SYNOPSIS. 



GENUS NECTARINIA, ILLIGER. 



NECTARINIA, Illiger, 1811 " OKRTHTA, Linnaeus = MELLI- 

 SUGA, Vieillot, 1816 = CIXXYRIS, Cuvier, 1817.* 



GEN. CHARACTERS. Bill slender, curved, very fine and acute 

 at the tip, dilated at the base, edges of the maxilla fold- 

 ing over the mandible, mandible narrow in depth at the 

 base, edges of both minutely and regularly denticulated ; 

 tongue lengthened, slender, with a shortly bifid fringed 

 apex, the edges for the whole length turned over in- 

 wards, forming a double tube ; wings, with the third 

 quill longest, first short, nearly spurious; tail even, 

 lengthened and much graduated, or with the two centre 

 feathers only elongated ; tarsi and feet fully developed, 

 the hallux lengthened and with its claw proportionally 

 strong. Types, N.famosa, chalybea, aineihystina^ lotcnia 



Note. India and Africa, principally within the tro- 

 pics. Colours of the plumage brilliant ; often with 

 metallic lustre. 



SPECIES WHICH HAVE BEEN EXAMINED. 



N. AFRA, Linnseus, 1766. 



CertUa afra, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 186, 1766 f ; Gm. Linn. 

 i. p. 476 (syn. exc.) ; Lath. Ind. Orn. i. p. 286 (syn. 

 exc.) ; Shaw, Gen. Zool. viii. p. 1 92 (syn. exc.). Cm- 

 nyris smaragdinus, Vieill. Enc. Method. Orn. p. 595 



* We here use the signs proposed by Mr. Strickland : 

 ^ less than, = equal to, ~^- greater than. 

 f Edit. 12 is quoted throughout, 



