IIISTURGOPS RUFICATIDA 323 



nests may be sometimes seen in a single tree, each inhabited 

 by as many pairs of birds. The eggs, laid on the Limpopo in 

 December, are three or four in number, greyish white, streaked 

 and marbled with several shades of grey and brown. They 

 measure about 1'12 x 0'90." 



Genus VII. HISTUBGOPS. 



Similai- to Tcxtor in general structure, but differs in the nostrils opening 

 at the end of a groove, and are slightly more basal. General plumage brown 

 and white, with a considerable amount of cinnamon on the wings and tail. 



Type. 



Histurgops, Eeichen. J. f. O. 1887, p. G7 H. riificauda. 



This genus, which is represented by a single East African species, is 

 closely allied to Tcxtor. 



Histurgops ruficauda. (Pi- 36, fig. 2.) 



Histurgops ruficauda, Eeichen. J. t. 0. 1887, p. 67, BuioanaB., Wc.mhere; 

 Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 505 (1890) ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 467 

 (1896) ; Eeichen. Vog. Afr. iii. p. 9 (1904). 



Adult. Upper parts brown ; forehead, crown, back and sides of neck, 

 mantle and lesser wing-coverts with brownish buff edges to the feathers ; 

 lower back rather paler and more uniform, shading gradually into cinnamon 

 on the upper tail-coverts ; tail bright cinnamon, with the centre pair of 

 feathers darker, mostly sepia brown ; remainder of the wings dark brown, 

 the feathers broadly margined with buff of a rufous shade on most of the 

 quills, the inner webs of which have a basal portion pale cinnamon, so that 

 more than half of the under surface of the wing is of that colour, the ends 

 of the quills being dark brown and the coverts sandy buff ; sides of head 

 brown, inclining to black in front and below the eyes, the other feathers 

 have buff edges, giving the cheeks a streaked appearance ; chin and centre 

 of throat white, with a line of hair-like blackish shafts down the middle ; 

 sides of throat and the breast buff", with darkish brown centres to the 

 feathers ; under tail-coverts cinnamon buff". " Bill brown, yellowish on the 

 under mandible ; feet brown." Total length 8-5 inches, culmen 0-8, wing 

 5-1, tail 3-7, tarsus 1-05. <? , 22. 1. 86, Euwana E. (Fischer). 



