THE BEE-EATER. 21 



chestnut and black on outer webs, innermost feathers metallic 

 blue and green ; primary -coverts metallic blue or green ; greater 

 and median coverts chestnut but innermost greater metallic blue 

 and green ; lesser coverts outer half metallic -green, inner half 

 chestnut. This plumage is p.cquired by complete moult from 

 Nov. -Feb. Winter. — A moult of the body-feathers only takes 

 place in Aug. -Sept., after which crown becomes more or less tinged 

 green ; mantle, scapulars, back and rump green, feathers tipped 

 blue ; black throat-band replaced by narrower line of green-tipped 

 feathers with very little black ; rest of under-parts as summer. 

 N.B — This adult winter plumage is retained only two or three 

 months and seems to have been hitherto confused with the juvenile 

 plumage, but birds with worn elongated central tail-feathers and 

 chestnut secondaries and wing-coverts and therefore certainly 

 adults, moult into this juvenile-like body-plumage in Aug. -Sept. 



Adult female. Summer. — Like adult summer male but with 

 slight mixture of green on lower mantle and scapulars and more on 

 rump, often more green on fore -part of crown, less chestnut and 

 more green on secondaries and wing-coverts. Moult as male. 

 Winter. — Moult as male after which body-plumage becomes like 

 winter male but mantle and scapulars greener, feathers usually 

 having no blue tips. 



Nestling. — (Not examined.) 



Juvenile. Male and female. — Upper-parts much like adult 

 male winter but with less chestnut, most of crown usually washed 

 green and whole of rest of upper-parts being blue to green, scapulars 

 often blue-grey and sometimes huffish -green ; chin and throat paler 

 yellow than in adult ; throat-band as in adult winter with scarcely 

 any black ; tail as adult but duller and usually more bluish and 

 •less green, central pair of feathers only slightly elongated and not 

 so pointed ; primaries as adult but tips browner and outer webs 

 duller ; secondaries with browner tips than in adult and outer 

 webs green or heavily washed green with only a tinge of chest- 

 nut, innermost feathers duller than in adult ; all wing-coverts 

 dull green. 



First summer. — Like the adults. The juvenile plumage is 

 moulted completely (including wings and tail) from Nov. to Feb. 

 N.B. — There is no first-winter plumage, the juvenile plumage 

 being replaced by summer plumage. 



Measurements and structure. — $ wing 144-156 mm., tail : 

 middle pair 108-120, rest 87-96, tarsus 12-14, bill from skull 37-44 

 (12 measured). 2 wing 138-148. Primaries : 1st very narrow and 

 pointed about three-fourths primary-coverts, 2nd longest, 3rd 

 2-8 mm. shorter, 4th 15-20 shorter, 5th 25-30 shorter, 6th 35-40 

 shorter, outer webs not emarginated. Secondaries : outer feathers 

 rather shorter than 11th primary, tips notched as inner primaries, 

 inner feathers longer with tips sharply rounded. Tail : 12 feathers, 

 central pair elongated, tips tapering to a point, rest of tail square, 



