164 Mr. R. B. Sharpe on the 



with white, so as to form a conspicuous alar bar ; quills brown, 

 the secondaries darker and more inclining to blackish, the 

 outer ones bordered with white, forming a narrow white line 

 continuous with the alar bar above mentioned ; tail-feathers 

 black, obsoletely tipped with white, the two outermost feathers 

 broadly bordered and tipped with white; under surface of 

 body white, with a broad pectoral band of glossy blue-black 

 feathers, the flanks also mottled with black; under wing- 

 coverts black, the lower ones and the inner lining of the quills 

 white ; bill and feet black. Total length 3*8 inches, culmen 

 05, wing 22, tail 1*6, tarsus 0*65. 



Adult female. Differs from the male chiefly in having the 

 pectoral band deep chestnut instead of black ; a slight tinge 

 of rusty colour is also apparent below the nuchal spot. 



Young. Immature birds generally have the wing-coverts 

 tinged with rusty. Young males at first resemble the old 

 female, and afterwards gradually assume the black band on 

 the breast. A specimen from Casamanze in my collection 

 resembles the adult male except in having the back clear 

 brownish grey, with a decided fulvous tinge on the intersca- 

 pulary region. Another bird, still younger, in the museum 

 is olive-brown above, darker on the head, where it is begin- 

 ning to get black ; all the black parts of the plumage are 

 much tinged with brown, and the white markings obscured 

 by a wash of pale rusty fulvous ; the outer tail-feather is ob- 

 liquely white towards the tip. 



Hab. W. Africa, Senegambia to the Gold Coast; N. E. 

 Africa, Sennaar {Mm. Brit.). 



Buffon, in the ' Planches Enluminees/ seems to have bor- 

 rowed his figures from those of Brisson, and to have copied that 

 of the female so badly as to render it almost unrecognizable. 

 My list of synonyms is very meagre compared with the long 

 array usually credited to this species ; but I believe that they 

 are at least trustworthy. The so recent recognition of two 

 species in North-eastern Africa precludes me from drawing 

 up a proper account of their geographical range in that part 

 of the continent; but my impression is, that the true B. 

 senegalensis is a more southern bird ; for I have seen many 



