158 
M E R 
it. Merops fuperbus, the fuperb bee-eater: general 
colour red ; front, throat, and rump, blue; two middle 
tail-feathers longer. Bill blackifh ; quill-feathers edged 
with brown ; lower half of the middle tail-feathers dark 
brown. Length nine inches. 
12 . Merops hadius, the chefnut-and-blue bee-eater. 
Chefnut predominates on the anterior parts of the upper 
fide of the body, including the top of the back ; and blue- 
green on the reft of the upper fide of the body, and on all 
the lower part, but which is much more beautiful and 
more confpicuous on the throat, the fore part of the neck, 
and the breaft, than any-where elfe; the wings are green 
above, fulvous below, terminated with blackifh; the tail 
is of a pure blue ; the bill black ; and the legs reddifh. 
This bird is found in the Ifle of France. Total length 
near eleven inches ; the bill nineteen lines ; the tarfus five 
and a half; the hind-toe the fhorteft of all; the alar ex¬ 
tent fourteen inches; the tail five inches and a half, con¬ 
fining of twelve quills, of which the two middle ones pro- 
jeX two inches and two lines beyond the lateral ones, and 
three inches and a half beyond the wings ; thefe confift of 
twenty-four quills, of which the firft is the fhorteft, and 
the third the longeft. 
( 3 . There is a chefnut-and-blue bee-eater of Senegal, 
which is a variety produced by climate. No more than 
thefe two colours are found in the whole of its plumage, 
but their diftribution is different from that of the preced¬ 
ing. The chefnut is fpread on the coverts and the quills 
of the wings, except the quills next the back; and on the 
quills of the tail, except the projeXing part of the two 
middle ones, which is blackifh. This bee-eater is found 
in Senegal, whence it was brought by Adanfon. Its total 
length is about a foot, and it has nearly the lame propor¬ 
tions as that from the Ifle of France. 
33. Merops chryfocephalus, the yellow-throated bee- 
eater. This bird is diftinguifhed from the preceding in 
its plumage, its proportions, and above all, in the length 
of the middle quills of the tail. Its throat is of a fine yel¬ 
low, which extends on the neck under the eyes, and even 
farther, and is terminated with blue in its lower part; the 
front, the eye-brows, and all the under part of the body, 
are glaucous ; the quills of the wings are green, edged 
•with glaucous from their middle ; their fmall fuperior co¬ 
verts are dun green, fome lnuff-coloured, the longeft next 
the body are of a light yellow ; the upper fide of the head 
and neck is lnuff-coloured ; all the upper fide of the body 
gold-green ; the l'uperior coverts of the tail green. Total 
length ten inches; the bill twenty lines; the tarfus fix 
lines ; the hind nail the fhorteft and moft hooked; the tail 
four inches and a quarter, confifting of twelve quills, the 
ten lateral ones nearl)' equal to each other; the two mid¬ 
dle ones exceed the lateral ones by feven or eight lines, 
and the wings by eighteen. 
14. Merops Angolenfis, the Angola bee-eater. The 
fmallnefis of this fpecies is not the only property that dif- 
tinguifhes it from the preceding; it differs aifo in the co¬ 
lour of its head, in its proportions, and, above all, by the 
conformation of its tail, which is tapered, and of which 
the two middle quills do not project much. With regard 
to its plumage, the upper lurface is gold green, the under 
beryl blue; the throat is yellow'; the fore-part of the 
neck, chefnut ; there is, acrol’s the eyes, a zone dotted 
with black; the wings and tail are of the fame green as 
the back ; the iris is red ; the bill black, and the legs ci¬ 
nereous. Thefe are the chief colours of this bird, which 
is the fmalleft of the bee-eaters. It is found in the king¬ 
dom of Angola in Africa ; and is the only one of the ge¬ 
nus that has a tapered tail. Total length about five inches 
and a half; the bill nine lines; the hind-toe the fhorteft ; 
tail two inches and more, confifting of twelve quills ; it 
exceeds the wings about an inch. 
15. Merops erythrocephalus, the red-headed bee-eater: 
green, beneath yellow ; head and neck red ; chin yellow ; 
wings and tail beneath cinereous. It is found in India, 
OPS. 
ar.u is about fix inches long. According to BrifTon, the 
crown of the head and upper part of the neck are of a 
bright red; there is acrofs the eyes a black ftreak; all the 
upper parts of the bird are of a fine green ; the throat 
and under parts yellow', but flightly dafhed, from the 
throat downwards, w'ith red; tail even at the end, and 
rather fhort; irides red ; bill black ; legs brown. 
16. Merops Nubicus, the blue-headed bee-eater: blue- 
green, beneath red ; back, wings, and forked-tail, dirty- 
red. A fine beryl-colour glows on the head and on the 
throat, where it becomes deeper, and alio on the rump 
and on the coverts of the tail; the neck, and all the reft 
the under fide of the body, as far as the legs, are crimfon, 
fhaded with rufous ; the back, the tail, and the wings, 
are brick-colour, which is dunner on the coverts of the 
w’ings 5 the three or four quills of the wings neareft the 
back are of a brown green, with bluifh reflexions; the 
great quills terminated with bluifh grey, melted with red ; 
the middle ones are of a blackifh brown; the bill black, 
and the legs light cinereous. This fpecies is found 
in Nubia, where it was delineated by Mr. Bruce; it is 
not quite fo large as the European fpecies. Total length 
about ten inches ; the bill twenty-one lines ; the tarfus 
fix lines ; the hind-toe the fhorteft; the tail about four 
inches, a little forked, and it exceeds the wings about 
twenty-one lines. 
17. Merops erythropterus, the red-winged bee-eater of 
Senegal. The upper lurface of the head and body, in¬ 
cluding the fuperior coverts of the wings and thofe of the 
tail, is dun-green, browner on the head and back, lighter 
on the rump and fuperior coverts of the tail; there is a 
dark fpot behind the eye; the quills of the tail and of 
the wings are red, terminated with black ; the throat is 
yellow ; all the under furface of the body is dirty white; 
the bill and legs black. Total length about fix inches ; 
the bill one inch ; the tarfus three lines and a half; the 
tail two inches, and exceeds the wings about one inch. 
This is reprefented on the Plate at fig. 2. 
18. Merops Cayanenfis, the Cayenne bee-eater. In the 
diftribution of the colours of this bird, the green is deeper 
on the upper part of the body, and lighter below the 
throat than on any other part; the quills of the wings 
are white at their origin ; their fhafts, as well as thofe of 
the tail-quills, are blackifh ; the firft are of a yellovvifh 
brown, and rather longer than ufual in this genus of 
birds ; and the bill black. This is a fmall fpecies. 
19. Merops Surinamenfis, the Surinam bee-eater: va¬ 
riegated; hind-head reddifh; fcraggreenifh-yellow; quill- 
feathers greenifli, varied with black and blue. Inhabits 
Surinam. Irides chelnut; claws black. 
20. Merops Novas Seelandiae, the New Zealand bee-ea¬ 
ter: glofly greenifh-black ; greater wing-coverts and tuft 
of curled feathers each fide the neck white ; tail even, co¬ 
verts blue. Legs and claws black ; infide the mouth and 
tongue yellow, the latter tipt with black and befet with 
briftles ; feathers of the neck lax, long, a little curled, 
with a longitudinal white ftreak through the fliaft. In¬ 
habits New Zealand; eleven inches long; fings well, is 
held facred by the inhabitants 5 flefli good. See the Plate, 
%• 3 - 
21. Merops plirygius, the embroidered bee-eater: 
black variegated with yellow. This beautiful fpecies is 
the fize of a thrufh, and its black moft elegantly variegated 
w'ith bright and pale yellow ; the lides of the head, round 
the eyes, are covered by a naked yellow granulated fkin; 
the back and breaft undulated by numerous pale or whitifh 
crel’cents, the tips of the black feathers being of that co¬ 
lour ; the fmaller wing-coverts are marked in a fimilar 
manner ; the larger tipt with bright yeilow, and the quil- 
feathers edged with the fame colour, as are alio the exte¬ 
rior tail-feathers ; the bill is black, of a moderate length, 
and fharp-pointed; the legs are brown. It is a native of 
New Holland. 
a*. Merops niger, the yellow-tufted bee-eater: black; 
a a large 
