42 CINNYRIS SUPERBUS. 



xvii. p. 428 (1884) Nyam-nyam ; Eeichen. J . f. 0. 1887, p. 306 

 Leopoldsville ; Shelley, P. Z. S. 1888, p. 38 Bellima ; id. Ibis, 1890, 

 p. 162 Yambuya; Eeichen. J. f. 0. 1890, p. 126, 1892, p. 190, 

 1896, p. 38 Camaroons ; Sjost. Mitt. d. Schutzg. viii. 1895, p. 33 ; 

 id. Sv. Vet. Ak. Handl. 1895, p. 103 Camaroons ; Shelley, B. Afr. I. 

 No. 20 (1896) ; Eeichen. J. f. 0. 1896, 38, Camaroons, 1897, p. 47, 

 Togoland. 



Nectarinia superba, Eeichen. J. f. 0. 1877, p. 25 Loango ; Hartl. Abhandl. 

 Nat. Brem. 1891, p. 27 Njangabo. 



Chromatophora superba, Oust. N. Arch. Mus. (2) ii. Bull. p. 85 (1878) 

 Gaboon. 



Adult Male. Crown metallic emerald green ; back of neck, back and 

 lesser wing-coverts metallic golden green ; remainder of wings and tail 

 black ; a black patch in front of the eye ; cheeks and ear-coverts bronzy green 

 with copper and violet reflections ; throat violet shaded steel blue ; breast 

 dark glossy red, abdomen and under tail-coverts black. Total length 

 55 inches, culmen 1-2, wing 28, tail 2-0, tarsus 0-75. Abouri, 19. 2. 72 

 (Shelley). 



Adult Female. Above deep olive ; eye-brows, cheeks and under parts 

 pale olive shaded yellow ; under tail-coverts orange yellow. Total length 

 5-5 inches, culmen 1-15, wing 2-8, tail 2-0, tarsus 0'75. Abouri, 21. 2. 72 

 (Shelley). 



The Superb Sunbird ranges from the Gold Coast to 

 Angola and eastward throughout the Congo district nearly to 

 the sources of the Nile. 



Of its occurrence north of the Gold Coast the only mention 

 I find is in M. Bouvier's Catalogue of Messrs. Marche and 

 De Compiegne's collection, which was partly made in Sene- 

 gambia and partly in Gaboon, so that the specimen registered 

 " Cape Verde " possibly, if not probably, came from the 

 Gaboon. 



The species is abundant on the Gold Coast. There is a 

 specimen in the British Museum labelled " Ashantee." Blissett 

 collected several at Wassaw and Enimil, and the greater 

 number of Ussher's specimens came from the forests of Denkera 

 and Abrobonko, the latter place about six miles from Cape 

 Coast Castle. Mr. T. E. Buckley and myself met with the 

 species only at Abouri in the Aguapim mountains where it 



