14) 
PICiE. 
GENUS 27. 
MEROPS— REE-EATER. 
This genus contains twenty-six species, 
besides varieties. Their distinctive ge- 
neric characters are as follows: 
Bill; curved, quadrangular, compressed, 
carinate, pointed. 
Nostrils; small at the base of the bill. 
Tongue; slender, the tip generally 
jagged. 
Feet; gressorial. 
The Bee-eaters are natives of the four 
quarters of the globe. They live upon 
insects, particularly bees and wasps, but, 
in defect of these, their favorite food, will 
content themselves with different kinds of 
seeds. Their nests are in general formed 
in the holes of banks, and their voice 
harsh and grating. 
The following is the only species ever 
known to have been taken in the British 
Iples. 
