NECTARINIA MELANOGASTRA. 25 



far north as 16' N". lat. He found the species not uncommon 

 in Bogos, in the lowlands of Abyssinia, in Taka, Sennaar and 

 Kordofan where they remain in pairs throughout the year, 

 frequenting the gardens, cotton fields and brushwood, but are 

 rarely met with far from water. The males, he states, assume 

 their full plumage in May and June and retain it until 

 December. 



Antinori and Beccari collected specimens in Bogos on the 

 Anseba River in May and at Keren in June and found it 

 equally distributed from Samhar to Barker but most abundant 

 during the flowering season of the tamarind. 



Jesse and Mr. Blanford met with it on the banks of the 

 Anseba Biver at Waliko and Bejook during July and August, 

 and according to the latter naturalist it has a fine song. 



Petherick obtained the species near Khartoum, and Antinori 

 and Ragazzi have collected specimens in March, April, May, 

 June and July in Shoa. 



Nectarinia melanogastra. (Pi. 1, fig- 2.) 



Nectarinia melanogastra, Fisch. and Reichen. J. f. 0. 1884, p. 181 

 Masailand ; Fisch. Zeitsch. ges Orn. 1884, p. 337; Fisch. J. f. 0. 

 1885, p. 139 Nguruman; Shelley, P. Z. S. 1889, p. 364 Teita 

 Country; Sharpe, Ibis, 1891, p. 592 Ukambani ; Emin, J. f. O. 

 1891, p. 340 ,S'. of Victoria Nyanza ; Reichen. Vog. Deutsch O. Afr. 

 p. 212 (1894) ; Kuschel, J. f. 0. 1895, p. 346 {egg) ; Shelley, B. Afr. 

 I. No. 11 (1896). 



Similar to N. pulchella, but the full plumaged male differs in having the 

 abdomen black. Total length : $ ad. 60 inches ; ?, culmen 0'7, wing 2-3, 

 tail (<? ad. 37, ? 1-8), tarsus 0-65. Nguruman, $ ad. (Fischer). 



The Black-bellied Beautiful Sunbird inhabits the coim tries 

 which surround the Victoria Nyanza to the east and south, and 

 replaces N. pulchella to the south of the Equator. 



The type of the species, a full plumaged male, was 

 discovered by Fischer in April at Nguruman (2" S. lat., 26° 10' 



