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Show 606 MR. R. B. SHARPE ON THE BIRDS OF CAMEROONS. [June 20, sides of the neck white, mottled with black ; throat whitish, with longitudinal black markings down the centre of each feather; rest of the under surface of the body dull golden yellow, the upper part of the breast streaked with black, the rest of the belly and abdomen thickly marked with brown transverse spots. Total length 7*4 inches, culmen 1, wing 3*6, tail 2*1, tarsus *8. I am now, therefore, able to state that the immature bird figured in the plate of Messrs. Marshalls' work is very nearly adult, the only remains of young plumage being the whitish throat. 17. XYLOBUCCO DUCHAILLUI. Xylobucco duckaillui (Cass.) ; Sharpe, Cat. Afr. B. p. 15. One specimen, shot on the 4th of February, 1871. 18. GYMNOBUCCO PELI. Gymnobucco peli, Hartl. Orn. W . Afr. p. 175. One specimen, shot on the 4th of February, 1871. The Messrs. Marshall in their ' Monograph' have united G. peli to Cr. calvus. But I am not quite satisfied about this identification; for it must be remembered that Dr. Hartlaub, in his original description of G.peli, distinctly described both male and female as having the tufts on each side of the forehead. The Messrs. Marshall, on the other hand, consider that the female is to be distinguished from the male by the absence of these tufts on the forehead. Having lately received from Fantee a fine series of these Bald-headed Barbets, I must say that I am not clear in m y mind about the two birds being only sexes of one and the same species; for those birds supposed to be the female (i. e. G. calvus) have much larger bills than the supposed males (G. peli). The sketches which I now exhibit (figs. 2 & 3) show the differences between the two species; and it will be observed that in G. calvus there is a conspicuous tuft of brush-like feathers on the chin, which scarcely exists in G. peli. At present, therefore, I consider the two species to be distinct. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. Head of Gymnobucco calvus. Head of Gymnobucco peli. 19. TRACHYPHONUS PURPURATUS. Trachyphonus purpuratus, Verr. ; Marsh. Monogr. Capit. p. xxxii. |
