238 OKTOLID.E. 



equally with the inhospitable locality the fact that the bird 

 must have gone far astray. It does not seem to have been 

 recorded from Norway and has been met with only some 

 half dozen times in Sweden, though it has been said to 

 breed in the latter, but the statement is questionable. In 

 Finland, on the contrary, it is pretty common in the south 

 and towards the east of the middle. Pallas says it occurs 

 generally in the woodland districts of the temperate and 

 southern parts of Russia and thence across Asia to Dauuria, 

 and more lately Herr Radde observed it near Irkutsk, but 

 further to the east its place is taken by an allied species. 

 According to Prof. Brandt, Lehmann observed it in the 

 country of the Bashkirs, but De Filippi found it rare in 

 Western Persia. It was sent to the Zoological Society from 

 Erzeroom and Trebizond. It is known to breed in Asia 

 Minor and Palestine, and occurs very generally all over 

 Africa, from Egypt to Natal and Damaraland, as well as 

 on the Western and Northern coasts. It was said by 

 Sganzin to occur in Madagascar. Mr. Frederick Godman 

 records it from the Azores and Mr. Harcourt from the 

 Madeiras. 



The adult male has the bill orange-brown ; from the base 

 to the eye a dark coloured streak ; irides lake-red : the 

 whole of the head, neck and body, above and below, with 

 the upper and under tail-coverts, bright gamboge-yellow ; 

 the wings black ; the ends of the feathers of the spurious 

 wing yellow ; the outer edge of the primaries, and the tips 

 of the secondaries and tertials, yellowish-white ; uj)per 

 surface of the two middle tail-feathers black, tipped with 

 yellow ; the outer tail-feather on each side has its basal half 

 black, the remaining portion yellow : in the tail-feathers on 

 each side between the outside feather and those in the middle, 

 the black occupies a larger space in each successively : under 

 wing-coverts yellow ; under surface of the wing-quills and 

 the dark part of the tail-feathers, greyish-black; legs and 

 toes lead-colour ; the claws, like the bill, orange-brown. 



The whole length of the bird is nine inches and a half. 

 From the carpal joint to the end of the longest feather in 



