130 



FIRE-BACKED SUNBIRD. 



Cinnyris erythronotus, SWAINS. 

 PLATE XV. 



Head, neck, and breast, copper coloured ; lesser wing-covers, 

 back, and rump, red glossed with purple *, wings, tail, and 

 body beneath, deep black. 



Le Soui-manga rouge-dore*, Vieill. Ois. d'Or. ii. 60, pi. 27. 

 Certhia rubro-fusca, Shaw, Auctorum. 



E have very little doubt that the bird we shall 

 now describe is the same as that, above referred to, 

 in the splendid work of M. Vieillot ; the description 

 there given, although very short, is quite applicable, 

 when it is considered that the only specimen he 

 saw had been injured by time and fumigation. Dr. 

 Shaw merely copies Yieillot' s account, and gave the 

 bird the scientific name of rubro-fusca, an appella- 

 tion quite erroneous, since there is no brown what- 

 ever in the plumage ; the true colour of the body, 

 wings, and tail, being deep black. Two fine spe- 

 cimens, sent from Senegal, enable us to describe 

 its colours when in perfection. 



In size, this is the smallest species of any con- 

 tained in our list, for it measures only four inches 

 and three-quarters ; it is also the only one which 

 does not possess any tinge or shade of green. Ne- 



