HIRUNDINIDJE. 75 



B. Cauda cequale, aut subfurcatd. 



B. With the tail even, or slightly forked. 



Sp. 10. Me. Philippensis. Shaw, v, viii. p. 165. — The Philip- 

 pine Isles. 



Sp. 11. Me. Urica. Linn, Trans. (Horsf.) xiii. 1/2. Swainson 

 Zool. Illust.pl. 8. — Pirik Bee-eater. Lath. Gen. Hist. iv. 142. 



Me. olivaceo-viridis nitens abdomine, crisso, uropygioque, dilu- 

 tioribus candore thalassino ; pileo collo supra inter scapulio que 

 castaneis ; gidd juguloque sulphureis ; lined temporalijasciaque 

 pectorali semilunari atris ; cauda subtusfuliginosd. 



Shining olive-green Bee-eater with the abdomen, vent, and rump 

 paler tinged with sea-green ; the pileus, neck above, and be- 

 tween the shoulders chesnut; the throat and jugulum sul- 

 phureous ; a line on the temples and semilunar pectoral band 

 dark; the tail beneath sooty. 



Inhabits Java. Length eight inches : the tail 

 above is obscurely tinged with green : the tips of the 

 primaries, and of the secondaries, are black. 



Sp. 12. Men. ubicus. Cuv. 



Merops caeruleocephalus. Shaw, v. viii. p. 1 68. pi. 21 . — Nubia. 

 Sp. 13. Me. erythropterus. Shaw, v. viii. p. 175. — Senegal. 

 Sp. 14. Me. Malimbicus. Shaiv, v. viii. p. 1/4. — Malimba in 



Africa. 

 Sp. 15. Me. guiaris. Shaw, v. viii.^i. I77.pl. 23. — Africa. 

 Sp. 16. Me. Cayennensis. Shaw, v. viii. p. 160. — Cayenne. 



FAMILY II— HIRUNDINIDiE. 



Rostrum capite brevior, basi glabrum, subtriangulare, versus api- 

 cem plus minusve compressum ; alee longissimce ; pedes tetra- 

 dactyli, brevissimi. 



Beak shorter than the head, glabrous at the base, somewhat tri- 

 angular, more or less compressed towards the tip ; wings very 

 long ; legs four-toed, very short. 



The Hirundinidae are endowed with surprising 

 powers of flight : they fly by day, and feed upon in- 



