ROLLER. 81 



One of these was preserved in spirits in the British Museum, but 

 the place from whence it was brought not mentioned. We have seen 

 a second, in the possession of Mr. Comyns, of Dawlish, which came 

 from Ceylon. 



14— AFRICAN ROLLER. 



Coracias Afra, Ind. Orn. i. 172. Daud. ii. 267. Shaw's Zool. vii. 405. Nat. Misc. 



pi. 401. 

 African Roller, Gen. Syn. Sup. p. 86. 



LENGTH eight inches and a half. Bill stout, yellow, bent at 

 the tip ; plumage on the upper parts pale cinnamon, beneath paler, 

 inclining to lilac ; vent, and under tail coverts pale blue green ; 

 quills deep blue ; the ends of the two middle tail feathers black, the 

 others blue green, tipped with black; legs brown. 



Inhabits Africa. Described from a specimen in the British 

 Museum ; it seems a stout bird in respect to the length. 



A. — Length eleven inches and a half. Bill stout, one inch and 



three quarters long, black, with a conspicuous hook at the tip, inside 



yellow ; upper parts of the head, back, and inner wing coverts fine 



cinnamon-colour, inclining to brown on the back ; feathers of the 



crown elongated ; under parts of the body the same as the upper, 



but paler, streaked on the chin, throat, and breast, with dusky white ; 



outer wing coverts, and the rest of the wing deep blue, the colour 



paler at the base, and the inner webs of the feathers black ; tail near 



six inches in length, marked as the quills, but the two middle feathers 



are dusky, with a greenish cast; legs yellow, strong; claws black. 



Inhabits Abyssinia. — Mr. Salt. 

 vol. in. M 



