Observ. In some of the young birds in my collection, the red feathers of the throat are 

 intermixed with the black, showing a gradual moult. The bases of the scarlet feathers 

 of the crown and throat in the adult of both sexes are white ; slaty-grey in the young 

 birds. 



Mr. D. G. Elliot devoted much time in working out the synonymy of 

 the sj^ecies of the genus Malimbus, which he published in the ' Ibis ' for 

 1876. I camiot do better than quote his remarks, which are as follows : — 

 " This species was first described by Daudin (Ann. du Mus. Paris, 1802), 

 from specimens sent from the Congo by Perrein. The type is now in the 

 Paris Museum at the Jardin des Plantes. He called it Tanagra maltmbica, 

 and described as the female the species named afterwards Ploceus rubricollis by 

 Swainson. Uncoloured figures are given of both, and descriptions in Latin 

 and French. Yieillot, three years afterwards, figured and described the 

 same specimens in his ' Oiseaux Chanteurs ' under the name of Malimbus 

 cristatus, by which specific appellation the species has been generally 

 known. He merely followed Daudin, and repeated his error in figi^ring 

 Swainson's species as the female. In the ' Analyse,' 1816, where he 

 changed the name of the genus to Sycohius, he gives no Latin name to the 

 species, but calls it the Malhnbe Imppe ; and in the ' Nouveau Dictionnaire,' 

 1819, three years afterwards, he places it in the genus Ploceus. 



" Prof. Barboza du Bocage (Jorn. Sc. Math. Lisboa, 1867) describes a 

 specimen of this genus from Rio Quito, Cabinda, which is evidently, as he 

 states, in immature plumage. Judging from his description, I am inclined 

 to think it is one of the phases of plumage assumed at a certain age by the 

 young of this species." 



It might be supposed that a bird of this size, although smaller than the 

 preceding species, with such attractive colours, and extremely abundant in 

 its native haunts, would have a long history of its mode of life and 

 nidification ; but this, I regret to say, is wanting ; all I can gather respect- 

 ing its habits was written by M. Perrein about 1801, which I transcribe 

 from Griffith's edition of Cuvier's ' Animal Kingdom ' : — 



" These birds usually sojourn on trees bearing figs, which exactly re- 

 semble those of Europe, and place their nests on such of the branches as 

 form a triangle. The nest is of a round form, with the aperture worked on 

 the side ; the exterior is composed of fine plants, arranged ingeniously, 

 and the ulterior is furnished with cotton. The eggs are from three to five, 



