196 ZOOLOGICAL RESEARCHES 



male, but have the black front intermixed with red fea- 

 thers, showing the tendency to become entirely red. 



Iris dark brown, bill a very dark blue, feet dark lead- 

 color. 



Sy cobius scutatus. 



Sycobius scutatus^ Cass. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sc. Philad. 

 1849, p. 157; — Hartl. Orn. W. Afr. p. 132. 



Malimbus scutatus, Elliot, Ibis 1876, p. 460. 



Hab. West Africa, from Sierra Leone to the Gaboon. 



Collected at Sofore Place, near Buluma and in the vi- 

 cinity of Robertsport. 



An apparently young male from Robertsport , shot the 

 5<^li May , with a flesh-colored bill , has the red crown and 

 nape intermixed with black tips to some feathers, while 

 nearly the entire throat , pure black in the adult bird , is 

 intermixed with numerous red feathers. Another young 

 male, shot at Sofore Place on the 27*^ of July, does not 

 differ from the adult male except by the dark flesh-color- 

 ed bill and the chin which is entirely red , while the 

 black throat is also intermixed with red feathers. The 

 habits of this species are the same as in the foregoing one. 



Iris in all my specimens dark brown , bill of the adult 

 black, feet grayish brown. 



Sycobius nit ens. 



Sycobius nitens, J. E. Gray, Zool. Misc. I. p. 6 ; — 

 Hartl. Orn. W. Afr. p. 133. 



Malimbus nitens, Elliot, Ibis 1876, p. 463. 



Hab. West Africa, from Sierra Leone to the Gaboon. 



Collected at Bavia , St, Paul's River. 



This bird seems to be still more scarce than S. scutatus , 

 which is by no means a common bird. It is still less 

 lively than its congeners and will hardly be seen outside 



Notes from the Leyden ]Mu»uuxn, "Vof. VII. 



