160 SPERMESTES FRINGILLOIDES 
Type. 
Spermestes, Swains. Class. B. ii. p. 280 (1837) . . . S. cucullatus. 
Lepidopygia, Reichenb. Singv. p. 48 sere Se en er Se LOTER: 
Amaurestes, Reichenb. t.c.p.86 . . ee ee SEN PegUlatdes. 
The genus is confined to the Ethiopian region and comprises seven 
species, of which one is restricted to the island of Madagascar. These bir 
ds 
are well known as Mannikins, and I include under that English name the 
two species of Ortygospiza and the one of Nesocharis. 
KEY TO THE SPECIES. 
a. Breast and under tail-coverts mostly pure white in adults. 
Sexes alike in plumage. 
a’, Entire head glossy black ; no bars on under tail-coverts. 
a?, Rump and upper tail-coverts entirely black. 
a®, Bill larger, culmen as long as the tarsus ; back and 
wings brown; some clear white streaks on the 
wing-coverts:) «+a. «© - = « + «© © =) ©  prinoillomes seen 
b8, Bill smaller. Wing, above black, with a few minute 
white spots on the secondaries. 
a+. Only 2 to 6 white spots on the wing. . . . . bicolor. /62 
b+. About 12 white spots on the wing. . . punctatus. ) | >, 
b2. With white bars on the rump and basal half of ie 
quills. 
c’, Mantle black 
ad’, Mantle chestnut . 
poensis. | | | 
migriceps. | (, 4, 
b1, Head bronze ; under tail-cov a pared eee parce 
brown. 
c2. A glossy green patch on sides of chest . . . . . cucullatus. | 
d?, No green patch on sides of chest . . . . . . . scutatus. IZ 
b. Breast and under tail-coverts buff or brown. 
ct, Under tail coverts earth brown, with buff terminal edges. 
e2, Chin and upper throat black. . . . . . . . . nana, f ad.')¥ 
f?. No black on chin or upper throat .. ... . . mama, ?. 
d+, No bars on under tail-coverts . . . . . Young of all the species. 
Spermestes fringilloides. 
Ploceus fringilloides, Lafr. Mag. Zool. 1835, pl. 48. 
Spermestes fringilloides, Shelley, B. Afr. I. No. 380 (1896). 
Amaurestes fringilloides, Sharpe, Cat. B. M. xiii. p. 267 (1890); Butler, 
Foreign Finches in Captivity, p. 254, pl. 45 (1894) ; Nehrkorn, Kat, 
Hiers, p. 125 (1899) egg ; Reichen, Vog. Afr. iii. p. 155 (1904), 
