258 



6. Cuculus solitarius. 



Le Coucou solitaire, Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. v. p. 35, pi. 206 (1806). 

 Cuculus solitarius, Steph. Gen. Zool. ix. p. 84, pi. 18 (1815) ; Vieill. 



Enc. Meth. p. 1336 (1823; ; Gurney, Ibis, 1860, p. 213; Layard, 



B. S. Afr. p. 248 (1867) ; Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1873, p. 582 ; Ayres, 



Ibis, 1876, p. 433 ; Shelley, P. Z. S. 1882, p. 309 ; Sharpe, ed. 



Layard's B. S. Afr. pp. 149, 809 (1875-84) ; id. Joiirn. Linn. Soc, 



Zool. xvii. p. 432 ; Salvad. Ann. Mm. Civ. Gen. 1888, p. 214. 

 Cuculus rubeculus, Swains. B. W. Afr. ii. p. 181 (18i37) ; Fraser, 



P. Z. S. 1843, p. 52 ; Ha)-tl. Orn. W.-Afr. p. 190 (1857) ; id. J.f. O. 



1861, p. 205; Cab. Sf IIei}ie, Mus. Hein. iv. p. 40 (1862); Mo7it. 



P. Z. S. 1866, p. 92 ; Sharpe, Ibis, 1870, p. 485 ; Gray, Hand-l. B. 



ii. p. 215, no. 8991 (1870) ; Eeichen. J.f. O. 1877, p. 16. 

 Cuculus capeusis {nee Miill.), Gray, Gen. B. ii. p. 463 (1847) ; Bp. 



Consp. Av. i. p. 102 (1850) ; Grill, Zool. Anteckn. p. 41 (1858) ; 



Cab. Sr Heine, Mus. Hein. iv. p. 42 (pt., 1862) ; Schl. Mus. Pays- 



Bas, Cuculi, p. 11 (1864) ; Antin. Cat. descr. Ucc. p. 83 (1865) ; 



Gray, Hand-l. B. ii. p. 215, uo. 8987 (1870) ; Heugl. Orn. N.O.- 



Afr. p. 783 (1871) ; Bocage, Orn. Angola, p. 140 (1877). 

 Surniculus rubiculus, Bj). Consp. Av. i. p. 105 (1850). 

 Cuculus lieugliui. Cab. iif Heine, Mus. Hein. iv. p. 32 (1862) ; Gray, 



Hand-l. B. ii. p. 215, no. 8995 (1870) ; Fischer, Zeitschr. qes. Orn. 



1884, p. 367 ; id. J. f. O. 1885, p. 124 ; Reichen. J. f. O. 1887, 



p. 58. 



Adult. Above uniform slaty blue, with a slight green gloss on 

 the wings aiid tail; centre tail-feathers with about four white shaft- 

 spots, the others with larger white shaft-spots and seven or eight 

 white angular notches on their inner webs, occasionally forming a 

 subterminal bar on the outer feathers : sides of the head and upper 

 throat grey, slightly paler than the crown ; remainder of the throat 

 uniform bright rufous : the rest of the underparts rufous-buff, regu- 

 larly barred with black, except on the lower abdomen and under 

 tail-coverts, the latter having only a few irregular broad black 

 bands ; under wing-coverts like the breast ; under surface of the 

 quills brown, partially barred with white, and with a large white 

 patch at the base of the inner primaries ; bill black, yellowish at the 

 base of the lower mandible and along the edges of the upper one ; 

 legs deep yellow ; iris reddish hazel. Total length 11-7 inches, 

 culmen 0-85, wing O'G, tail b-'d, tarsus 0-8. 



Immature birds differ greatly. One has the upper parts slaty 

 black, with narrow white edges to the feathers and a white patch on 

 the nape ; sides of the head black ; throat and front of the breast 

 black mottled with bufl' and rufous and with very narrow white 

 edges to the feathers ; remainder of the plumage as in the adult. 



Another specimen from Fantee is brown above, with some rufous 

 markings on the wings and upper tail-coverts ; sides of the head 

 mottled with buff or white ; underparts whitisli, shaded with buflF 

 on the lower throat, abdomen, and under tail-coverts, and nearly 

 uniformly barred with black throughout. 



Hab. Nearly the whole of the Ethiopian Kegion. 



