| OCR Text |
Show 1870.] MR. R. B. SHARPE ON ETHIOPIAN HIRUNDINIDEE. 299 4. COTYLE FULIGULA. IiHirondelle fauve, Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. v. p. 156, pl. 246. Hirundo fuligula, Licht. in Forst. Descr. Anim. p. 55 (1844); Grill, Zool. Anteckn. p. 36 (1858). Cotyle fuligula, Gray, Gen. of B. i. p. 60 (1845) ; id. Cat. Fiss Brit. Mus. p. 29 (1848) ; Bonap. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 342 (1850) Cab. Mus. Hein. Th. i. p. 164 (1850); Cass. Cat. Hirund. Phil Acad. p. 12 (1853) ; Sundev. Crit. om Levaill. p. 52 (1857); Miill Journ. f. Orn. 1855, p. 5; Hartl. Orn. Westafr. p. 28 (1857); Hartl. Journ. f. Orn. 1861, p. 103 ; Layard, Birds of S. Afr. p. 57 (1867); Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. 1868, p. 4 0 ; Heugl. Orn. N.-O. Afr. i. p. 164 (1869); Gray, Hand-1. of B. i. p. 73 (1869). Hirundo hyemalis, Forst. Descr. Anim. p. 55 (1844). Above dark greyish brown, having a faint olive-green gloss in certain lights, paler on the rump and upper tail-coverts, the shafts of latter being distinctly marked ; wing-coverts dark brown, with the same olive-green gloss as the back in some lights ; quills dark brown, grey underneath ; tail rather paler brown, all the feathers except the two centre ones- having a conspicuous white spot on the inner web, this being exceedingly small or sometimes wanting altogether on the outermost rectrix; lores dark blackish brown; entire throat and breast deep fulvous; flanks and abdomen dark brown tinged with fulvous; under wing-coverts fulvous; bill and feet black. Total length 5*7 inches, wing 5*3, tail 2*0. Hab. South Africa (Layard) ; Damara Land (Andersson) ; Angola (Henderson) ; Abyssinia (Mus. Brit.) ; Nubia (Verreaux). When fully adult there is no mistaking this species, the deep fulvous throat, in some specimens quite rufous, and the general robust form of the bird being quite sufficient to distinguish it from all the African species of Cotyle. The absence of spots on the throat serve to separate it from C. rupestris, with which I have every reason to believe it has been confounded by some writers. In the Cape Colony it would appear to be not uncommon. I have a specimen in m y collection, obtained by the late Mr. C. J. Andersson at Daviep in Damara Land; and it has been obtained by Signor Anchieta at Biballa. There are certainly two distinct subspecies of the present bird, a northern and a southern form, the latter of course being the true C. fuligula. The British Museum also contains several specimens from N.E. Africa. But I cannot agree that the two forms from Southern and North-eastern Africa are positively identical. The Abyssinian subspecies is always smaller and darker. The following table gives the measurements of six specimens, amongst which are those of two birds in the British Museum from the last-named locality:- Total length. Wing. Tail. 1. Cotyle fuligula. Abyssinia 5*2 4*8 2*2 2. „ „ » 5-5 4*6 2*2 3. „ „ South Africa 6*0 5*2 2*2 4. „ „ ,. •••• 5*7 5*3 2*25 65,. „ „ Dama„r a Land........ 5*-87 5*30 22**225 |
