74 LAMPROTORNIS CHALYB^US 



blue vpith a red shade ; under surface of wings and tail dull brownish black 

 glossed on the under wing-coverts, with violet passing into green at the bend 

 of the wing. Iris yellow ; bill and feet black. Total length 8-4 inches, and 

 90, culmen 07, wing 48, tail 3-0, tarsus 1-1. <? , 23. 10. 01, Keren (Esler) 

 and Mashonaland (Darling). 



Immature, (a) Dusky brown washed with glossy green on the upper 

 parts ; lesser wing-coverts towards the base of the wing violet, with a slight 

 reddish gloss ; black spots on wing small or absent ; sides of head and the 

 under parts partly glossed with green and shghtly bluer on the lower breast. 

 Wing about 4-7, Senafe and Nyasaland. 



(b) Differs in the forehead, cheeks and under parts being pale earthy 

 brown, with a green gloss only on the under tail-coverts ; no spots on the 

 ■wing, the under surface of which is dark brown with a few buff edges to the 

 coverts ; wing 4-1, Ailet. 



(c) Differs from the adult in having no trace of red on the wing-coverts 

 and no spots on the wing ; crown mottled with dark brown ; under parts pale 

 cinnamon, strongly mottled with bright feathers of the adult plumage ; 

 under wing-coverts dull dusky brown, with some rufous buff edges ; wing 

 4'5, Zomba. 



The Common Blue-breasted Glossy Starling ranges over 

 the greater part of the African continent south of 18° N. lat. 

 to the Vaal Eiver, but has not been met with on the western 

 side from south of the Cunene Eiver nor in the Angola-Congo 

 district. 



The species is somewhat variable in size and colouring of 

 the head and lesser wing-coverts, as also in the amount of 

 indentation on the edge of the inner web of the first four long 

 primaries. 



On the former two characters Dr. Sharpe, in 1890 (Cat. 

 B. M. xiii. p. 170), split up the species into L. chaJijhceus, 

 "North-east Africa and Senegambia." L. sijcohius, "Eastern 

 Africa from the Mombasa district to the Zambesi and thence 

 to the Western Transvaal." L. cliloropterus, " West Africa 

 from Senegambia to Gaboon and throughout North-eastern 

 and Eastern Africa down to the Zambesi." 



The species is not uncommon in West Africa from the 

 Senegal Eiver to Togoland, and is represented in the British 



