210 birds of india. 



The Egyptian Bee-eater. 



Descr. — Above, including Avings and tail, green, mixed with 

 verdigris-blue on the back, rump, and upper tail-coverts; forehead 

 with a narroAV line of yellowish- white, succeeded by a pale blue 

 band, which continues over the eyes ; a dark line through the eyes 

 to the ear-coverts, which are mixed greenish, blue, and dusky ; be- 

 low this from the gape is another narrow white line, edged with 

 pale blue ; chin yellow ; throat deep chesnut ; rest of the lower 

 parts blue-green ; tail even, with the two centre tail-feathers elon- 

 gated. 



Length 1 2 inches ; wing 6 ; tail 3;^ to end of the outer tail- 

 feathers, barely ^ inch beyond the end of the wing, middle ones 

 5 ^ ; bill at front 1 f. 



This Bee-eater occurs in Sindh, whence it was sent to the 

 Museum at Calcutta by Sir A. Burnes. It is found throughout 

 Persia, Arabia, Asia Minor, and Egypt, extending rarely to the 

 South of Europe. 



121. Merops apiaster, Lm. 



Blytii, Cat. 230 — Gould, Birds of Europe, pi. 59. 

 The European Bee-eater. 



Descr. — Forehead pale whitish-blue ; body above marrone-red, 

 passing into rufous-yellow on the rump; a black eye-streak from 

 the base of bill, through the eye, nearly meeting another black band 

 which crosses the lower part of the throat ; chin and throat rich 

 yellow ; wings blue-green, or greenish-blue, with most of the coverts 

 and the secondaries chesnut, the latter black tipped, as are the 

 primaries, though faintly ; tertiaries blue-green ; tail dull green, the 

 tips of the centre feathers bluish ; lower parts verdigris-blue. Bill 

 black ; legs brown ; irides red. 



Length 10^ to 11 inches; wing 5 f ; tail 3| to end of outer 

 feathers, 1 inch beyond wing ; bill at front 1;^. 



The European Bee-eater, previously known to occur in Afgha- 

 nistan, has been observed by Dr. Adams in great numbers in the 

 valley of Cashmere, extending into the plains of the Punjab, and 

 very abundant at Peshawar. It is chiefly a native of Africa, but 



