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Dr. E. Hopkinson—Gambian Rollers



the outer feathers nearly wholly dark blue and black ; greater wing-

coverts, ultramarine with a metallic gloss ; basal halves of primaries

and of outer secondaries, cobalt, forming a conspicuous broad alar

bar; external halves, Prussian blue ; inner secondaries, olive brown

basally, blending with the scapulars, dark blue towards their extremities;

below, bright Prussian blue; axillaries and under wing-coverts,

cobalt, the latter shaded with ashy blue ; edge of wing, dark indigo,

almost black ; under surface of tail, cobalt with a greenish wash ;

bill, black ; feet, yellow ; irides, dark sienna ; length, 13 inches.


C. ncevius. White-naped Roller.


Range .—North-East and Equatorial Africa, Soudan, Senegambia.

(H.L.)


A rather larger bird than the other two, and by far the most Jay-like

in appearance of the three, for when seen alive at a little distance its

brown upper parts, blue-edged wings, and whitish face-markings give it

quite the look of that bird ; but when examined closely the upper parts

are found to be dull olive, though they look brown—a shade too almost

exactly that of a Jay—in certain lights, while below the colour is

pinkish red streaked with white. In the rains it is very common, while

a few remain with us throughout the year ; it resembles its relations

in habits and diet, but is not nearly such an acrobat on the wing as they

are, and is much less aggressive and noisy. Just before the rains begin,

when all the Rollers are specially excitable and quarrelsome, I have

frequently seen one of these “ Jay-like ” Rollers being hunted about

by one of the Senegal Rollers. One would have thought from their

relative sizes that the driving would have been the other way. Their

note, too, is not so raucous or quite so unpleasant as that of the others,

and may be almost exactly represented by a repetition of the syllables

“ oo-ah, oo-ah


The following description is that of a female (the sexes are alike)

shot January 4, 1906


Frontal band, dirty white ; eyebrow, clear white ; a few white

feathers form a small nape-spot; crown to below the white nape-spot,

reddish lilac tinged with olive, each feather washed with olive ; mantle,

lower nape, and scapulars, olive, looking brown in certain lights;



