6. CINNYRIS. 97 



Certhia amethystina, Shaw, Gen. Zool. viii. p. 195 (1811). 



Certhia aurifrontalis, Bechst. Kurze Uebers. p. 192 (I8l2j. 



Cinnyris amothystiuus, Cuv. Rbgne Anim. i. p. 412(1817); Less. 

 Traite d'Orn. i. p. 294 (1831); Sivains. B. TV. Afr. ii. p. 134 

 (1837) ; Bp. a A. i. p. 400 (1850) ; Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 101 

 (1850) ; S/tarjw, ed. Lmjard's B. S. Afr. p. 315 (1877) ; Shelley, 

 Monogr. Necf. p. 209, pi. 84. 



CinnjTis auratitVous, J'ieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. xxxi. p. 502 (1819) ; 

 Bonn, et Vieill. Enc. Meth. ii. p. 590 (1823). 



Meropine Creeper, Lath. Gen. Hist. B. iv. p. 223 (1822). 



Amethystine-throated Creeper, Lath. t. c. p. 254. 



Nectarinia aurifrons, Licht. Verz. Duubl. p. 15 (1823) ; Less. Man. 

 d'Orn. ii. p. 42 (1828). 



Nectarinia auratifrons, L>rapies, Diet. Class, xv. p. 511 (1829). 



Nectarinia amethystina, Jard. Monogr. Sun-birds, pp. 195, 256, 

 pi. 13 (1842); Hartl. Orn. W.-Afr. p. 44 (1857); id. J. f. O. 

 1861, p. 108 ; Grill, Zool. Anfeekn. pp. 10, 39 ( 1858) ; Ln'i/ard, 

 B. S. Afr. p. 79 (1867); Bocaqe, Jorn. Lisb. 1869, p. 340, 1877, 

 p. 153, 1878, p. 2 ; id. J.f. 0. 1876, p. 419; Finsch ^- Hart I. Vog. 

 Ost-Afr. p. 220 (1870). 



Chalcomitra amethystina, Reichenb. Handb. Scansor. p. 277, pi. 567. 

 figs. 3861-63 (1854). 



Smaller Race (C. kirki). 



Nectarinia amethystina, Kirk, Lbis, 1864, p. 320. 



Cinnyris kirldi, Shelley, Monogr. Neet. p. 273, pi. 85 ; Sharpe, 



ed. Layard's B. S. Afr. p. 317 (1876); Shelley, P. Z. S. 1879, 



p. 571. 

 Cinnyris (Chalcomitra) kalkreuthi, Cab. J. f. O. 1878, pp. 205, 227. 

 Nectarinia kalki'euthi, Fisch. ^ Reichen. t. c. p. 260. 



Adult male. The whole bird, as seen in position A, uniform 

 brownish velvet}' black ; back and underparts with a soft purple hue ; 

 centre of crown, throat, part of the bend of wing, and terminal paits 

 of most of the upper tail-coverts metallic, the crown being dark 

 green, the other parts dark purple in position B, coppery red in 

 position C. Culmen 1*15 inch, wing 2-8-2-9, tail 1-9, tarsus 0"66. 



Adult female. Upper parts earthy brown with an olive tinge ; 

 wings and tail dark brown ; secondaries and wing-coverts with 

 pale edges ; all the underparts mottled with yellowish and dark 

 brown, the dark brown being predominant on the throat, the dingy 

 yellow or dull whitish on the abdomen and under tail-coverts ; edge 

 of wing whitish, inner edges of quills pale. Wing 2-6 inches, 

 tail 1-8. 



Immature males have the throat and anterior part of the crown 

 metallic like the male ; rest of fore neck sooty black : all the other 

 parts like the female. In the next stage towards the adidt plumage 

 the feathers of the underparts are blackish at base and broadly 

 edged with whitish. 



Ilab. Houth Africa, from Natal to Angola and Zanzibar. 



Obs. From the Zambesi to the Zanzibar district the specimens are 

 smaller in size (C. lirlii). 



VOL, IX. 3. 



