DICRURUS AFER 173 
Dicrurus mystaceus, Vieill. N. D. ix. p. 588 (1817) ex Levaill.; Tweed- 
dale, Ibis, 1878, p. 84. 
Dicrurus musicus, Vieill. N. D. ix. p. 586 (1817) Cape of Good Hope. 
Muscicapa divaricata, Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 52 (1823) Senegambia. 
Muscicapa emarginata, Licht. /.c. S. Africa. 
Kidolius lugubris, Hempr. and Ehr. Symb. Phys. fol. §, pl. 8, fig. 3 
(1828) Dongola. 
Dicrurus afer lugubris, Neum. J. f. O. 1905, p. 232 N.H. Africa. 
Dicrurus canipennis, Swains. B. W. Afr. i. p. 254 (1837). 
Diérurus aculeatus, Cass. Pr. Philad. Acad. 1851, p. 348 Abyssinia. 
Dicrurus erythrophthalmos, Heugl. J. f. O. 1862, p. 302 Abyssinia. 
Dicrurus fugax, Peters, J. f. O. 1868, p. 132 Inhambane. 
Dicrurus modestus atactus, Oberholser, Pr. U. S. Nat. Mus. xxv. p. 35 
(1900) Gold Coast. 
Dicrurus coracinus (non Verr.), Alexander, Ibis, 1902, p. 307; 1903, 
p. 859 Gold Coast. 
Adults. Black, with a nearly uniform gloss all over of green, blue or 
violet blue, varying in tint somewhat according to the season and climate ; 
under surface of wings dusky ash-colour, with the coverts black. Iris red ; 
bill and feet black. Total length 9:4 inches, culmen 0°85, wing 5:4, tail 
4:0 (depth of fork 0:9), tarsus 0'7. Durban 3 (T. L. Ayres). 
Immature. Differs from the adults in having white terminal edges to 
some of the feathers of the breast, under tail-coverts and outer wing-coyverts. 
Pinetown g, 20. 3.74 (Shelley). 
Nestling. Browner than the adults, with broad brownish white edges 
to the feathers of the forehead, front of crown, scapulars, wing-coverts, 
lower back, upper and under tail-coverts, and the breast. Milanji (A. 
Whyte). 
The African Glossy-backed Drongo ranges over Africa 
generally, southward from about 16° N. lat. 
The species is not only one of the most abundant of 
African birds, but is also one of the most evenly and widely 
distributed species; the mere list of the localities, from 
whence it has been recorded by ornithologists, filling more 
than a page of Dr. Reichenow’s “ Végel Afrikas.” I do not 
find any specially interesting notes regarding the species 
from West Africa. It is known to the natives of Liberia as 
the “Lala-we,” according to Mr. Currie, and on the labels 
of Anchieta’s specimens are recorded the following native 
names: “ Kinganja ” (Benguella), ‘“ Ganga” (Caconda), 
