5. GYMXOBTJCCO. 35 



or less distinct shaft-stripes of paler brown on the back and breast ; 

 quills and tail-featliers dark brown, with lighter brown edges ; head 

 bare, blue in life, with a few hoary hairs on the crown ; the throat- 

 feiithers brown like the under surface, with a tuft of straw-coloured 

 bristles on the chin : " bill yellowish brown ; feet blackish grey ; 

 ma dark" {A. Jieichetiow). Total length G-8 inches, culmen OSo' 

 wing 3-35, tail !•<), tarsus 0-85. 



Adult female. Similar to the supposed male above described, but 

 having a smaller ttift of bristles on the chin, and a frontal tuft of 

 the same yellowish-brown bristles at the base of each nostril ; the 

 plumage both above and below is washed with olive. Total length 

 5-9 inches, culmen 75, wing 3-25, tail 1-65, tarsus 0-75. 



^Joimq. Distinguished by its dingy reddish brown, almost black, 

 bill, the base of the lower mandible alone being reddish horn-colour. 

 The head is nearly covered with brown feathers like the back. 



It is curious that, since Messrs. C. & G. Marshall wrote their 

 ' Monograph ' and came to the conclusion that G. calvus and G-'.peZi 

 were sexes of the same species, the question has not yet been satis- 

 factorily settled. Mr. R. B. Sharpe in 1871 suggested that the two 

 species might after all be distinct, and he pointed out that the biU 

 m so-called G. calvus was always larger than that of G. peli, but 

 the controversy has never been advanced since that date, though a 

 large series has been gathered together in the British Museum. I 

 cannot believe, however, that two distinct species can always occur 

 side by side in every part of Africa inhabited by G. calvus, and I 

 therefore believe G. peli to be one of the sexes, though whether it 

 be the adult male, as I presume it to be, or the female, I cannot yet 

 determine. The young bird shows no sign of frontal tufts, and if, 

 therefore, after the rule of most birds, the young resembles the old 

 female, which also lacks the frontal tufts, then G. cahms will be 

 the old female, and G.peli, with its well-developed frontal tufts will 

 be the old male, notwithstanding its smaller bill. Two males' and 

 a female from the Congo bear out this theory, but a fourth bird is 

 marked female and yet has frontal tufts. There may, however, have 

 been some mistake in sexing this specimen. 



Hah. West Africa, from Liberia to the Congo. 



a. Ad. sk. Fantee. Tweeddale Coll 



6,c,c?. Ad.etjuv. F&niee (Auhinn). Sharpe Coll. 



e-h. Ad. ; I m, Fantee {H. T. Ussher). Sharpe Coll. 



n. .luv. sk. '■ 



0, p. Ad. sk. EnimiU, Wasa Province (H. F 



Blksett). 



q, r, s. Ad. sk. Denkera {H. T. Ussher). Shelley Coll 



t. Ad. sk. Abouri, Aguapim, Feb. 21 {T.E. Shelley Coll. 



Buckley). 



u. Ad. sk. Camarooiis, Feb. 4 {A. Crosslei/). Sharpe CoU. 



V, w. d' ad. ; .r, Landaua, Congo. ' L. Petit [CI 



y. 9 ad. sk. 



1)2 



