Birds from Brithh East Africa and Uganda. 283 



Of thisj the following are synonyms : — 



Upnpa viridis Liclit. (Cat. Hamb. 1793, p. 22 : Terra 

 Cafrorum). Inasmuch as ail the evidence points to Latham 

 having described a south African bird, and his plate (Syn. 

 Supp. 1787, p. 124, pi. 110), in my opinion shows a small 

 spotted bird, Liohtenstein's locality also is in the eastern 

 part of Cape Colony, therefore " erythrorynchos" should in 

 future be used for the short-tailed small-spotted bird from 

 the Knysna. 



It must be remembered that Levaillant's specimens were 

 collected between the years 1781-1785, that is to say 21 

 years before his Hist. Ois. de Paradis was published, in which 

 the plate of his '' Promerops Moqueur'' undoubtedly shows 

 the short-tailed bird, and two years before Latham published 

 his figure of the " Red-billed Promerops " in the Syn. 

 Sup]). Is it not possible therefore that both Latham and 

 Liclitenstein handled some of Levaillant's specimens, whose 

 travels did not extend eastward beyond about King Williams 

 Town or north beyond about the Compass Berg. 



Promerojjs j^urpurens Shaw & ]\liller, Cimel. Phys. pi. 52, 

 1796 ; founded on Latham^s U. erythrorynchos. 



Irrisor capensis Less. Traite, 1831, p. 239 (part.) : type 

 locality by tautonymy, founded on Latham's U. erythro- 

 rynchos. 



Adult. Spots on wings and tail small; tail short, under 

 8 inches, central feathers and coverts distinctly washed with 

 purple on their upper side, mantle and breast bright bronze- 

 green, crown washed violet-blue, some specimens washed 

 with green, throat on the average violet-blue, inside of wings 

 washed with green. 



Young. Mantle, head, and breast black washed with violet 

 and purple bronze. 



Range. Forests of the Knysna eastward to Elands Post, 

 now Alice, Cape Colony. 



Note. This race apparently retains the black bill of the 

 young for only a short period. 



