Pliny the Elder [1st century CE] (Natural History, Book 10, 51): The name of bee-eater is given to a bird that feeds its parents in their lair; its wings are a pale color inside and dark-blue above, reddish at the tip. It makes its nest in a hole dug in the ground to a depth of often feet. - [Rackham translation]

Isidore of Seville [7th century CE] (Etymologies, Book 12, 7:): The bee-eater (merops) is the same as the gaulus, who is said to guard its parents and feed them. - [Barney, Lewis, et. al. translation]

Thomas of Cantimpré [circa 1200-1272 CE] (Liber de natura rerum, Birds 5.87): Merops is a bird, as Pliny says, which, having natural heat, digs burrows in the ground six feet in depth; in these caves it builds a nest, lays eggs, raises young chicks and feeds and nourishes those hidden in the ground until they are strong enough. This bird has a cyan color on the back, on the breast it is brown, and on the belly it is pale. - [Badke translation/paraphrase]