Genus MEROPS Linnæus, 1758.
Tail moderate, composed of twelve feathers, middle pair slender and prolonged beyond the others; wing moderately long and pointed, first primary very short, second longest.
Species.
- a1. Mantle and crown chestnut; throat pale green. americanus (p. [340])
- a2. Mantle and crown green; throat largely chestnut. philippinus (p. [341])
303. MEROPS AMERICANUS P. L. S. Müller.
CHESTNUT-HEADED BEEBIRD.
- Merops americanus P. L. S. Müller, Natursyst. Suppl. (1776), 95; McGregor and Worcester, Hand-List (1906), 56.
- Merops bicolor Boddaert, Tabl. Pl. Enl. (1783), 15; Walden, Trans. Zool. Soc. (1875), 9, 150, pl. 26, fig. 1; Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1892), 17, 60; Hand-List (1900), 2, 73; Oates and Reid, Cat. Birds’ Eggs (1903), 3, 49.
Pe-ric′, Manila; pi-ley pi-ley, Lubang.
Bohol (McGregor); Cagayancillo (McGregor); Calamianes (Bourns & Worcester); Catanduanes (Whitehead); Cebu (Everett, Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Cresta de Gallo (McGregor); Fuga (McGregor); Guimaras (Steere Exp.); Leyte (Everett); Lubang (McGregor); Luzon (Meyer, Möllendorff, Everett, Steere Exp., Whitehead, McGregor); Marinduque (Steere Exp.); Masbate (Bourns & Worcester, McGregor); Mindanao (Steere, Murray, Everett, Koch & Schadenberg, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester, Celestino, Goodfellow); Mindoro (Steere Exp., Schmacker, McGregor, Porter); Negros (Meyer, Everett, Steere Exp., Bourns & Worcester); Panay (Steere, Bourns & Worcester); Samar (Bourns & Worcester, Whitehead); Semirara (Worcester); Sibuyan (McGregor); Tablas (Bourns & Worcester).