144 The Birds of Gambia. 
ossors sh;u(! with the Red Bee-eaters the very doubtful houour ot being the 
most sought after of all their tribe by the skin-hunters from French territory 
The following gives, I am afraid, l)ut a faint idea of their beauty. Above, 
bright glossy green with a bluish gloss on the head ; nape rufous. Wings 
dusky green tipped and edged with black ; tail, black. Loi-es and eye-streak, 
deep black; throat a brilliant scarlet; chest bright rufous; belly blue; 
under surface of M'ings ochraceous ; beak black ; legs brown ; iris hazel. 
Length SJ inches. 
M. holevlaskiL 
Raii//f. Soudan (Senegambia to North-east Africa). {II. L.) 
Like hiiUoeki, but with a yellow instead of a red throat. I do not 
know it and suppose it must be very rare as there is onl.y one skin in the 
British Museum. 
Of the next genus {Mcrupa) the Hand List gives five species whose 
range includes the Gambia. Of these four are green birds, while the fifth is 
chiefly red. The last I know well, but about the other four I am most un- 
certain. Green-pluniaged Bee-eaters, other than the Dicnirerci and Mrlitfa- 
p/iu;// which I know, are commonly seen and must belong to this genus, but 
I cannot say to which species, though I am inclined to think that most of 
those I see are the Green-throated Bee-eaters (.)/. rh-ldin). I will, therefore, 
merely give a list of the four species with their habitats and short descrip- 
tions, followed by those of my notes which I .suppose refer to one or other 
of these species. 
J/r/v,/,.s npnista: COMMON BEE-EATER. 
Range. Europe, Asia ; Africa in winter. {II. L.) 
Forehead white shading through yellowish gi-een on the head into 
chestnut on the back ; wings and coverts above green and chestnut, quills 
tipj)ed with black ; tail green except for the two elongated centre feathers, 
which are black. Streak through eye black ; chin and throat yellow ; rest 
of undei- surface greenish-ljlue separated from the yellow throat by a black 
band. Iris red ; bill black ; legs brown. Length 9'4 inches. 
Meroj^i perskm. BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER. 
Very like the Common Bee-eater but the crown and back are green 
not chestnut, and there is a light-blue patch on the cheeks below the black 
eye-streak. 
Menipi^ albicolli.s. WHITE-THROATED BEE-EATER. 
RaiKje. Tropical Africa, South Arabia. {II. L.) 
About the same size as the Common Bee-eater. Back dark green 
washed with blue, rump reddish, upper tail coverts a.shy blue ; wings reddish- 
brown boidcred with olive green. Crown of head black, forehead, lores and 
eyebrow dirty white ; a bbick line behind the eye. Chin and throat white ; 
on the breast is a black patch narrowly bordered with pale blue ; belly green, 
under surface of wings yellowish brown l)or<lered with grey. Beak l)lack> 
legs brown. 
Merop.'i vinilh. GREEN-THROATED BEE-EATER. 
Ramje. Asia, Egypt, North-east Africa, Soudan to Senegambia. (H.L.) 
Differs from alhicoUis in having a green throat bordered below by a 
narrow black line of black, while the head is reddish washe<l with green, so 
that it looks eithei- reddish or green according to ihe light. 
