Genus MEROPS. 
Merops, Linnffius, Syst. Nat. i. p. 182 (1766). Type Merops apiaster, 
Tephraerops , Reichenbach, MeropinsB, p. 82 (1852). Type Merops maUrmicus. 
Melittotheres, Ilcicbb. ut supra (1852). Type Merops nubicus. 
Blepharomerops, Reichb. ut supra (1852). Type Merops persicus. 
Phlothrus, Reicbb. ut suprii (1852). Type Merops viridis. 
Aerops, Reicbb. ut supra (1852). Type Merops albicollis. 
Melittophas, Reicbb. ut supra (1852). Type Merops bicolor. 
Melittophagus, Reichb. ut supra. (1852); nec Boie. 
Cosmaerops, Cabanis, Mus. Hein. ii. p. 138 (1859). Type Merops ornatus. 
Bombylonax, Heine; Journ. fiir Orn. 1859; p. 434 (1859). Type Merops breiveri. 
Archirnerops , Hartlaub in Wiegm. Archiv, xxvi. p. 90 (1860). Type Merops breweri. 
Meropogon, Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Phil. 1859; p. 39 (1859); nec Bp. 
Hab. The southern part of the Palsearctic Region; the entire Ethiopian and Indo-Malayan Regions, and 
the Australian Region. 
Alis longiS; acutis ; remige prima brevissimS,; sc cun da omnium longissima, tcrtia brcviore; scapularibus brevioribus : 
cauda sequali, rectricibus duabus centralibus valde elongatis : rostro elongatO; gracili; curvato : juguli plumis 
haud elongatis : pedibus brevibuS; robustis. 
Bill long, somewliat slender, curved, pointed, pentagonal at the base, then four-sided, 
compressed; gape-line curved; nostrils roundish, nasal membrane short. Wings long, pointed, 
the first quill very small, the second longest, the third rather shorter ; scapulars shorter than the 
secondaries. Tail long, even, the two central rectrices elongated and pointed. Beet small, 
feeble, the lower part of the tibia hare, the tarsus indistinctly scutellate ; toes short, slender, the 
anterior parallel and partly united ; claws slender, curved, compressed, acute. — Type Merops 
apiaster . 
The present genus contains fifteen species, which are widely distributed throughout the Old 
World. They are, as a rule, gregarious, and frequent open places, chiefly near water or on the 
borders of forests, and feed on insects, which they capture on the wing ; their flight is swift and 
Swallow-like, and their cry is somewhat harsh and monotonous. They breed in colonies, nesting 
in holes in a hank or cliff, usually near, but sometimes tolerably far away from water, and 
excavating their own nest-holes. Their eggs are pure white, roundish, and glossy in texture, and 
are deposited in a chamber at the end of the nest-liole, either on the ground or on a few straws or 
feathers, no regular nest being made. 
