189 



OLIVE-BACKED SUN-BIRD. 



Nectarinia cyanocephala, SHAW. 

 PLATE X. 



DR. WILLIAM FERGUSSON, some years since, sent 

 us both sexes of this species from the vicinity of 

 Sierra Leone, and we refer them without hesita- 

 tion to the " Soui-manga a tete blue" and the " Soui- 

 manga vert et gris" of Yieillot, Oiseaux dores, 

 pi. vn. and xxv. ; the first as the male, the latter 

 as the female. The male is in length five inches 

 and a half; the female about a quarter of an inch 

 shorter. In the first sex, the head, throat, neck, 

 and upper part of the breast are deep black, having 

 the tips of each feather broadly banded with a rich 

 and dark metallic bluish-green, giving to those 

 parts an almost entire tint of the latter colour, 

 which varies with every shade of light, and in 

 some positions is coloured with steel-blue reflec- 

 tions, particularly upon the breast. The upper 

 parts, including the edges of the feathers of the 

 wings and tail, are yellowish olive, or a clear yel- 

 lowish oil-green, without any reflected lights ; the 

 wings and tail are pale umber-brown ; the lower 

 part of the breast, belly, and vent are of a uniform 

 tint of brocoli-brown, and from each axilla spring 



