A genus of birds (Merops) which devour bees and flies, one species of which (M. apiaster) is an occasional visitant to England. Many of the species are brilliantly colored.
1768. Croker, etc., Compl. Dict., II. Merops, the bee-eater … a very beautiful bird, somewhat larger than the common king-fisher.
1877. A. B. Edwards, Up Nile, xxii. 684. The bee-eaters flash like live emeralds across our path.
