— j4j — 



Distiiiguishing char aciers. — Underside not whitish but creamy- 

 buff, inciining to brown. Rump steel-blue occasionally mixed with 

 green, ratfler larger, cf wing 77-82. 



As ScLATER and Praed hâve remarked Anthreptes aurantium 

 Verr. (Rev. et Mag. Zool., 1851, p. 417 : Gaboon) appears to 

 take the place of A. /ongtnari in Cameroon, Gaboon and the 

 I North- Western Belgian Congo. 



Anthreptes hypodila subcolîaris. 



Nectariyiia subcolîaris Hartl., Orn. W. x\fr., 1857, p. 52. — 

 Type locality : Sénégal. 



Before discussing the races of the Northern Collared-sunbird 

 I vvish to make it clear why I do not consider them to be races of 

 the Southern Collared-sunbird (Anthreptes collaris). Récent wri- 

 ters : Reichenow (V. A., III, p. 443) Sclater and Mackworth- 

 Praed (Ibis, 1918, p. 624) consider hypodila a subspecies oicolla- 

 ris. Shelley (B. of A., II, p. 151) held the opposite view; 

 I believe he was right and for the foUowing reasons shall keep 

 Anthreptes collaris Vieill. a distinct species having no subspecies 

 as far as we know. 



A. collaris has the wing-coverts and quills edged with metallic 

 green, whereas in A. hypodila and its races thèse feathers are 

 edged with olive yellow. This in itself is not a spécifie character 

 but I hâve taken into considération the fact that no intergradation 

 of this character is présent. The character which in my opinion 

 constitutes A. collaris a distinct species is to be found in the 

 young ; nestlings of A. collaris hâve the upper-parts inetallic-green 

 as in the adults, showing that the metallic feathers are attained 

 without a moult. 



Young birds of A . hypodila and races hâve no metallic feathers 

 on the upper-parts showing that thèse feathers are not assumed 

 until after the first moult. Surely this is a spécifie character which 

 cannot be ignored. 



Dr Chapman of the American Muséum of Natural History has 

 been kind enousrh to examine thèse birds with me in the British 



