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Show 610 MR. R. B. SHARPE ON THE CUCULIDAE [June 17, with the back, as also are the quills, the under surface of the wing-being ashy brown with a very faint shade of greenish ; tail metallic oily green, the two middle feathers having a slight shade of bronze; sides of face, throat, and fore part of chest whitish, with a yellowish shade ; lower part of belly greyish, the under tail-coverts metallic green ; bill yellow, with a brown mark at base of culmen ; iris beautiful dark red. Total length 13*5 inches, culmen 1*2, wing 4*9, tail 8, tarsus 1*15. Hab. Natal (Ayres); Caffraria (Wahlberg); Zambesi (Dicker-son) ; Bay of Bombatoc, Madagascar (Bojer). The description is taken from a Natal specimen in m y collection. Another bird in m y possession from the same country has some of the tail-feathers very much worn, and although in perfect plumage everywhere else it still carries these old feathers in the tail : their ends are abraded; and they have faded to a brownish colour, with a slight greenish gloss on the inner web. This bird has also a rusty tinge on the thighs. Another example, also from Natal, is apparently younger, as it has the bill of a dull yellow colour, the whole of the culmen along the ridge and towards the tip brownish, and the chest is somewhat shaded with olive ; on the lower breast there is a shade of rust-colour. The range of this species, so far as I know, only extends from Natal to the Zambesi; but Speke collected a Cuckoo of this genus in Uzaramo (cf. Sclater, P.Z.S. 1864, p. 112), which may probably be the southern species. Heuglin includes C. aeneus in his great work on the strength of this specimen, but he describes the southern bird. 2. CEUTHMOCHARES AENEUS. Le Coucou gris bronze, Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. v. p. 60, pl. 521 (1806); Sundev. Crit. om Levaill. p. 48 (1858). Metallic Cuckow, Lath. Gen. Hist. iii. p. 274 (1822). Bronzed Cuckow, id. 1. c. p. 294 (182*2). Cuculus a'ereus (err. pro aeneus), Vieill. N . Diet. d'Hist. Nat. viii. p. 229 (1817, ex Levaill.). Zanclostomus flavirostris, Swains. B. W . Afr. ii. p. 83, pl. 19 (1837); Fraser, P.Z.S. 1843, p. 52; Gray, Geu. B. ii. p. 460 (1845) ; Bp. Consp. i. p. 98 (1850); J. & E. Verr. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1855, p. 176; Gray, Hand-1. B. ii. p. 206 (1870); Sharpe, Cat. Afr. B. p. 14 (1871) ; id. P. Z. S. 1871, p. 605. Zanclostomus eereus, Hartl. Orn. W . Afr. p. 187 (1857); Cass. Pr. Phil. Acad. 1859, p. 142 ; Mont. P. Z. S. 1860, p. 112 ; Sharpe, Ibis, 1869, p. 194. Zanclostomus aeneus, Hartl. P. Z. S. 1860, p. 112. Ceuthmochares eereus, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. p. 60 (1862). Phcenicophaes flavirostris, Schl. Mus. P.-B. Cuculi, p. 50 (1864). Adult. Entire upper surface purplish blue, with violet reflexions, |
