30 BEE EATER. 



2. p. 1099.— Meyer, Tasschenb. Deut. 1. p. 132 — Id. Vog. Deut. 1. t. Heft. 

 10. male and female. — Frisch. Vog. t. 221. the female, t. 222. male. — Yellow- 

 throated Bee-eater, Lath. Syn. 2. p. 678. — Common Bee-eater, Will. (Ang.) 

 p. 147.— Albin, 2. t. 44.— Linn. Trans. 3. p. 333.— Lath. Syn. 2. p. 667.— 

 Id. Supp. p. 119.— Gen. Hist. 4. 118.— Mont. Ora. Diet.— Id. Supp.— 

 Shaw's Zool. 8. p. 152.— Item. Brit. Anim. p. 90.— Selby, pi. 41. pt. 1. p. 

 123.* 



The common Bee Eater is the only one, out of twenty-three known 

 species, that has ever made its appearance in England. 



As we never had an opportunity of examining- more than one which 

 was killed in this country, which varied but little from the description 

 given by Latham, we shall take the liberty of borrowing- it from that 

 author. 



It measures from bill to tail ten inches. The bill is an inch and three 

 quarters in length, and black ; the base of the upper mandible covered 

 with dirty-white feathers ; the irides are red ; the forehead is of a blue- 

 green colour, behind it green ; the top of the head chestnut, tinged with 

 green ; hind-head and upper part of the neck chestnut, growing paler 

 towards the back ; from the bill to the hind-head is a black stripe, passing- 

 through the eyes ; the back and scapulars are very pale yellow, tinged 

 with both chestnut and green ; rump and upper tail coverts blue-green, 

 with a yellow tinge ; the throat is yellow ; the under part of the body 

 blue-green, growing paler towards the belly ; the lesser wing coverts are 

 dull green ; the quills, for the most part, sea-green without, and many 

 of the inner ones rufous ; the first very short, the second longest of all ; 

 the tail is wedge-shaped, and consists of twelve feathers, the shafts of 

 which are brown above, and whitish beneath ; the two middle feathers 

 are sea-green, with a shade of rufous ; the rest the same, but margined 

 with cinereous within ; the two middle feathers exceed the outer ones by 

 three quarters of an inch ; the legs are of a reddish brown, claws reddish 

 black. 



This bird does not appear to have been noticed in England till within 

 these few years. In the third volume of the Linnsean Transactions, an 

 account is given of one of this species having been shot (for the first 

 time in Great Britain) in July, 1794, near Mattishall, in the county of 

 Norfolk ; which specimen was exhibited before the Linnsean Society. 

 A flight of about twenty was seen in June ; and the same flight probably 

 (much diminished in number) was seen passing over the same spot in 

 October following. Of late years several have been killed in England. 



The Merops apiaster is an inhabitant of various parts of the Eu- 

 ropean continent. They are not uncommon in the south of France, and 

 in Italy, as well as in the islands of the Mediterranean. It has also 

 been seen in Germany, and in Sweden, but no where so plentiful as in 



