Ornithology of the Egyptian Soudan. 325 



56. Lamfrocolius chalybeus (Ehr.). 



a & b. <$ ? . Between Doka and the Atbara, April 26, 

 1903. 



c & d. S <? • Jebel Melbis, Kordofan, April 14, 1904. 



This handsome rifle-green Glossy Starling is more or less 

 abundant south of the 14th degree of N. lat., wherever the 

 country is fairly well wooded. I have seen it as far east as 

 the Setit, and as far west as Mazrub in Kordofan. 



These birds are gregarious throughout the year, breeding 

 in colonies. On the Setit, in April, they were repairing their 

 old nests, which were bulky structures of sticks, placed in 

 the tops of " heglik " trees. Several nests were often built 

 together into one great mass. 



57. Spreo pulcher (P. L. S. Miill.). 



a. ? . Sebil, Blue Nile, March 30, 1903. 



b. <J . West of Omdurman, Jan. 2, 1902. 



The Chestnut-bellied Glossy Starling is a common bird 

 between about the 12th and 18th degrees of N. lat. It is 

 first met with along the Desert-railway from the Atbara to 

 Khartoum ; eastwards it occurs on the Blue Nile and its 

 tributaries, the Atbara, and the Setit ; westwards I have 

 seen it as far as Mazrub in Kordofan. I am not sure how 

 far up it follows the White Nile, but I do not remember 

 seeing it at Fashoda or further south. 



I have not found eggs or young, but the old nests, built 

 of sticks and placed in low thorn-trees, are very con- 

 spicuous objects in the desert-scrub. Being well protected 

 by the thorns among which they are built, they last in 

 the dry climate for many years, and the abundance of these 

 old nests gives one at first a very exaggerated idea of the 

 quantities of Starlings necessary to build them. 



These birds are generally met with in rather small flocks ; 

 I never saw them in such large assemblies as Lamprocolius 

 chalybeus. They feed principally on the ground ; their 

 note is a harsh " kree " ; the whitish colour on the primaries 

 is conspicuous in flight. 



