Rainbow bee-eater Rainbow bee-eater The rainbow bee-eater ("Merops ornatus") is a near passerine bird in the bee-eater family Meropidae. It is the only species of Meropidae found in Australia. Rainbow bee-eaters are brilliantly coloured birds that grow to be 19–24 cm (max 28 cm) in length, including the elongated tail feathers. The upper back and wings are green in colour, and the lower back and under-tail coverts are bright blue. The undersides of the wings and primary flight feathers are red and tipped with black, and the tail is black to deep violet. The rainbow bee-eater's two central tail feathers are longer
The Rainbow and the Rose The Rainbow and the Rose The Rainbow and the Rose is a novel by Nevil Shute. It was first published in England in 1958 by William Heinemann. The title is taken from a sonnet "The Treasure" by Rupert Brooke, which is quoted in full as a preface: <poem>When colour goes home into the eyes, With dancing girls and sweet birds' cries And that no-place which gave them birth, shall close The rainbow and the rose:— Still may Time hold some golden space Of song and flower and sky and face, Musing upon them; as a mother, who Has watched her