38. passer. 335 



Pvrgita spadicea, Licht. Mus. Berol. ; id. Xomencl. Av. Berol. p. 47 



(1854). 

 Pvrgitopsis simplex, Horsf. <$• Moore, Cat. B. B.I. Co. Mus. ii. p. 498 



'(1856). 

 Fringilla (Passer) swainsoni. Heugl. Syst. Uebers. p. 42 (1856). 

 Passer spadicea, Heugl. J. f. O. 1862, p. 30. 

 Pvrgita crassirostris, Heugl. J. f. 0. 1867, p. 209 (ex Pr. Wiirt. 



*MSS.). 



Adult male. General colour above uniform brown with a rufous 

 tinge, the lower back and rump uniform bright chestnut ; lesser and 

 median coverts chestnut, the inner median ones white at the ends : 

 greater coverts brown, edged externally with reddish brown ; 

 bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills dark brown, margined 

 with reddish brown ; upper tail-coverts and tail-feathers brown, 

 with lighter brown margins : crown of head, entire sides of face, 

 hind neck, and sides of neck, as well as the entire under surface of 

 the body, dark ashy grey, a little paler on the throat, which, how- 

 ever, is not whitish ; the abdomen a little whiter than the breast ; 

 under tail-coverts dusky brown, with whitish margins : under wing- 

 coverts and axillaries brown, tinged with rufous, the latter edged 

 with dull white ; quills below dusky ashy, tinged with rufous along 

 the inner edge : " bill black ; feet reddish : iris chocolate-brown " 

 (Heuglin). Total length 6-5 inches, culmen 0*55, wing 3*15, 

 tail 2-55, tarsus 0-75. 



Adult female. Exactly similar to the male. Total length 6 inches, 

 culmen 0-55, wing 3-15, tail 2-4, tarsus 0-8. 



The grey colour of the throat, which thus resembles the rest of 

 the under surface, is very well-marked in this species, and distin- 

 guishes it from the species of South and West Africa. Capt. 

 Shelley has an example from Melinda in the Zanzibar district, which 

 agrees with Abyssinian specimens in colour, but is larger and has 

 an enormous bill, as has also the Kitui specimen in the Museum. 



Hub. From Bogos Land and Abyssinia to the Zanzibar district in 

 East Africa. 



Halai, Tigre, Feb. 29. \Y. T. Blanford, Esq. [CI. 



Senafe", Feb. 26. W. T. Blanford, Esq. [C.I. 



Ailat, west of Massowah, W. T. Blanford, Esq. [C.J. 



June 25, 1868. 



Senafe", April 25 ( W. Jesse). Sharpe Coll. 



Anseba Valley, Bogos W. T. Blanford, Esq. [C.]. 



Land, Aug. 3. 



Kokai, Bogos Land, July Sharpe Coll. 



12 ( W. Jesse). 



Evlet, June 29 ( W. Jesse). Salvin-Godman Coll. 



Shoa (Sir W. C. Harris). India Mus. 



Shoa. Dr. Riippell [C.]. 



Kitui in Ukamba, April Dr. J. M. Hildebrandt [CI 



1877. 



