Brer-Earen. ALCYONES. MEROPS. 123 
the neck to the tail is a list of verditer-blue feathers, 
tinged in some shades with verdigris-green. Wing co- 
verts and quills deep greenish-blue, margined with pale 
greenish-blue, and tinged with verdigris-green. Chin 
and throat yellowish-white. Breast, belly, and vent, 
orange-brown, palest towards the under tail coverts. ° 
Tail greenish-blue ; the shafts of the feathers black. Legs 
pale tile-red. 
Genus XVIII. BEE-EATER. MEROPS, Linn. 
GENERIC CHARACTERS. 
Bill rather long, slightly curved, sharp pointed, sub-quad- 
rangular, and carinated. Nostrils basal, lateral, oval, and 
open, partly hidden in one of the sections, (into which this 
genus has been divided), by reflected bristles. 
Feet having the tarsus short, with three toes before, and one 
behind, the outer toe being joined to the middle one as far 
as the second joint ; the inner one the same, as far as the 
first. Claws small, that of the hind toe being the smallest. 
Wings having the first quill very short, the second being the 
longest. 
This genus of birds usually take their food, consisting of 
bees, wasps, &c. upon the wing, like swallows. ‘They breed 
in the banks of rivers, in which they dig holes to a consider- 
able depth. ‘They are totally natives of the warmer parts of 
the ancient Continent. Like the King’s-fishers, their plumage 
-is brilliant, the prevailing colours being blues and greens of 
various shades, and tinged by beautiful reflected lights. 
Common Bee-Eater.—Merops Apiaster, Linn. 
PLATE 41. 
Merops Apiaster, Linn. Syst. 1. p. 182. 1.—Gmel. Syst. 1. p. 460.—Lath. 
Ind. Ornith. v. 1. p. 269. 1.—Raii, Syn. p. 49. 3.— Will. p. 102. t. 24.— 
Briss. 4. p. 582. 
Merops Chrysocephalus, Lath. Ind. Ornith. v. 1. p. 273. 11. 
