40 CINNYRIS NOTATUS. 



Neetarinia notata, Milne Edw. and Grand. Hist. Madag. Ois. i., p. 283, 

 pis. 106, 106 a , 107, 107 a (1882) ; Sibree, Ibis, 1891, pp. 428, 441. 



Adult Male. Entire head, neck, back and lesser wiug-coverts metallic 

 green, with a narrow steel blue collar at the base of the green throat and 

 with a steel blue edge to the bend of the wing ; remainder of the plumage 

 black. Total length 56 inches, culmen 1-2, wing 2-75, tail 1-9, tarsus 07. 

 Madagascar (Crossley). 



Adult Female. Above brown, wing and tail darker; a partial whitish 

 eyebrow ; beneath buff with large triangular dusky black centres to most of 

 the feathers. Total length 55 inches, culmen 1-1, wing 2-6, tail 1-9, tarsus 

 0-7. Madagascar (Bewsher). 



The Madagascar Superb Sunbird is confined to the island 

 of Madagascar. 



According to M. Grandidier this species is found along the 

 northern and eastern coasts of Madagascar, where it is gener- 

 ally met with in pairs or parties of four or five frequenting 

 the large forests or their outskirts in preference to the scat- 

 tered trees in the more open country, which is the home of 

 G. souimanga, and is much shyer than that species. In searching 

 the flowers they show a predilection for the spiders they find 

 there, and often hunt for them suspended beneath the blossoms 

 after the manner of Tits. They have a rapid irregular flight, 

 and often betray their presence in the forest by their little 

 cry, " dchip-dchip." Messrs. Roch and E. Newton remark : 

 " Its chirp is exactly like a Tree-sparrow's, and when first 

 heard it was taken for a bird of that genus ; its song is 

 moderate." The nest is of the usual form, oval and pendent, 

 with an entrance at the side, and is constructed of fine rootlets, 

 dry leaves, grass and lichen, bound together with spiders'-web, 

 and is generally placed close to some mountain stream, which 

 is their favourite resort, and differs from the nest of G. soui- 

 manga in being thickly lined with vegetable down. Their 

 eggs vary, being sometimes pale greenish and sometimes darker 

 and browner, and measure 0'75 inch by 0*5. 



This is a well-known bird to the native of Madagascar, 



