258 
Birds of Celebes: Meropidae. 
under tail-coverts hazel margined with green; under wing-coverts silky wliitish; 
hasal part of quills below fawn colour. (Minahassa, v. Musschenbr. Nr. 1973). 
cf, “Iris brown; bill black; feet blackish grey” (Platen — fide Nehrkorn in lit.). 
Sexes. Similar in coloration. 
Nest. A burrow in the ground (see below). 
Measurements. 
Wing 
Tail 
(lateral 
rect.) 
Tarsus 
Bill from 
nostril 
a. (1973) ad. Minahassa 
115 
107 
11.5 
34 
h. (2208) ad. “Celebes” (Frank) 
114 
105 
11.5 
36 
c. (0 13896) Q ad. Rurukan, 24. III. 94 (P. & F. S.' . . 
117 
108 
11 
36 
d. (Sarasin Coll.) (f ad. Rurukan, 16. ITT. 94 ... . 
117 
114 
— 
37.5 
e. (Sarasin Coll.) Q Rurukan, 18. IH. 94 ....". 
113 
109 
— 
37.5 
f. (Sarasin Coll.) Q ad. Rurukan, 16. lY. 95 ... . 
118 
110 
— 
38 
In specimen, &, the tail is square, but the two middle rectrices are wanting i). 
Skeleton. 
Length of cranium . . 
. . 69.0 
mm 
Length of tibia 
26.0 
mm 
Grreatest breadth of cranium . 20.5 
» 
Length of tarso-metatarsus 
11.8 
» 
Length of humerus . . 
. . 31.8 
» 
Length of sternum .... 
34.4 
» 
Length of ulna . . 
. . 39.5 
» 
Grreatest breadth of sternum . 
12.5 
» 
Length of radius . 
» 
Height of crista sterni . . . 
11.0 
» 
Length of manus . 
. . 30.3 
» 
Length of pelvis 
24.0 
Length of femur . 
. . 18.6 
» 
Greatest breadth of pelvis 
18.7 
» 
Distribution. Minahassa, Celebes : 
Tondano ( 
Fors 
ten a 5), Rurukan (P. & F. Sarasin), 
near 
Rurukan and Langowan 
(Meyer a 
5, 9] 
Mt. Klabat (Platen 13), Mt. Masarang 
(P. & F. S.). 
This beautiful Bee-eater, one of the chief treasures of the Celebesian Ornis, 
was discovered in 1840, by F^orsten, who obtained a single male near Tondano 
at an elevation of 2000 ft. Subsequently, it was sought for in vain by Wallace 
and von Rosenberg, and doubt was felt as to its Celebesian origin, but in 
1871 it was rediscovered by Meyer in the rich virgin forest of the high country 
near Rurukan, and on the way from Langowan to Panghu, places in the neigh- 
bourhood of the Tondano lake. The bird appeared to be not rare, but restricted 
to certain localities. Since this, specimens have been sent to Europe by Fischer 
and van Musschenbroek; while Dr. E. Oustalet, as Mr. H. E. Dresser says, 
purchased several examples from a plumassier, by whom they “would have 
been cut up for plumes, had not Mr. Oustalet fortunately rescued them from 
so sad a fate” (X.II). Dr. Platen (13) describes his encounter with a troop 
of twenty or thirty specimens of this rare bird near a swampy pool in the virgin 
forest on the S. W. side of Mount Klabat ; they shot past him noiselessly on 
motionless extended wings, to vanish quickly, and return again, when several 
fell to his gun. Unfortunately they were moulting. One of Platen’s specimens 
in the Nehrkorn Museum is dated 13. I. 89; thus we know when the species 
moults. What is known of Forsten’s Bee-eater tends to prove that it is a 
forest-haunting bird of sociable habits, and so far it has been recorded only 
1) By a lapsus calami Dr. Sharpe states that the Meropidae have “ten rectrices” (Cat. B. XVH, 41). 
The proper number is twelve. 
