82 
BLUE-BELLIED BEE-EATER. 
very broad ; those in the middle are dull orange on 
their upper internal portion, and deep rufous be- 
neath ; but this is not perceived on the middle or 
outermost pair, which are entirely fulvous green ; 
bill and legs, black. 
Total length, 7 inches ; bill, from the front, 1 ; 
■wings, 3f ; tail beyond, jg ; ditto, from the base, 4. 
GEEEN-THROATED BEE-EATER. 
Merops viridissimus, Swains. 
Entirely green ; quills, tail, and sides of the head with a ful- 
vous or golden gloss ; throat crossed by a black bar. 
Le Guepier a gorge blue, ou Le Guepicr Lamarck, Le Vaill. 
pi. 10? Merops Indicus, Var. M. Lamarcki*, Auctorum. 
The investigation of this species has caused us more 
trouble and research than any subject contained in 
this volume ; we have been desirous of avoiding, on 
the one hand, an unnecessary increase of specific 
names, and on the other, the prevalent error of the 
old writers, of overlooking what appenr to be slight 
distinctions : we have, therefore, carefully gone over 
all the descriptions in the systems of Buffon, La- 
tham, &c. in the hopes of determining the species 
before us, but without any satisfactory result. We 
believe it has been confounded with two, if not 
* I have not adopted the specific name of Hullocli or La- 
marcki, for the reasons already assigned in Classification of 
Birds, i. p. 236 and 238. 
