152 EMBERIZA MAJOR. 



Adult male. Sides and upper part of head jet black, intersected by three 

 white bands, one down the centre of the crown and the others as elongated 

 ej'ebrows ; sides, back of neck and back ashy grey, inclining to white next 

 to the black ear-coverts, and strongly mottled with black centres to the 

 feathers of the hind neck and mantle. Wings blackish brown, the least 

 coverts partially edged with grey ; median coverts white ; greater coverts 

 and quills with pale ashy edges, broadest on the inner secondaries and 

 greater coverts, the latter with rather broad white ends ; wing-lining dusky 

 brown with the axillaries and most of the coverts white. Tail blackish 

 brown with a large white pattern on the three outer pairs of feathers and 

 a large white spot at the end of the inner web of the next ; shafts generally 

 entirely black ; the white pattern increasing rapidly towards the outermost 

 feather where it extends over quite half of the inner web, and the whole of 

 the outer one, with the exception of a wedge-shaped blackish patch near 

 the end. Under parts uniform bright yellow, with the chin, portion of 

 upper throat, sides of throat and the under tail-coverts, white ; thighs 

 ashy white ; flanks washed with grey. " Iris brown, upper mandible and 

 end of lower one blackish, remainder of lower mandible flesh-colour " 

 (Marshall). Total length 6"5 inches, culmeu 0-5, wing 34, tail 2-9, tarsus 

 75. <? , Aug. Zomba (A. Whyte). 



Female. Differs in the dark portion of the head being rufous shaded 

 brown ; crown obscurely mottled with dark centres to the feathers and 

 the central pale band only partially developed ; pale edges to the feathers 

 of the mantle and inner portion of wings, rufous shaded brown. Total 

 length 6-4 inches, culmen 0-45, wing 3-2, tail 2-9, tarsus 0-75. 2 , 6. 97. 

 Chiradzulu (A. Whyte). 



Immature. Differs in the crown having no trace of the pale central 

 band, this being brown like the mantle with blackish centres to the 

 feathers ; lower back of the same colour but with less defined dark centres ; 

 median wing-coverts with broad buff ends and with rufous buff terminal 

 margins to the greater coverts. Zomba (A. Whyte). 



With a series of twenty-five specimens from Zomba and the surround- 

 ing district before me, it is evident that the dark portion of the head varies 

 from jet black, in full plumaged males, to brown in females and young 

 birds. The variation in the amount of the pale central band on the crown 

 depends both on sex and age, and is entirely absent in full grown young 

 birds. The amount of white on the wing-coverts also depends solely upon 

 age ; in full grown young birds the white on the wing is entirely absent and 

 in these the upper parts are much more rufous, and the wings measure 

 from 2-8 to 3-4 inches. 



There can, I think, be no doubt that Fringillaria orientalis, and F. 

 major, are identical. 



The Greater Golden-breasted Bunting ranges over Southern 

 Tropical Mrica between about 4° and 18° S. lat. 



