108 BIEDS OF TUNISIA 



LIGURINUS CHLORIS AURANTIIYENTRIS (Cabams). 

 NORTH AFRICAN GREENFINCH. 



Ligurinus aurantiiyentris, Cabanis, Mus. Hein. Th. i, p. 158 (1850) ; 



Whitaher, Ibis, 1894, p. 90. 

 ChloFospiza aurantiiyentris, Loche, Expl. Sci. Alcj. Ois. i, p. 151 (1867). 

 Chloris chloris aurantiiyentris, Erlanger, J. f. 0. 1899, p. 468. 



Description. — Adult male, spring, from Oglet-Zelles, South Tunisia. 



Differs from L. chloris (L.) in being much more brightly coloured, the 

 upper parts being uniform and pure bright yellowish-green, without any 

 trace of brown, while the underparts are also much brighter, particularly 

 the abdomen, crissum and under tail-coverts. The bill is also rather larger, 

 stouter and more wedge-shaped than in typical L. chloris. 



Soft parts and general measurements as in L. chloris. 



Adult female greyer and paler in coloration than the female of L. chloris. 



Although many ornithologists are opposed to the idea of separating 

 the North African Greenfinch from our European bird, there is no 

 doubt that there is a considerable and a constant difference between 

 the two, and one which appears quite sufficient to justify their sub- 

 specific separation. Admitting this, we come then to the question as 

 to whether the North African Greenfinch can rightly be referred to 

 L. aurantilventris (Cab.), by which name it has of late years gener- 

 ally been known, or to some other described form of Greenfinch. 

 L. aurantilventris was based by Dr. Cabanis (Mus. Hein. i, p. 158) on 

 a specimen from the south of France, the type being in the Berlin 

 Museum, but whether this, or any of the other names given, can 

 stand, or whether they do not merely, one and all, refer to brightly 

 coloured examples of L. chloris (L.), I am not in a position to say, 

 having never examined the type specimens. Under the circumstances, 

 therefore, I consider it advisable to retain the name of L. aurantii- 

 ventris (Cab.) for the North African Greenfinch, making a subspecies 

 of it. At the same time, however, I feel bound to remark that although 

 I have seen many brightly coloured examples of the Greenfinch from 

 South France, Spain and Italy, I have never yet seen one perfectly 

 identical with birds from North Africa. The latter are, moreover, so 

 far as my experience goes, perfectly constant in their colouring, and 

 in this respect differ from their European congeners, which vary 

 greatly amongst themselves. 



