Description
English: "The Bee-Eater" from A History of British Birds by William Yarrell, 1843.
Date 1843
Source own scan of A History of British Birds, 1843
Author William Yarrell (author); Alexander Fussell (drawing); John Thompson (engraving)
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bee-Eater_from_Yarrell_History_of_British_Birds_1843.jpg

The European bee-eater (Merops apiaster) is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. The genus name Merops is Ancient Greek for "bee-eater", and apiaster is Latin, also meaning "bee-eater", from apis, "bee".