154 ANTHOTHREPTES HYPODILA. 



Zanzibar Island and the Pangani river. The late Dr. Fischer 

 informs us that the Zanzibari name for this bird is " Chosi- 

 mhogo," and his collections contained specimens from Maurui, 

 Arusha, Mombasa Island, Lamu and Wapokomoland, which 

 is on the left bank of the Tana river and the most northern 

 known range for the species in this direction. 



Dr. Hildebrandt remarks that in the Teita country these 

 birds are to be found abundantly everywhere, frequenting the 

 acacia blossoms. Mr. Jackson met with the species near the 

 coast on Manda Island and at Tangani, Mr. Hunter at Taveta, 

 and Mr. Ansorge at Manburu, Masongoleni and Taru desert 

 in British East Africa. 



With regard to their habits, while I was on the Gold 

 Coast in company with my friend, Mr. T. E. Buckley, during 

 February and March we had frequent opportunities of watching 

 these Sunbirds as they threaded in and out through the 

 tangled creepers, which hung down from the lofty forest trees, 

 in their steady search for the small insects which form their 

 principal food, and they rarely appeared to resort to the high 

 trees for the bright red blossoms which were, at that season, 

 such an attraction to hosts of various other species of Sunbirds. 

 This modification of their habits agrees well with the shortness 

 of their bills, which are more adapted for catching insects than 

 for probing into the chalices of the flowers. 



We first saw them flitting across the rippling brook which 

 runs through the dense forest at Abrobonko, to perch on some 

 more sunny bough, accompanied by their mates in almost every 

 movement, and exhibiting none of that quarrelsome disposi- 

 tion which is rather characteristic of most species of Sunbirds, 

 but often disturbing a bright butterfly, apparently of their 

 own size, from the blossoms in which they wished to search 

 for the smaller insects and honey. 



While we were at Abouri in the Aguapim mountains the 



