186 



CRIMSON-CROWNED WEAVER. 



Euplectes flammicepS) SWAINS. 

 PLATE XIII. 



Crimson; ears, sides of the head, chin and body beneath, 

 velvet-black ; crown, red ; wings and tail, blackish. 



WE can find no account of this rare and apparently 

 new species. It is almost as beautiful as the last, 

 and long has been in our museum as a reputed native 

 of Senegal. We have no doubt of such being the 

 fact, because the skin is prepared in precisely the 

 same manner (which is altogether peculiar) as those 

 we have recently received from that country. 



A glance at the specific description will at once 

 show in what manner this species differs from E. 

 ignicolor^ although both are coloured with the same 

 tints. The black on the sides of the head and ears 

 does not, as on the last, extend to the front, but 

 envelopes the chin ; this latter part in E. ignicolor 

 being scarlet. The wings also, and their covers, 

 both above and beneath, are entirely black ; while 

 the tail, which is nearly even, is also black and is 

 fully one inch longer than the covers. In both 

 species the black on the under parts of the body are 

 the same, but the thighs and the basal half of the 



