SERINUS MARSHALLI. 201 



Adult male. Extremely simi\a.r to S.Jiaviventris but with the bill slightly 

 larger and the upper parts yellower, the crown and mantle being greenish 

 yellow and the lower back almost pure yellow. Total length 5-2 inches, 

 culmen 0-4, wing 2-9, tail 23, tarsus 0-7. ^ , 20. 1. 85. Potchefstroom 

 (T. Ayres). 



Adult female. Similar to that of S. flavivcntris but paler, and with the 

 under parts less strongly streaked. Sides of forehead, a broad eyebrow and 

 most of the cheek buffy white, remainder of the head ashy brown ; under 

 parts whitish, tinted with brown on the crop, where there are a few dusky 

 shaft-stripes ; sides of body slightly washed with yellow and streaked with 

 brown. Total length 5-1 inches, culmen 0-35, wing 2-8, tail 2-2, tarsus 0-6. 

 ? , 19. 6. 52. Koij's fountain (Andersson). 



Marshall's Canary inhabits the island of St. Helena and 

 South Africa from Benguela and Mashona to the Orange 

 river. 



These birds, as well as 8. Jiaviventris, are known to the 

 dealers in cage-birds as the St. Helena Canary, and the name is 

 justified by their being more commonly captured on that island 

 than elsewhere. 



They show a marked affinity to S. jiaviventris in the 

 plumage of the females being totally diiferent to that of the 

 adult males, which character is not known to occur in any 

 other member of the genus to anything like the same extent. 

 This indicates that their nearest ally is S. ftamventris, and not 

 the remarkably similar bird 8. imherhis, which latter belongs 

 to the 8. sulphuratus group in which the sexes are alike in 

 plumage. 



To account for this, I would suggest that they may be the 

 descendants of a pair of 8. flaviveniris imported from the Cape 

 of Good Hope to St. Helena, where the different conditions of 

 climate, food, &c., have had the effect of producing the shght 

 differences which distinguish 8. marshalli from 8. Jiaviventris. 

 Being extremely good songsters, they would be imported to 

 S. Africa as readily as they are to Europe, but in the former 

 country they would naturally become easily acclimatised and 



