56. NESACANTHIS. 



485 



this colour extending on to the breast, the lower part of which is 

 ashy whitish with a slight wash of crimson ; sides of the body dark 

 ashy with an oHve tinge, the under tail-coverts being similar ; "thighs 

 ashy fulvous washed with rosy ; under wing-coverts and axillaries 

 ashy isabelline with an olive tinge, the latter slightly washed with 

 rosy ; quills dusky below, ashy along the inner web. Total length 

 5*5 inches, culmen 0-7, wing 3-7, tail 2, tarsus O'So. 



Tounr/ males are much more ochreous below, and do not have the 

 red on the head so rich or deep in colour, being more scarlet ; there 

 is also no red on the upper tail-coverts, which are like the rest of 

 the back. 



Adult female. Olive-brown, with rather broad blackish stripes to 

 the dorsal feathers, and having distinct white tips to the median 

 and greater wing-coverts. Total length 6 inches, culmen 0-75, 

 wing 3, tail 1*8, tarsus 9. 



Hah. Islands of Mayotte, Anjuan, Grand Comoro, and Mohilla. 



a, h. cJ imm. sk. Anjuan *. Sir J, Kirk [C.]. 



c, d. c? ; e. 5 ad- Anjuan (Sir J. Kirk). Shellev Coll. 



sk. 



f. cJ ad. sk. An] uan ( C. E. Bewsher). 



g,h. cS; i. 5 Auj uan. 



ad. sk. 



k, I, m. cJad. ; n. Great Comoro Island. 



5 ad. sk. 



o. cJ ad. sk. Great Comoro Island (C E. Forbes Coll. 



Bewsher). 



p, q. J; r. J ad. Great Comoro Island {Hum- Shelley Coll. 



sk. blot). 



s,t. S ad. et juv. Great Comoro Island (Sir J. Sliellej ColL 



sk. EJ'rk). 



Forbes Coll. 



M. Humblot [C.]. 



M. Humblot [C.]. 



2. Nesacanthis ru"bra. 



Red-headed Finch, Brown, III. pi. 28. fig. 2 (1776) ; Lath. Gen. Si/n. 



ii. pt. i. p. 287 (1783). 

 Le Moineau de I'isle de France, Daubent. PI. Enl. iv. pi. 665. 



figs. 1, 2. 

 Crimson Bunting, Lath. Gen. Syn. iL pt. i. p. 194 (^1783). 

 Emberiza rubra, Gm. Syd. Nat. i. p. 877 (1788), 

 Fringilla erythrocephala, Gm. Syst. Nat. i. p. 903 (1788). 



* One of these specimens is registered as from the Zambesi, but it doubtless 

 came from Anjuan. as it was received on the same day as the other birds from 

 that island. Mr. Gray apparently registered it with other birds collected by 

 Sir John Kirk on the Zambesi, which arrived Hmultaneously, under tbe belief 

 that tlie original specimen of 3". eiaintntissuna really came from Zanzibar, and 

 thus the species might be looked for on the Zambesi. I do not believe that any 

 of the sjjecimens labelled in collections as coming from Zanzibar really inhabited 

 that island ; they may have been cage-birds from the Comoros, or else soma 

 mistake as to their habitat has taken place. The species finds no place in any 

 of the lists of Kirk, Fischer, Hildebrandt, or Bohm, some of whom must have 

 found the bird if it existed at Zanzibar in a wild stale. It will be seen that 

 I am unable to recognize more than one species in the Mascarene Islands, and 

 in this i-espect I adopt Capt. Shelley's conclusions. 



