168 



(B. of S. Afr. p. 69) that it was "found in Natal by Mr. Ayres. A single specimen was also 

 forwarded to the Museum by T. B. Bayley, Esq., of Wynberg, having been shot by that gentle- 

 man on the Cape Flats. Mr. Dumbleton, of Wynberg, assures me that these birds periodically 

 visit a circumscribed portion of the Cape Flats in considerable numbers. On February 15th, 

 1866, a specimen was sent to the Museum by Mr. Bishop, shot near Kuils River." 



Mr. T. E. Buckley, who obtained it in the Matabili country, writes (Ibis, 1874, p. 363), " this 

 species was only observed on one occasion, when it appeared to be migrating. On that day I saw 

 several large flocks hawking about after flies, and occasionally settling on the small bushes. The 

 note of all the Bee-eaters I have met with seems to be almost exactly the same." 



According to Captain R. M. Sperling (Ibis, 1868, p. 289), it is pretty common at Mozam- 

 bique, where he procured several specimens ; and he was informed by Mr. Faulkner, one of the 

 Livingstone search-expedition, that myriads nest on the banks of the Shire river. 



In Madagascar the present species does not occur, being replaced by Merops superciliosus, 

 which differs from the present species in having a much more ferruginous brown tinge on the 

 head and upper back, in almost lacking the blue on the streak above and below the eye and on 

 the upper tail-coverts, and in having the central rectrices much longer and more gradually 

 attenuated. 



To the eastward the present species is found as far as India, beyond which it is replaced by 

 Merops philippinus, Linn., which is easily recognizable by its blue tail. It is found in Southern 

 Russia; but, according to Eversmann,it does not range further north than the district of Guriew, 

 where it is rare. Dr. Severtzoff states that it breeds in Turkestan ; and it occurs in Persia. 

 Mr. Blanford writes (E. Pers. ii. p. 124), "I found Merops persicus in great abundance in the 

 country north-west of Bampur, in Baluchistan, and in Narmashir, the Persian district traversed 

 on the road from Bampur to Bam, in the second and third weeks of April 1872. The birds 

 were evidently migrating ; and all which were shot were in superb plumage. Hume remarks 

 that large numbers are seen in Siud at particular seasons, probably in the same manner, when 

 migrating, and the bird has been observed as far east as Aligurh. On the Persian highlands I 

 seldom saw this species, Merops apiaster being very much more abundant ; but a few miles from 

 Tehran, on the 22nd of August, I came upon a large scattered flock of Merops persicus, chiefly 

 consisting of young birds. The place was a somewhat barren plain, with a few scattered shrubs 

 and herbaceous plants ; and the birds settled on the ground, occasionally flying up to pursue 

 insects. They may have been migrating, or preparing to migrate. De Filippi obtained speci- 

 mens at Miana and Nikbeg, between Kazvin and Tabriz ; and Menetries saw it on the banks of 

 the Kur, in the Transcaucasian provinces of Russia, a little north of the Persian frontier." It is 

 found in Sindh ; Captain Hutton speaks of it as arriving at Kandahar early in April, and leaving 

 in the beginning of the autumn; and Captain Marshall states (Ibis, 1872, p. 203) that he 

 obtained it in the Aligurh and Mynpoorie districts of the North-western Provinces of India 

 which are situated in the flat alluvial plains of the valley of the Ganges, where it is numerous. 

 Mr. R. M. Adam also states (Stray Feathers, ii. p. 466) that he found it plentiful about Sambhur 

 in May 1874, and shot several. I may here remark that, according to Mr. Hancock (B. of North. 

 and Durh. p. 28), a specimen of. Merops philippinus was shot near the Snook, Seaton Carew, in 

 August 1872, and is now in the possession of the Rev. T. M. Hicks, of Mewburn; but it appears 



