39 
in the golden hue of the nape and hind neck, hut do not exhibit the brilliant hue of birds from 
Cachar and Burmah, to which Hodgson gave his name of ferrugineieeps : they are typical 
M. viridis, like birds from Central and Southern India ; but it must be remarked that occasionally 
very rufous-headed specimens are procured in Madras. That the species is variable in this 
character throughout its entire habitat may be gathered from the fact, demonstrated by Mr. Hume, 
of the Sindh race almost wanting the rusty golden tinge. In Ceylon I have observed that 
nestling birds vary in the extent of the brighter colours of their plumage when these are first 
put on, the development of such tints depending perhaps on the physical vigour of the individual. 
I once shot a pair of young green Bee-eaters together, which were, of course, out of the same nest — 
one with the normal plain green throat and short tail of the nestling, the other with the blue 
throat-band appearing and the central tail-feathers half-grown. Perhaps the latter would always 
have been a more brilliantly plumaged bird than the former ; for the difference in age, at most 24 
hours, could scarcely have accounted for the backwardness of the plainer specimen in acquiring 
its adult character. As regards the relative size of Indian and Ceylonese birds, I find that the 
wings in eight specimens from Pegu (as given in c Stray Peathers ’) vary from 3’6 to 3'8 inches, 
precisely the measurements given above for Ceylonese birds. Some Indian examples have the 
central tail-feathers longer than any I have seen in Ceylon ; one specimen from Kamptee, in the 
British Museum, has them 2 - 6 inches beyond the adjacent pair, 2\3 being my limit.” To this I 
may add that, as a rule, I have found that examples from Egypt have the central rectrices longest, 
and in one specimen in my collection from there, the two central tail-feathers extend slightly over 
three inches beyond the lateral ones. 
The specimens figured are, on one Plate, two adult birds from Egypt, and on the second Plate 
one from Burmah and one from Ceylon. 
In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens : — 
E Mus. H. E. Dresser. 
a,b,c. Egypt {Capt. Shelley), d. Abyssinia ( V err mux), e. India. /. Maunbhoom, India, January 1865 ( Beavan ). 
g, h. Ceylon (Holdsworth) . i. Pegu, British Burmah. 
E Mus. Tioeeddale. 
a > <j juv. Zoulla, 8th June, 1868 {Jesse). b,c. India, d, juv. India, e, f, g. Candeish. h. Deyra Doon. i, $ . 
Huware, near Ahmednuggur, 1st December, 1876. k, <j> . Near Ahmednuggur, 2nd January, 1875. 1. Ahmed- 
nuggur, 19th September, 1876. m. Ahmednuggur, 19th October, n. Ahmednuggur, December 1876. o, $ ad.; 
P> S juv. Ahmednuggur ( Fairbank ). q, $ . Maunbhoom, February 1865 (Beavan). r, £ . N. Khasia hills, 
February 1876. s, $ juy. (Biddulph). t, <j! . Raiwal Pindee (Biddulph). u, . Hazaree-bagh (. Biddulph ). 
v. Mysore, w, $ . Khandala, 23rd May, 1876. x, y. Ceylon, z, aa, bb, cd) dd. Tonghoo. ee. Meetan, 
Tenasserim. ff. Assam, gg. Burmah. hh. Moulmein, 9th July, 1865 ( Beavan ) . ii. Karen hills ( Wardlaw 
Ramsay), jj. Kangoon. kk, g . Bangoou, 21st June, 1873 (TV. Ramsay). II, mm, d,?. Rangoon, 29th 
November, 1873. mi. Rangoon, 14th November, 1873 (TV. Ramsay'). 
E Mus. Paris. 
a. Coromandel coast, type of Merops citrinella, Vieill. (, Sonnerat ) . b, c, d, e. India (Eydoux §■ Souleyet). f. Pondi- 
cherry (. Leschenault ). g. Bengal {Mace). 
E Mus. Brit. 
a,b,c. Egypt (Sir S. Baker), d. Nubia (Schaufuss), e. Atfah, Annesley Bay, Abyssinia, 5th February, 1868. 
