



„ to the end of the two middle tail-feathers, 11;^ inches. 



„ of bill, from" gape, 1| inches. 



„ of bill, from front, 1 inch 7 lines. 



,, of wings, 4 inches. 



„ of tail (without the two centre feathers) 3 inches. 



,, of tarsus, 5 lines. 



,, of middle toe, 9 lines. 



„ of hallux, 4 lines. 



These birds only come to Labuan to breed, which they do 

 in deep holes dug in the sand ; they all leave when the rains 

 begin : they principally haunt those places where there is a 



