144 BEE-EATER. 



28— CHESTNUT BEE-EATER. 



Merops castaneus, Ind. Orn. i. 273. 



■ badius, Gm. Lin.i. 462. 



Apiaster ex Francia; Insula, Bris. iv. 542. t. 44. 2. Id. 8vo. ii. 197. 

 Guepier marron et bleu de l'Isle de France, Buf. vii. 493. PL enl. 252. 

 Senegal Bee-Eater, Shaw's Zool. viii. 163. 

 Chestnut Bee-Eater, Gen. Si/n. ii. 677. 



LENGTH near eleven inches. Bill one inch, seven lines long, 

 and black ; upper part of the head, neck, and scapulars, elegant 

 chestnut ; on each side of the head a brown stripe, from the mouth 

 to the hindhead, beneath the eyes; throat, fore part of the neck, and 

 breast, blue green ; lower part of the back, the rump, belly, sides, 

 thighs, upper and under tail coverts, the same, but paler ; upper 

 wing coverts green, the under fulvous ; most of the quills are green, 

 with great part of the inner web fulvous; the four inner ones wholly 

 green ; thirteen of the middle ones have black tips, all of them grey 

 brown beneath ; tail blue above, the under side grey brown ; the two 

 middle feathers exceed the others in length by two inches and a 

 quarter, and end in a point ; shafts brown above, whitish beneath ; 

 legs reddish. 



Inhabits the Isle of France. 



A.— Le Guepier marron et bleu du Senegal, Buf. vi. 494. 



Senegal Bee-Eater, Shaw's Zool. viii. 163. 



Guepier a longue Queue, PL enl. 314. Gen.Syn.W. 678. A. 



This is twelve inches in length ; the colours much the same, only 

 somewhat differently distributed ; the chestnut extending in this to 

 the wing coverts and quills, except those nearest the back ; and to 

 all the tail feathers, except the part which exceeds the rest in length, 

 which is black — Brought from Senegal by Mr. Adanson. 



