THE range of this Bee-eater appears, so far as I can judge, to be restricted solely to t he
Philippines, where it is tolerably numerous. It is true that it has, by several authors, been stated
to occur in other localities; but, so far as I can ascertain, these statements refer to its near aUy
Merops sumatranus, and not to the true Merops bieolor. It has been recorded by various collectors
from different parts of the Philippines as occurring from the month of February to October; but
it is probably also to be met with at other seasons of the year, and is therefore resident in that
group of islands. Lord Tweeddalc's collectors obtained it in many localities, as will be seen by
the list of specimens in his collection at the close of this article; and Dr. Steere met with it in
l'anay and at Dumalon, Mindanao. This latter explorer states (Trans. Linn. Sue. 2nd ser. Zool.
i. p. '{16) that at Dumalon he found it in swamps, perching in low trees ; but in Panay it was shot
more in the open, settling on weeds and sticks a little way from the ground.
I have never seen the eggs of this Bee-eater, and although by no means common in the
Philippines, I do not find that any notes respecting its breeding-habits have been published;
but it is fair to infer that it nests in holes in the river-banks and deposits white eggs like its
allies.
The specific name for the present species, which, strictly speaking, has the priority, is that of
americanus, given to it by P. L. S. Muller (/. c.), who merely gave that name to the bird figured
by D'Aubenton under the name of Ouapier de VIsle de France, and described by Montbeillard
in Buffon's Hist. Nat. Ois. vi. p. 493. The description given by Muller is as follows, viz.:—
" 8. Der Blaubauch. Merops americanus, Der Riicken ist braun, dcr Baueh hlau, die Fliigel
sind seegriin, und der Schwanz hat zwei sehr lange Rudcrfcdern. Der Aufenthalt ist in Isle de
France. Buffon." Muller does not give any reason for calling a bird which has never been met
with in t h e New World americanus; and as it is so evidently a misnomer, and has besides never
been applied to this species by any other author, the best plan, it seems to me, will be to let it
remain as a mere synonym.
The specimens figured are the adult and young birds above described, which are both in my
own collection.
In the preparation of the above article I have examined the following specimens:—
E Mus. S. E. Dresser.
a S ad. ; b, juv. Manilla (Boucard). c, £. Cebu, Philippines, April 1877 {Everett), d. Philippines, October
1874 (Gerrard).
E Mus. Brit.
a,b. Philippines (Gould coll.). c. Panay (Steere).
E Mus. Tweeddale.
a, J . Valencia, August 1877. b,c,d,e. Valencia, ƒ, $ ; g, ? . Cebu, March and April 1877 (Everett), h, $ ;
j J j , Lneon, April (Meyer). I,m, <J• s-Leyte, September 1877. n, ï . Batuan, May 1877. o, $. Placer,
July 1877. p. Monte Alban, March 1877.
EMus. Paris,
a. Lucon (Verreauz). b. Manilla, 1844 (Voyage of ' Favorite').
green, most of the quills tipped with blackish; underparts generally pale green; under tailcoverts
pale b l u e ; a broad black streak passes from the base of the bill through the eye and
covers the car-coverts, below which is a broad turquoise streak on each side of the t h r o a t ; his
rich red; bill blackish; legs purplish brown. Total length about 9 to 9J inches, culmen 1*7,
wing 4*6, tail 0'8, central rectrices extending 2*4 beyond the lateral ones, tarsus 0*5.
Adult female (Batuan).—Does not differ from the male in size or in coloration of plumage.
Young (Manilla).—Upper parts generally, except the rump and upper tail-coverts, deep dull
parrot-green, the crown being rather darker than the rest of the upper p a r t s ; lower rump and
upper tail-coverts pale blue ; tail even, the central rectrices not elongated ; underparts pale green
with a bluish tinge, the under tail-coverts bluish white.