280 NECTARINIID^ CINNYRIS 



Nectarinia bifasciata, Jardine, Monoc/r. Sunbirds, pp. 174, 250, pi. iv 

 (1843) ; Layard, B. S. Afr. p. 77 (1867) ; Chapman, Trav. 8. Afr. 

 App. p. 407 (1868) ; Holub and Pelzeln, Orn. Siidajr. p. 73 (1882). 



Cinnyris bifasciata, Gurney in Andersson's B. Damara Land, p. 70 



(1872). 



Description. Adult male. Entire head, throat, neck, back, 

 upper tail and lessee and middle wing-coverts metallic golden-green, 

 shot with copper-colour on the head, neck, scapulars and lesser 

 wing-coverts ; greater wing-coverts and quills brown-black ; tail 

 black glossed with brown ; in front of eye a patch of velvety black ; 

 below the green throat a narrow band of steel-blue followed by a 

 broad belt of dark scarlet, many of the feathers edged with steel- 

 blue ; rest of under surface of body and wing black, some of the 

 outer under wing-coverts edged with steel-green. 



Trides dark brown ; bill, legs and feet black. 

 . Length 5-20; wing 2-75 ; tail 2-10 ; tarsus 0'70; culmen 0-85. 



Adult female. Above, ash-brown, the upper tail- coverts black 

 broadly tipped with pale brown ; wings dark brown, the feathers 

 edged with paler brown ; tail greenish-black, the two outer feathers 

 edged externally and tipped with white ; crown and sides of face 

 ash brown ; eyebrow and cheeks white ; a black streak between eye 

 and bill ; below dull white, shaded with brown on the sides, with 

 yellow on the centre of breast and abdomen, the feathers of the 

 lower throat, upper breast and under tail-coverts mottled with 

 large brown centres ; under wing-coverts mottled brown and white. 



Iris dark brown ; bill, legs and feet black. 



Length 4-75 ; wing 2-45 ; tail 1-95 ; tarsus 0-70 ; culmen 0-80. 



"Young. Eesembles the female in plumage. 



Distribution. Confined to South Africa. It has not been 

 recorded from Cape Colony or Natal, but has been obtained at 

 Ulundi and Eschowe in Zululand, by Messrs. Woodward. In the 

 Transvaal it is a common species, the commonest Sunbird, accord- 

 ing to Mr. Buckley, from Pretoria to Matabililand. Sir A. Smith 

 collected specimens at Kurricbain and it occurs throughout Matabili 

 and Mashonalands, ranging as far north as the Zambesi. It is 

 found near Lake Ngami and is very common in Ondongo and not 

 uncommon in Damara Land, according to Andersson. 



Habits. Mr. Ayres writes in "The Ibis "for 1871, p. 150 : "This 

 lovely little bird I first shot at some distance from the river 

 Limpopo, during the month of July. I found several feeding 

 amongst some aloes, but they were shy and difficult to obtain, 



