BLUE-CHEEKED BEE-EATER. 79 
five or six species*, one of wliicli is the M. Cuvieri 
of our present volume. If, as we may conjecture, 
this is the true Mcrops Savigni figured by Le Vail- 
lant, hut whose description seems nowhere to be 
copied, the name of Vaillanti may be given to one 
of the other species still left among the varieties of 
mperciliosus. 
We shall now describe the plumage from two 
Senegal specimens upon our table. The whole of 
the upper plumage, that is, the head, neck, back, 
rump, wing, and tail-covers, are of a uniform parrot 
green, having a much yellower gloss when held 
from the light ; in such a position the quill and 
tail-feathers, which are duller green, appear very 
strongly tinged with that buff-yellow or yellowish- 
brown which is so prevalent in nearly all the bee- 
eaters. The front of the head is white, slightly 
tinged with yellow close to the nostrils, and with 
light blue where it blends into the green of the 
crown. This frontlet is continued in a band over 
and beyond each eye, but it there becomes entirely 
light turquoisinc blue : there is the usual black 
stripe between the bill and eye, and over the ears, 
which is seen on all the bee-eaters ; beneath which 
there is another blue stripe which extends as far as 
the black one on the ears, and becomes delicate 
green before it unites with the yellow of the chin 
and the deep mfous which extends half-way down 
the throat ; the colour's of the throat blend together, 
but there is no white on the chin ; beyond the 
* The Merops Persica of Pallas, for instance, has the chin 
white. 
