594 Mr. F. J. Jackson on Birds 



[There is a striking difference in the colour of the sexes, 

 the female being bluish purple on the throat instead of 

 coppery purple as in the male, and the breast is purple, 

 without any of the bronze which is such a conspicuous feature 

 in the male. The pair of birds which show these differences 

 were shot by Mr. Jackson in Nandi from the nest, and I at 

 first thought that both L. glaucovirens and L. splend'idus 

 occurred in Equatorial Africa, and that the two species were 

 identical. I believe now, however, that L. splend'idus is con- 

 fined to Senegambia. Dr. Reichenow (J. £. O. 1892, p. 42) 

 has included both species in his list of the birds of the 

 Victoria Nyanza, and says that both sexes of each bird 

 were obtained ; but I suspect that the specimens which 

 he identifies as L. sphndidus are really the females of 

 L. glaucovirens. — R. B. S.] 



14. Lamprocolius chalybeus. 



Lamprocolius chahjheus (Ehr.) ; Sharpe, Ibis, 1891, p. 242 ; 

 Shelley, B. Africa, i. p. 43 (1896). 



No. 45. ? . Ravine, March 21, 1896. Iris bright orange- 

 yellow ; bill and feet black. Plentiful at present in pairs, 

 evidently about to breed. 



Nos. 299, 300. S ad. ? juv. Elgeyu, 3700 feet, Aug. 19, 

 1896. Plentiful. 



No. 532. Ravine, 7500 feet, March 16, 1897. Now in 

 pairs, breeding. Builds in holes of trees about 20 feet from 

 the ground. Nest of dry grass, thickly lined with feathers. 



Nos. 622, 623. S ? • Ravine, 7500 feet, April 12, 1897. 



No. 906. S- Ravine, 7500 feet, March 7, 1898. 



No. 1121. c^. Nandi, 6500 feet, Aug. 19, 1898. 



[lu the series collected by Mr. Jackson the shoulder-spot 

 is purplish blue, and only the Nandi specimen shows any 

 tinge of violet or reddish copper. 1 have re-examined the 

 series in the British Museum, but am not able to determine 

 that there is more than one species, a conclusion which I 

 arrived at in the 'Catalogue of Birds' (vol. xiii. p. 177). 

 The males in Mr. Jackson's set have the wing about 5*8 inches, 

 and in the female, which is the smaller bird, the wing is 

 5-3-5-4 inches.— R. B. S.] 



