24 NECTAKlNIIDiE. 



Cinnyris chalybea {Linn.). 

 Cinnyris chalybffius, Sharpe, ed. Layard, Birds S. Africa, p. 314 



(1875-84). 

 Cinnyris clialybeus, Shelley, Monogr. Nect. p. 253 (1876-80) ; id., Birds 



Afr. ii. p. 76 (1900). 

 Cinnyris chalybea, Gadow, Cat. Birds B. M. ix. p. 37 (1884) ; Sharpe, 



Hand-l. v. p. 48 (1906). 



An egg of the Lesser Double-collared Sun-bird is of a very 

 narrow oval form and devoid of gloss. The ground-colour is olive- 

 grey and it is streaked and mottled with olive-brown, the markings 

 forming a small und indistinct zone at the broader end of the egg. 

 It measures -65 by -42. 



A second specimen, of a wider oval form, has the same type of 

 markings, but the general colour is of a warm brown, and there 

 are a few small spots of darker brown scattered over the shell. It 

 measures '65 by '47. 



1. South Africa. E. L. Layard, Esq. [P.]. 



1. ^ouih. Khic& (E. L. Layard : Crowley Bequest. 



Tristram Coll.). 



Genus CHALCOMITRA, lleichenh. 



Chalcomitra acik (Antin.). 



Cinnyris acik, Shelley, Monoqr. Nect. p. 265 (1876-80) ; Gadow, Cat. 



Birds B. M. ix. p. 94 (1884). 

 Chalcomitra acik, Shelley, Birds Afr. ii. p. 80 (1900) ; Sharpe, Hand-l. 



V. p. 50 (1906). 



Eggs of the Acik Scarlet-chested Sun-bird vary in shape from a 

 regular oval to a pointed oval and are very slightly glossed. The 

 five odd eggs in the Collection represent two distinct types of 

 coloration. In the first the ground-colour varies from piiikish- 

 white to greenish-white, and the markings, which are scattered all 

 over the shell, are pale violet-grey and dark brown ; some of the 

 latter markings take the form of spots with blurred edges merging 

 into the ground-colour, while others form short irregular lines and 

 scrolls. In the second type the ground-colour is greenish-white, 

 and the whole surface of the shell is finely and thickly mottled 

 with dull olive-brown, or longitudinally smeared with cloudy 

 streaks of the same colour. They measure from '66 to '79 in 

 length, and from '48 to '53 in breadth. 



5. Busoga, British East Africa, E. J. Jackson, Esq. [C.]. 



May. 



Chalcomitra gutturalis {Linn.). 



Cinnvris gutturalis, Shelley, 3Io)ior/r. Nect. p. 261 (1876-80) ; Gadoio, 

 Cat. Birds B. M. ix. p. 91 (1884) ; Kuschel, J. f. 0. 1895, p. 347 ; 

 Nehrk. Eat. Eiersamml. p. 78 (1899) ; Marshall, Ibis, 1900, p. 236. 



