of the Ethiopian Region. 421 



also the bases of the feathers of the crown ; side of the face, 

 neck, and throat white, with a slight buffy tinge ; lower neck 

 and chest buffy white, some of the feathers having a shaft- 

 streak of black, others with the inner webs black, and a few 

 being tipped with bright crimson ; middle of the breast and 

 abdomen dusky olive, with brighter olive tips to some of the 

 feathers, and a few with dull crimson terminal margins ; 

 remainder of the underparts whitish, streaked and barred 

 with dusky olive ; the feathers of the back, also the greater 

 wing-coverts, tinged with crimson at their extremities ; the 

 rest of the plumage similar to the adult, but less brilliant. 



This is a very distinct and easily recognizable species, and 

 is apparently confined to West Africa between Sierra Leone 

 and the Gold Coast, being by no means uncommon in col- 

 lections from the latter locality. Afzelius procured it at 

 Sierra Leone, and Dr. McDowell found it on St. Paul's river. 

 Mr. H. F. Blissett collected it in Wassaw (Wasa). Governor 

 Ussher received several specimens from Denkera, in the 

 interior of Fantee; and Pel forwarded specimens from 

 Ashantee to the Leiden Museum. 



In some of the males (apparently young birds) there are 

 slight traces of spots on the outer webs of some of the 

 secondaries. 



7. Mesopicus xantholophus. 



Dendromus africanus, Cass. Pr. Philad. Acad. 1859, p. 141 

 {nee Gray) ; Heine, J. f. O. 1860, p. 192. 



Dendropicus africanus, Hartl. J. f. 0. 1861, p. 263 ; Cassin, 

 Proc. Acad. Philad. 1863, p. 322; Sharpe & Bouvier, Bull. 

 Soc. Zool. France, 1876, p. 312. 



Pious africanus, Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. no. xx. 1876, p. 259. 



Dendrobates africanus, Bocage, Orn. Ang. 1877, App. 

 p. 536. 



Dendropicus xantholophus, Hargitt, Ibis, 1883, p. 173. 



Adult female. Above, including scapulars, rump, and 

 upper tail-coverts, olive, the feathers of the rump edged with 

 yellow, those of the interscapular region sparingly spotted with 

 dull white ; wing-covcrts olive, sparingly spotted with white ; 



