100 INTRODUCTION. 



South Africa : there are five species, two of which 

 are found at the Cape. The wood-chat is precisely 

 the same as ours ; but the singular genus prionops 

 is peculiar to the western countries*. 



Senegal appears the chief metropolis of the widau 

 finches, the males of which, during the breeding 

 season, are decorated with very long feathers in 

 their tail; out of this species, four are natives of 

 this country, while the splendid Lamprotorni or 

 starling grakes, although dispersed as far as the 

 Cape, appear to make Senegal their true place of 

 residence. The sun-birds are certainly more abun- 

 dant here than in the south, while their range 

 appears not to extend so far as the Barbary coast : 

 they represent the humming-birds of the New 

 World, and seem, like them, to congregate most 

 in those countries which are the hottest. The 

 distribution of these charming birds in a longitudinal 

 direction, extends only to the Cape, but is spread 

 laterally to India and its islands; they disappear 

 very suddenly towards the limits of Northern Africa, 

 since only one species appears to have been met 

 with by Riippell. 



Western Africa, again, is almost the peculiar 

 region of one of the most lovely and interesting 

 families, small in the number of the species, but 

 splendid in colouring and peculiarly interesting from 

 their structure. We allude to the M.usophagidw or 

 plantain-eaters, in which group we comprehend also 



* Riippell describes a prionops from Northern Africa. 

 EDITOR. 



