I 



I 



-^ Fauna : Birds 



of the skull. The breast in both sexes is pure white, and the 

 rest of the plumage is very dark bluish or brownish grey, with 

 fine whitish vermiculations. There are no round spots, as in 

 the typical guinea-fowl. The feet are armed with short, stout 

 spurs in the male. The feet are rather large proportionately to 

 the body, and are of a greenish grey. This bird seems to go 

 about in pairs rather than in companies, and is exceedingly shy. 

 It is found, nevertheless, throughout all the forest region of 

 Liberia. The painting opposite p. 370 is done from specimens 

 obtained by Mr. Harold Reynolds in 1904. The other Liberian 

 guinea-fowl is the common crested guinea-fowl {Guttera cristata), 

 with its partially bare neck and face of slaty grey ; its silky 

 black crest, black breast, white pinions, and rest of body bluish 

 grey boldly spotted with white. 



At the present time only three francolins out of the many 

 African species have been recorded in Liberia in the forest 

 region. These are Latham's francolin (Francolinus lalhami), 

 rather boldly marked on the face, breast, and back with black 

 and white (the female usually has brown where the male is 

 black) ; the Ahanta francolin (F. ahantensis), upper parts brown 

 or blackish brown, throat white, under-parts pale brown with 

 white and black striations ; and the two- spurred francolin 

 (F. bkalcaratus), which is of a ruddier brown in parts, with a 

 white throat and chest, and black streaks on the face. This 

 species, of course, is easily distinguished by its two spurs. 



The Americo-Liberians call the francolins " guinea-fowl " 

 with singular inconsistence, seeing that true guinea-fowl are 

 found in Liberia. 



The Liberian pigeons include the common fruit-eating 

 treron (^Vinago calvci), whose plumage of grey, olive, bright 

 yellow, purple, cinnamon, and black accords strikingly with the 

 colours of the leaves and branches ; one, if not two species of 



759 



