of the Ethiopian Region. 419 



with grey, the bases of the feathers being of the latter colour ; 

 the centre of the abdomen tinged with scarlet ; under wing- 

 coverts light greenish, barred with dusky brown ; " upper 

 mandible dusky, the under one pale ashy ; tarsi and feet 

 greenish ashy ; iris dusky " [F. A . Barratt) ; " iris reddish 

 liazeP' [T. C. Atmore). Total length 7'Q inches, culmen 

 1'2, wing 4'4, tail 3*0, tarsus 0*8 ; toes (without claws) — outer 

 anterior 0*55, outer posterior 0"6, inner anterior 0*4, inner 

 posterior 0"25. 



Adult female. Resembling the adult male, but rather 

 smaller, and having the head grey ; the scarlet on the breast 

 also absent ; and a very slight trace of this colour on the 

 centre of the abdomen. Total length 7*5 inches, culmen 1*1, 

 wing 4"2, tail 2*75, tarsus 0*8. 



In some of the skins examined traces of small white spots 

 on the under surface of the tail are discernible. In some 

 birds also there is no trace of the scarlet tinge on the breast 

 or abdomen ; these are probably younger males. 



The range of this species may be briefly stated to be the 

 Cape Colony and Natal, extending into the Eastern Trans- 

 vaal. Its distribution is given more particularly in Mr. 

 Sharpens edition of Layard^s * Birds of South Africa.^ 



6. Mesopicus pyrrhogaster. 



Picus [Chloropicus) pyrrhogaster, Malh. Rev. Zool. 1845, 

 p. 399. 



Dendrobates pijrrhogaster, Gray, Gen. B. iii. App. p. 21 

 (1849) ; Hartl. J. f. O. 1854, pp. 201, 433. 



Chloropicus pyrrhogaster, Bp. Consp. Gen. Av. i. p. 126 

 (1850). 



Scolecotheres pyrrhogaster, Reichenb. Handb. Scans. Picinaj, 

 p. 428 (1854). 



Mesopicus pyrrhogaster, Bp. Consp. Volucr. Zygod. p. 9 

 (1854) ; Malh. Monogr. Ficid. ii. p. 41^ pi. viii. figs. 9 & 10 

 (1862). 



Dendropicus {Mesopicus) pyrrhogaster, Hartl. Orn. W.Arr. 

 p. 180(1857). 



Dendropicus pyrrhogaster, Cassin, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. 



