144 ANTHOTHREPTES LONGUEMARII. 



Anthothreptes longuemarii. 



Anthothreptes longuemarii (Less.), Gadow, Cat. B. M. ix. p. 115 (1884) ; 

 Matsch. J. f. O. 1887, p. 155 Lufuku B. ; Reichen. J. f. 0. 1892, 

 p. 236 Togoland; Shelley, Ibis, 1893, p. 17; 1894, p. 14; 1899, 

 p. 282 Nyasaland; id. B. Afr. I. No. 74 (1896); Reichen. J. f. 0. 

 1897, p. 45 Togoland. 



Anthreptes longuemarii, Shelley, Mon. Nect. p. 335, pi. 108 (1879); 

 Oust. N. Arch. Mus. (2) ii. Bull. p. 152 (1879) Loss Is. ; Bocage, 

 Orn. Angola, p. 545 (1881) Caconda ; Shelley, P. Z. S. 1888, p. 39 

 Bongerch. 



Anthothreptes orientalis (nee Hartl.) Sharpe, Linn. Soc. Journ. Zool. 

 xvii. p. 429 (1884) Nyam-nijam. 



Adult Male. Above, metallic violet ; wings dark brown, with the least 

 series of wing-coverts metallic violet, passing into green on the outermost 

 feathers only ; tail-feathers blackish with no trace of pale ends but washed 

 and edged with metallic violet ; sides of head and sides of neck dark brown ; 

 upper half of throat metallic violet ; remainder of the under surface white 

 with pale yellow pectoral-tufts. Bill dark brown ; iris brown ; legs black. 

 Total length 4-9 inches, culmen 0-65, wing 2-9, tail 2-1, tarsus 07. Casa- 

 manse (Brit. Mus.). 



Adult Female. Upper parts, as well as the sides of head, ashy brown 

 with a broad white eyebrow ; upper tail-coverts metallic violet ; wings and 

 tail dark brown, the latter with the feathers washed and edged with 

 metallic violet. Beneath white, shaded with sulphur yellow on the 

 abdomen and under tail-coverts. Total length 4-7 inches, culmen 0-6, wing 

 2-6, tail 2-1, tarsus 07. Casamanse (Brit. Mus.) 



Immature Male. Similar to the adult female in having the white throat 

 and eyebrow, but the crown, mantle and least series of wing-coverts are 

 partially metallic violet, and the abdomen and under tail-coverts bright 

 sulphur yellow. Sassa (Bohndorff). 



The Western Violet-backed Sunbird ranges from Sene- 

 gambia into Benguela, Nyasaland and the Nyam-nyam district. 



The type of the species came from Senegal and that of 

 Anthreptes leucosoma, Swainson, from the Gambia, and speci- 

 mens have been collected by Marche at Ponte, by Beaudouin 

 at Casamanse, and M. Oustalet records it from the Loss 

 Islands. 



Mr. Blittikofer did not procure the species in Liberia, nor 



