of the Ethiopian Region. 201 



of the true M. spodocephalus, taken from the specimen which 

 Count Salvadori has been good enough to lend me, giving at 

 the same time what I believe to be a detailed synonymy of 

 the species, according to the views of Count Salvadori and 

 myself. 



Mesopicus spodocephalus. 



Dendrobates poiocephalus, Riipp. (non Sw.) Beschr. neuer 

 abyss. Klettervogel, in Mus. Senckenb., Extra-Band iii. 

 p. 119 (1842); id. Syst. Uebers. p. 86, pi. xxxiv. (1845); 

 Heugl. Syst. Uebers. p. 47. no. 485 (1856). 



Dendrobates spodocephalus, Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 125 

 (1850). 



Mesopicus spodocephalus, Bp. Consp. Volucr. Zygod. p. 9 

 (1854) ; Hartl. Orn. W.Afr. p. 180 (note) (1857). 



Scolecotheres spodocephalus, Reichenb. Handb. Scans. 

 Picinse, p. 427, pi. dclxxvi. figs. 4471, 4472- (1854) (ex 

 Riipp.). 



Dendropicus spodocephalus (pt.). Gray, List Picid. Brit. 

 Mus. p. 68 (1868) ; id. Hand-1. B. ii. p. 190. n. 8660 

 (1870). 



Adult female. Back and scapulars uniform golden olive, 

 the feathers having brighter golden margins ; wing-coverts 

 browner than the back and more or less margined with golden 

 olive ; quills brown, the outer webs of the inner primaries 

 margined with golden olive, those of the secondaries par- 

 tially or entirely olive-brown, similarly margined ; a few 

 minute and almost obsolete yellowish spots on the outer 

 webs of some of the primaries ; the inner webs of the pri- 

 maries at their base, and those of the secondaries along their 

 whole length, spotted with white ; the innermost secondaries 

 washed with olive on the inner webs, shafts dark brown ; 

 rump and upper tail-coverts scarlet ; tail brown, the lateral 

 feathers with a few indistinct spots of yellowish brown, 

 shafts dark brown ; nasal plumes, entire head and neck, also 

 the under surface of the body, bluish grey, the breast having 

 a slight tinge of olive ; the abdomen scarlet-vermilion ; under 

 tail-coverts uniform, and rather browner than the under 



