7. SYLVIELLA. 155 



Oligura micrura, Hiipp. Si/st. Uebers. p. 56 (1845) ; Grai/, Gen. B. 



i. p. 156(1848); Bp. Comp. i. p. 257; Sdater, Contr. Orn. 1852, 



p. 125 ; Heu</1. Si/st. Uebers. 1856, p. 21 ; id. Ibis, 1859, p. 340 ; Pelz. 



Sitz. k. Aka'd. Wie>i, p. 144 (1881). 

 Oligura brach^-ptera, Bp. Consp. p. 257 (1850). 

 OUgocercus niicrurus, Cab. J. f. O. 1853, p. 109 ; Heugl. Ibis, 1869, 



p. 141 ; Bla7if. Geol. Si' Zoo/'. Abps., p. 376 (1870). 

 Syhietta micrura, //«/-^/. Oi-n. Westafr. p. 63 (1857); id. J. f. O. 



1861, p. Ill ; Grai/, Hand-l. B. i. p. 203, no. 2869 (1869) ; Shm-pe, 



Cat. Aft: B. p. 35 (1871). 

 Oligocercus rufescens {non V.), Heugl. Orn. N.O.-Afr. i. p. 236 



(1869) ; Finsch, Trans. Z. S. vii. p. 230 (1870) ; id. ^- Hartl. Vog. 



Ostafr. p. 227 (1870) ; Hartl. Abhandl. nat. Ver. Bremen, vii. 



p. 92. 

 Svlviella leucopsis, Reichen. Orn. Centralbl. 1879, p. 114 ; Fischer 8/- 

 "Beichen. J.f. O. 1879, p. 355 ; Sharpe, J.f. O. 1882, p. 346. 



Adult. General colour above light ashy, a little browner on the 

 lower rump and upper tail-coverts ; lesser and median wing-coverts 

 like the back ; greater and primarj'-coverts, bastard wing, and quills 

 brown, externally edged with ashy brown ; secondaries with paler 

 tips ; tail-feathers brown, with paler ashy brown margins ; crown of 

 head like the back : lores dusky, in a line with a dusky streak along 

 the upper edge of the ear-coverts ; eyebrow light tawny rufous, ex- 

 tending from the nostril to behind the eye ; ear-coverts and cheeks 

 light tawny rufous ; throat and under surface of body light tawny 

 rufous : centre of breast and abdomen bufF\- whitish ; thighs and 

 under tail-coverts tawny rufous ; under wing-coverts and axiUaries 

 tawny rufous like the breast ; quills dusky below, inner edges pale 

 rufescent ; " bill 3'eUowish horn-colour ; tarsus reddish ; iris clear 

 red" {Heuglin) ; " bill dusky above, pale below : tarsus deep flesh- 

 colour ; iris orange-brown " {Blanford). Total length 3 inches, 

 culmen 0-45, wing 2, tail 0-S, tarsus 0-65. 



Young male. Differs from the adult in having the bill duUer. and 

 in having the eyebrow and entire throat and cheeks tawny like the 

 rest of the under surface. 



Four out of our five specimens have white cheeks and chins, as well 

 as a white eyebrow, and are apparently in the plumage described by 

 Reichenow as Si/hnella lcm'02ysis. The yellow tinge on the belly 

 and the paler bills of these birds seem to indicate that they are 

 young, and at any rate I cannot believe that they are in entirely 

 perfect plumage, as the white eyebrow is tinged with rufous in two 

 of them : one of the typical specimens of Troi/lodi/tes 7nicri(ri(S 

 received from Dr. Riippcll is also in this white-faced plumage. 



JIab. N.E. Africa. 



a, b. Juv. sk. Achor, Bogos (Eslcr). R. 13. Sliarpe, Esq. 



c. c? ad. sk. Waliko, Julv 21, 1868 IJ. B. Sharpe, Esq. 



(IF. Jesse). 



d. 2 juv. sk. Senafe Bass, Feb. 18, W. T. Blanford Esq. [C.]. 



1868. 



e. .luv. sk. Abyssinia. Br. lUippcU [C.]. 



