shot a female at New Dongolah on the 19th May which had a folly formed egg in the ovary.
Allen found a colony breeding at Damietta in April; and I also found one on some half-desert
pasture-land at Dachschur in the same month. But Brchm is wrong in saying that all Bee-eaters
(and he probably means J/, apiaster in particular) migrate solely in company with 31. persicus;
for one finds separate Hooks of the different species in the same locality, but I never saw them
intermixed. Ilartmann states that he observed 3lerops persicus in January near Golosaneb in
Egypt, whereas I never saw it between September and March in North-east Africa. In the
autumn the plumage fades greatly and loses the rich green sheen; and the moult probably takes
place in January and February."
Mr. Jesse records the Bee-cater from Abyssinia; but Mr. Blanford did not meet with it,
though he obtained one, shot at Adigrat by Capt. Newport.
I n North-western Africa it is far less common than on the north-eastern side of the
continent; and though it occurs in Algeria, it is far from common there. Mr. J. H. Gurney says
(Ibis, 1871, p. 75):—"On the 21st of April I saw an Egyptian Bee-cater in one of the cemeteries at
Gardaia, which proved to be of this species. I afterwards came upon a flock of them lying upon
the large stones which are scattered about wherever there are no gardens. I saw them also on
walls, and on the fence-work upon the town-wall; and returning I found the cemetery, where
I had seen the first solitary bird, occupied by about a dozen. They were perfectly tame; and I
thought I had never seen a more interesting sight than these sparkling birds as, one after another,
they rose into the air to hawk for insects, and, returning, perched upon a tombstone within a few
yards, perhaps, of where I was standing. They have only one note; it is loud and rather harsh,
like the Common Bee-eater's. Their flight is slower, but even more gliding, with the wings very
much raised, except when the birds arc high in air, when they appear to be more depressed.
They almost lie upon stones and walls, as if unable to sit upright ou account of their long tails
and short legs." On the west side of the African continent the Bluc-ehceked Bee-eater is found
as far south as the Cape Colony. Swainson records it from Senegambia, and there are specimens
from Senegal in the Lcyden Museum. Verreaux records it from Casamanze, Bissao, and the
Gaboon, Perrein from Malimbe, and Monteiro from Benguela and Angola. This last explorer
says (I. c.) that in Angola it was " generally seen on the tops of trees, from which it darts out and
sweeps slowly in the air, in the manner of a Swallow, returning to rest on the tree, where it
utters a very peculiar and mournful cry ; their stomachs contained remains of insects." There
are examples in the Lisbon Museum from Loanda and Bio Quilo in Angola; and Professor
Barboza du Bocage writes (I. c.) that " it appears, though not commonly, in the southern portions
of the Portuguese settlements of Angola, chiefly towards the interior, as M. Anchicta does not
seem to have observed it in the vast tract he traversed from Capangombc to Cunene. Andersson
only observed it once on the Okovango river. It disappears or becomes very rare in localities
where 3Ierops apiaster is common." I possess specimens from Bissao and from Ondonga, the
latter obtained by Mr. Andersson, who observed it near the Okavango river; and in tins last
collection he sent over there were several specimens obtained in Ondonga, in November 1800.
Mr. E. L. Layard, who records this Bee-cater from the Cape Colony, writes that it was "found
in Natal by Mr. Ayrcs. A single specimen was also forwarded to the Museum by T. B. Bayley,
Esq., of Wynberg, having been shot by that gentleman ou the Cape Flats. Mr. Dumblcton, of
"Wynbcrg, assures me that these birds periodically visit a circumscribed portion of the Cape
Plats in considerable numbers. On the 15th February, 1866, a specimen shot near Kuils
river was sent to the Museum by Mr. Bishop."
As above stated, Mr. Ayres met with this species in Natal; and Mr. T. E. Buckley, who met
with it in the Matabili country, writes (Ibis, 1874, p. 363)," This species was only observed on one
occasion, when it appeared to be migrating. On that day I saw several large flocks hawking
about after flies and occasionally settling on the small hushes."
Mr. Ayres says (Ibis, 1861, p. 132):—" These birds take their food on the wing, and their
flight somewhat resembles that of the Swallows; they frequently alight on the trees and bushes to
rest; during flight they utter a harsh grating note. I believe they only inhabit the coast lands,
and are migratory, appearing only in the summer months."
On the east coast of Africa, where Jlerops snperciliosus is also found, it is somewhat difficult
to define the range of the two species; but 31. persicus appears to occur in the Zambesi country,
as there is a specimen in the British Museum obtained there by Bradshaw, and Captain Shelley
possesses two examples obtained at Mahalaka by the same collector.
In Asia this Bee-eater ranges into Western India. Mr. C. W. Wyatt obtained it at El
Noweyba, on the peninsula of Sinai. Heuglin records it from Arabia, Captain Jones from
Mesopotamia, and it is said to be common at Orenberg and on the shores of the Caspian and
Aral and iu Turkestan, in which last country Br. Severtzoff states that it breeds. Mr. Blanford
says he " found 3£. persicus in great abundance in the country north-west of Bampur, in Baluchistan,
and in Narmashir, the Persian district traversed on the road from Bampur to Bam, in the
second and third weeks of April 1872. The birds were evidently migrating, and all which
were shot were in superb plumage, llume remarks that large numbers are seen in Sind at
particular seasons, probably in the same manner, when migrating, and the bird has been observed
as far cast as Aligurh. On the Persian highlands I seldom saw this species, 31. apiaster being
much more abundant; but a few miles from Tehran, on the 22nd August, I came upon B large
scattered flock of Jlerops persicus, chiefly consisting of young birds. The place was a somewhat
barren plain, with a few scattered shrubs and herbaceous plants; and the birds settled on the ground,
occasionally flying up to pursue insects. They may have been migrating, or preparing to migrate.
Be Filippi obtained specimens at Miana and Nikbeg, between Kazvin and Tabriz ; and Mcnetries
saw it on the banks of the Kur, in the Transcaucasian provinces of Bussia, a little north of the
Persian frontier." Capt. Wardlaw Ramsay observed large flocks on migration in Afghanistan,
late in April and early in May. Captain Butler (Str. Fcath. hi. p. 457) observed it " on several
occasions near Beesa," and remarks that it has a tine wild note, which it utters on the wing, ami
which much resembles the note of 31. apiaster; and Mr. Hume remarks that ho has specimens or
records of this bird, but only as a summer visitant, from both Northern and Southern Sind, Cuteh,
Kattiawar, Jodbpoor, and indeed the whole of Bajpootana. Mr. Scully observed it in Gilgit,
between the 20th and 2Sth November, 1879, when several flocks passed the valley on migration
southwards. Captain Marshall obtained it in the Aligurh and Mynpoorie districts in the Northwest
Provinces of India. Mr. B. M. Adam says (Str. Feath. i. p. 371) that "it is rarely seen
about Samhhur, hut about the tree- and scrub-jungle at Mata Pahar and the Marot bills it is very
common. In the Marot hills the natives showed me the holes in which it breeds, about the
beginning of the rains, and Capt. Bingham found it breeding in Upper India, at the Sultanpoor
salt-works near Delhi, where hundreds may be seen, but be did not observe a single M. pkiUppentil."
I am indebted to the last gentleman for the following n o t e s " I know very little about this
bird, having met with it only at Delhi, where, and to the country to tho south of it, it comes in,
in great numbers, in the beginning of the hot weather to breed. My observations led me to
believe that all the young were out of the nests by July, when either all tho old birds migrated,