90 
CATALOGUE. 
Nyctiomis caeruleus, Swains., Class, of Birds, II. j;. 333. 
Nyctiornis Amherstiana, Royle's Himal. Bot. I. p. 76. 
Bucia nipalensis, Hodgs., Journ. A. S. Beng. V. p. 361. 
Merops cyanogularis, Jerd., Madi\ Journ. L. S. XI. 
p. 229. 
Napophila meropina, Hodgs. Gray, Zool. Misc. (1844), 
p. 82. 
The Azure-throated Bee-eater. 
BuKAT-CHEEA, Nepal, Hodgs. 
Pya-too-nghet, Arracan, Blyth. 
A. and drawing. Assam. Presented by J. McClel- 
land, Esq. 
B. Bengal. Presented by John Reeves, Esq. 
c. Afghanistan. From Griffith's Collection. 
Mr. Hodgson, in his remarks on the habits of this bird, says " that 
they are of rare occurrence, and are solitary woodlanders. They are 
found in the lower and central regions of Nepal, but seldom or never 
in the northern. Their food consists of bees and their congeners, 
but they likewise consume great quantities of scarabaei and their 
like ; they seek the deep recesses of the forests, and there, tran- 
quilly seated on a high tree, watch the casual advent of their prey, 
and, having seized it, return directly to their station. They are 
of dull, staid manners, and never quit the deepest recesses of the 
forest. In the rajah's shooting excursions they are frequently taken 
alive by the clamorous multitude of sportsmen, some two or more of 
whom single out a bird, and presently make him captive, disconcerted 
as he is by the noise. The intestinal canal in this bird is usually 
about twelve inches long, with caeca of an inch and more in length, 
placed near to the bottom of it. The stomach is muscular, and of 
medial subequal thickness. Such, too, is the character of the sto- 
mach and intestine in Merops." — (Joum. A. S. Beng. V. p. 361.) 
Mr. Jerdon says : " I observed this species several times at the 
foot of the Coonoor pass of the Neilgherries, in dense and lofty 
jungle. One time it was alone, at others I observed it in pairs, 
perching on the tops of the highest trees, and flying before you from 
tree to tree. I was not fortunate enough to obtain a specimen, 
owing to their extreme wariness." — (Madr. Joum. L. S. XI. p. 229.) 
Captain Boys also informs us, that " this beautiful bird has a 
