52 



CORACIIDiE 



CORACIAS 



wing-coverts reddish-lilac, those at the carpal joint and the edge 

 of the wing ultramarine-blue like the wing-quills which, however, 

 shade into black on their inner edges, inner secondaries like the 

 back ; rump and upper tail-coverts ultramarine ; two central tail- 

 feathers oily-green; the lateral ones bright ultramarine-blue; general 

 colour below, reddish-lilac, rather more purplish on the throat, 

 streaked throughout including the cheeks and ear-coverts with 

 conspicuous white shaft markings; under wing- and tail-coverfcs 

 without shaft markings. 



Iris dark brown ; bill black; legs and feet greenish-brown. 



Length about 14-0; wing 7*40; tail 5-30; culmen 1-50; 

 tarsus 0-75. 



The female resemMes the male but is perhaps slightly smaller, 

 wing 7-2. 



Fig. 20. — Coracias mosanihicus. x ^"^j. 



Distribution. — The Purple Eoller has only been once recorded 

 from south of the Orange Eiver, nor does it appear to be at all 

 common in the Orange Eiver Colony or Natal ; north of the Vaal 

 it is generally distributed up to the Zambesi and south Angola. In 

 east, north-east and west Africa this species is replaced by a closely 

 allied form (C. nacvius) in which the crown is reddish-lilac instead 

 of olive. The exact boundary between these two species has hardly 

 yet been defined. 



South African localities for the Purple Eoller are : Cape Colony — 

 Middelburg (Layard), Hay div. (Layard) ; Natal — Maritzburg only 

 once (Woodward) ; Orange Eiver Colony — Kroonstad once only 



