THE GREEN BEE-EATER. 
65 
quills brownish and edged at their bases with ochraceous ; abdomen_, vent, 
under tail-coverts and sides of the body pale green ; under wing-coverts 
bright buflp ; underside of tail bright yellow-buff, broadly tipped with 
black. 
The female differs in having the forehead and lores the same crimson as 
the throaty the lilac-rose colour being confined to a mere band across the 
crown ; the feathers on the eyelids are green^ not blue ; the underside of 
the tail is duller yellow and the black tips shorter ; the crimson on the 
breast is narrower in extent. 
The young are green throughout. 
Legs and feet pale green,, often dingy^ sometimes bluish ; bill blacky 
whity brown at base from nostril to gape of upper mandible^ and lower 
mandible from about angle of gonys to base; irides bright yellow to 
orange-yellow ; eyelids dark plumbeous green. {Davison.) 
Length 13 inches^ tail 5'3^ wing 5*4_, tarsus '6, bill from gape 2*5. The 
female is slightly smaller^ the bill measuring about 2'1. 
The Red-bearded Bee-eater occurs in Tenasserim from the south up to 
Moulmein, and Capt. Bingham also found it in the Thoungyeen valley. It 
appears to be tolerably common^ and is probably resident. 
It ranges through the Malay peninsula to Sumatra and Borneo. 
This fine Bee-eater^ according to Mr. Davison^ is found singly or in 
couples^ not in flocks. It has a hoarse note^ and when uttering it the bird 
stretches out its neck^ puffs out its throat and bobs its head up and down. 
It probably breeds in March and April. 
Genus MEROPS, Linn. 
457. MEROPS VIRIDIS. 
THE GREEN BEE-EATER. 
Merops viridis, Linn. Sj/st. Nat. i. p. 182 ; Jerd. B. Ind. i. p. 205 ; Hume, Nests and 
JEggs, p. 99 ; id. S. F. i. p. 167, iii. p. 49 ; Bl. B. Burm. p. 73 ; Armstrong, S. F. 
iv. p. 304 ; Hmiie Sf Dav. S. F. vi. p. 67 ; Anders. Yunnan Fxped. p. 682 ; Legge, 
Birds Ceylon, p. 309; Hume, 8. F. viii. p. 85; Bingham, S. F. ix. p. 152. Merops 
ferrugiceps, Hodgs. in Gray's Zool. Misc. p. 82. 
Description. — Male and female. rorehead_, crovvn^ nape_, upper back and 
ear-coverts chestnut^ tinged with green on the forehead and crown ; lores 
and a streak under the eye and ear-coverts black ; lower back^ scapulars, 
wing-coverts and rump bright green; tertiaries and upper tail-coverts 
green slightly tipped with blue ; primaries greenish on the outer webs, 
VOL. II. Y 
