ACCIPITER BÜTTlKOFERl. 



199 



NOTE XIX. 

 ON A NEW SPECIES OF ACCIPITER FROM LIBERIA. 



BY 



R. BOWDLER SHARPE, 



F. L. S., F. Z. S. etc. 



During my recent visit to the Leyden Museum I was 

 much interested in examining the fine series of birds'-skins 

 which had been brought home by Mr. Büttikofer and Mr. 

 Stampfli from their expeditions to Liberia. 



Amongst other valuable specimens I was particularly 

 attracted by a small Sparrow-Hawk , of which Mr. Büttikofer 

 had preserved three adults, two females and a male. These 

 are identified by him as Accipiter hartlauhi of Verreaux ^), 

 but I saw at once that they were not the same as the bird 

 I had so named in the Catalogue of Birds (Vol. T, p. 150; 

 pi. 6, fig. 2). 



Since my return to England I have looked into the 

 matter and have compared one of Mr. Büttikofer's speci- 

 mens with the example figured in the »Catalogue", and 

 I find that they are quite distinct, the white marks on 

 the centre tail-feathers and the rufous thighs distinguishing 

 the Gaboon bird at once. None of Mr. Büttikofer's speci- 

 mens have any white spots on the tail-feathers and the thighs 

 are in every one of them grey, or grey with whitish vermicu- 

 lations. It seems to me, therefore, clear that the Liberian 

 Sparrow-Hawk is new to science and I propose to call it 

 after my excellent colleague in the Leyden Museum 



1) Notes Leyd. Mus., 1885, p. 153; 1886, p. 246; 1887, p. 64. 

 Notes from the Leyden IMuseum, Vol. X. 



