188 ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCHES 



The adult males sit solitary at some distance from the group. 

 Adult females are not different from the young specimens 

 of the year. 



Iris sulphur-yellow , bill black , feet dark gray. 



H y phantornis auraniia. 



Malimbus aurantius^ Vieill. Ois. chant, pi. 44 (1805). 



Hypkantornis aurantias, Hartl. Orn. W. Afr. p. 121. — 

 P. & Hartl. Vög. 0. Afr. p, 868. 



A series of specimens collected near Robertsport , Grand 

 Cape Mount. 



My adult specimens agree very well with the descrip- 

 tions given by Finsch and Hartlaub. One of them label- 

 led as a female, does not differ at all from the adult males. 

 As the young stage of plumage of this bird is not yet 

 described , it may be of some use to give a description of 

 two young males, shot out of the same colony as the adult 

 ones. One of them , probably -the younger , shot the 25th of 

 October , is uniform olive-green above , with darker centres 

 to the feathers ; edges of the secondaries and wing-coverts 

 olive-yellow, but not as bright and broad as in adult 

 specimens. Chin , throat , a superciliar stripe , edge of wing 

 and under wing-coverts yellow, chest, abdomen, vent, 

 sides of body and under tail-coverts pale gray , whitish on 

 the centre of breast and abdomen and on the under tail- 

 coverts. The young male , shot the 7th of November , is 

 just changing into the plumage of the adult stage. The 

 gray parts underneath are changing into yellow , forehe.id , 

 chin and throat have strong marks of rich orange-color, 

 the whole crown , and also the rump , changing from olive- 

 green into yellow. Hind neck, back and wings not different 

 from the younger specimen. 



The iris of the adult male is yellowish brown , of the 

 female and young birds red. Bill in adult specimens and 

 in the more advanced of the described young birds black , in 

 the other young bird flesh-color , feet of all specimens flesh- 

 color. Food : grass seeds. 



Notes Irom the Lieyden JMuseum, Vol. VII. 



