The roller (Coracius garrula), a jay-like bird, blue and chestnut-brown in colour. It breeds in Southern and Central Europe, and is known only as a rare straggler in the British Islands.
The bee-eater (Merops apiaster)—A good many examples of this elegant and richly coloured bird have been obtained in England. It is an abundant species in Southern Europe, where it breeds in colonies in sandbanks, like our sand-martin.
The hoopoe (Upupa epops).—This species has some claim to a place among British birds, as it is an annual visitor to our country, although in small numbers. It is a singular and beautiful bird, and it is sad to think that, but for the persecution it has encountered year after year, it would most probably have established itself as a regular breeding species in the southern counties of England.
Fig. 64.—Hoopoe.
Cuckoo.
Cuculus canorus.
Upper parts bluish ash, darker on the wings, lighter on the neck and breast; under parts whitish with transverse dusky streaks; quills barred on the inner webs with oval white spots; tail-feathers blackish, tipped and spotted with white; beak dusky, edged with yellow; orbits and inside of mouth orange yellow; iris and feet yellow. Young: ash-brown barred with reddish brown; tips of feathers white; a white spot on the back of the head. Length, thirteen and a half inches.
Fig. 65.—Cuckoo. ⅙ natural size.