AVIAN GENUS CHRYSOCOCCYX 19 



the klaas is the closest living relative oijladgulans, and it is reassuring 

 to find that specimens of the latter show this all the more by lacking 

 the excessive coppery or purplish hues described by Shelley when 

 he first made the species known. 



In his study of the African glossy cuckoos other than Jlavigularis 

 (which apparently was not available to him at the time), van Someren 

 (1925, pp. 660-662) correctly concluded that klaas was more nearly 

 related to cupreus than to caprius. He listed 10 characters in proof 

 of his conclusions, and we may now review them with Jlavigularis 

 in mind. 



1. There is little gold or bronze in the dorsal green color of klaas 

 and cupreus, while there is much of this in caprius. In this respect 

 Havigularis agrees with klaas but is even duller. 



2. Both klaas and cupreus have a "frosted" appearance in their 

 dorsal feathers, while caprius has a smooth, silky appearance. In this 

 vegsird Jlavigularis has neither. 



3. In the adult male klaas and cupreus have metallic green 

 feathers on the sides of the throat, and caprius does not. Here Jlavi- 

 gularis agrees with the first two. 



4. The outer tail feathers of juvenal and female klaas and cup- 

 reus are always white A\ith a few dark bands, while in caprius they 

 are always dark vnih white spots. Again Jlavigularis agrees with klaas 

 and cupreus. 



5. The females of cupreus and of klaas are always barred on the 

 underside (Jlavigularis even more so) ; not so in caprius. 



6. The juvenal plumage of klaas, Jlavigularis, and cupreus are 

 transversely barred from chin to vent; longitudinally streaked, espe- 

 cially on chin, throat, and breast in caprius. 



7. The backs of young cupreus and klaas are similar in "style of 

 coloration," but not in caprius. Just what this means is not clear, 

 hni Jlavigularis is much more like young klaas than caprius above. 



8. The form of the bill in klaas approaches that in cupreus, not 

 in caprius. Unfortunately no indication is given as to the differences 

 in bill form in the three, and I can find nothing in Jlavigularis that 

 differentiates it in this respect from any of them. 



9. In the scapulars the color is more concentrated toward the 

 tips of the feathers, less extended basally, in klass and in cupreus 

 than in caprius. This is at best a small difference, but in it Jlavigularis 

 agrees with the first two species. 



10. The barbules are broad in klaas, Jlavigularis, and cupreus, and 

 relatively narrow in caprius. 



From this list of 10 "characters" it becomes evident thai Jlavigularis 

 and klaas are closely related. The green gorget on the sides of the throat 

 in the adult males of the two is a striking item of similarity, and 



