41. ESTRILDA. 401 



Pvtelia phoeuicotis, Fiiisck ^- Hart/. Vog. Ostafr. p. 447 (1870): 

 'Blanf. Geol. l<f Zool. Abyss. -p. 409 (1870); 'Cah. J.f.O. 1878, 



p. 265. 

 Estrelda cyanogastra («ec Dniid.), Skarpe, P. Z. S. 1873, p. 717 ; 



Nicholson, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 358. 

 ^gintha phceuicotis, Russ, Stuheni: p. 93 (1879). 

 Mariposa phceuicotis, Gur?iey, Ibis, 1881, p. 128. 

 Astrilda phcenicotis, Hcirtl. Abhandl. not. Verein. Bremen, Bd. vii. 



p. 103 (1881 ). 

 Estrelda angolensis (nee Linn.), Shelley, Ibis, 1886, p. 336 (pt.) ; 



Reichen. J.f. 0. 1887, p. 308. 



Adult male. Above light drab-browu, the wing-coveits like the 

 back ; quills duskj' browu, edged with the pale brown of the back ; 

 lower back, rump, and upper tail-coverts pale verditer-blue ; tail- 

 feathers dusky verditer-blue, rather lighter externally ; head like 

 the back, with the base of the forehead, eyebrow, lores, sides of face, 

 cheeks, throat, and breast bright verditer-blue, extending along the 

 sides of the body : ear-coverts bright crimson, forming a conspicuous 

 patch ; centre of breast, abdomen, thighs, and under tail-coverts, as 

 well as the under wing-coverts, light drab ; quills dusky below, pale 

 drab along the inner web : "bill reddish, the tip and cuttiug-edges 

 blackish; feet reddish; iris yellowish" {Heuglin). Total length 

 4-7 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 2'1, tail 2-25, tarsus 0-55. 



Adult female. Similar to the male, but wauting the red ear-patch. 

 Total length 4-3 inches, culmen 0-4, wing 2-1, tail 1-95, tarsus 

 0-65. 



Young male. Similar to the adult female, but with the sides of 

 the face browner with very little blue. 



The male from Kassongo is much more brilliantly coloured than 

 the rest of the series. The blue is more cobalt than verditer, the 

 back is darker and more ashj- brown, and the crimson of the ear- 

 coverts is darker. 



Hah. Senegambia to Gaboon. X.E. Africa and Eastern Africa as 

 far south as the Zanzibar district ; Equatorial Africa and the Congo 

 River. 



a, b. (5 ad. sk. Senegambia. Shelley Coll. 



c,d. cJ 2 ad. sk. River Gambia. Shai-pe Coll. 



e. (f ad. sk. Senafe, Abyssinia, March. W. T. Blanford, Esq. 



[C.]. 



f,g. d ? ad. sk. Senafe, May ( W. Jesse). Tweeddale Coll. 



h. Q ad. sk. Anseba Valley, Bogos- W. T. Blauford, Esq. 



Land, Julv '2S, 1868. [C.]. 



i, k. $ ad. sk. Bejook, Julv. W. Jesse, Esq. [C.]. 



/. c? ad. sk. Keren {Esler). Sliarpe Coll. 



m, n. S ? n-d. sk. Shoa, May, Aug. (O. An- Shelley Coll. 



tinori). 



o,p. J 5 ad.sk. ^'\i\ieKi\Q {Brim-Rollet). Sharpe Coll. 



q. <S ad. ; r, s. 2 Lado, Equatorial Aft-ica, Shelley Coll. 



ad. sk. Feb. (£min Pasha). 



^ 2 ad. sk. Sobat,June(-Ew!wP(7.v//rt). Shelley Coll. 



u. (J ad. sk. Lanui (Sir J. Kirk). Shelley Coll, 



VOL. XIII. 2 J) 



