ZOSTEROPS ALDABRENSIS. 197 



The White-breasted Great Comoro White-eye inhabits the 

 island of that name, which is situated in the Mozambique 

 Channel in 11° 30' S. lat, 



The type was presented to me some years ago by Sir John 

 Kirk, who procured the specimen from Great Comoro Island, 

 and it is now in the British Museum. 



Z. comorensis is the third known species of the genus which 

 is confined to this island. As it is extremely rare to meet with 

 the same species inhabiting any two islands of the Mascarene 

 Archipelago, one cannot be surprised to find the present a 

 distinct representative form of the Z. madagascariensis group, 

 most nearly allied to Z. anjuanensis. 



Zosterops aldabrensis. 



Zosterops aldabrensis, Eidgway, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. 1894, p. 371 

 Aldabra. 



Adult Male. " Similar to Z. palpebrosa (Temm.) but supraloral region 

 (sides of bead) distinctly orange yellowish, under parts with yellow on chest 

 extending further backward and tingeing the median line of the belly ; chest 

 and sides less tinged with grey (some specimens having instead a faint 

 brownish wash), and under tail-coverts very different in colour from chest 

 (varying from maize to chrome yellow, the throat being canary yellow). 

 ' Upper mandible black ; lower one leaden ; feet leaden ; iris light brown ' 

 (Abbott). Total length 4-25, culmen 0-35, wing 2-12, tail 1-62, tarsus 0-7, 

 mid. toe 0-37 " (Eidgway). 



The Aldabra White-eye inhabits the island of Aldabra in 

 the Indian Ocean, in about 9°30' S. lat. by 57° E. long. 



Dr. W. L. Abbott, who discovered the species, writes : 

 " A very common, active little bird, generally keeping in the 

 thick jungle and constantly hopping about the branches. 

 Found in flocks of twenty to thirty, and very fond of the 

 seeds of the casuarina tree. One nest was taken in October, 



