Mr. Iv. H. Sharpe on some African Birds. 2'.]7 



"Upper partd brown-grey, clashed lont^ltiulinally with a 

 dark brown; rinnp <;roeiiish yellow; eyebrows, chin, tlin Kit, 

 middle of belly, vi-nt, and nnder tail-eoverts Avhite ; breast 

 and sides of belly brown-grey ; quills and tail browni. Length 

 6 inches." 



That Sir Andrew Smith is allnding to the same bird in 

 both the above instances is clear from the fact that to both 

 descriptions he gives a note to the effect that, " although a 

 distinct species, it has been figured by Sir William Jardine 

 and 3Ir. Sclby as the young of Crithayra sxlphurata.'^ 



Genus Spermospiza. 

 4. Spermos])iza hcematina. 



Loxia ha^matina, Vieill. Oia. Chant, pi. 67 ( <? ad.) 



guttata, Vieill. Ois. Chant, pi. 08 ( $ sen.). 



Crimsun-hreaded Grosbeak, Lath. Gon. Syn. v. p. 222, pi. 88* (1822). 

 Coccothraustes guttata et hcematina, Bonn, et Vieill. Enc. M6th. iii. p. 1007 



(182.3). 

 FHiufilla pustulata, Voigt, ed. Cuv. Thien-. i. p. 222 (1830). 

 Spcrmnphaqa ci/anorhinchus, Swains. B. of VV. Air. i, p. 164 (1837) ; 



Janl. Contr. "Ora. 1840, p. t). 



hcematina, Jard. & Selby, 111. Oni. n. .?. i. pi. 11 (1837). 



Spermoapiza hatnaii/ta, Grav, Gen. of B. ii. p. 3o() (1844) ; llartl. Abhandl. 



Naturw. Ilamb. ii. p. 31 (1852), et J. f. O. 18o4, p. 115, et 1855, p. 301 ; 



Cass. Proc. Phil. Acad. 18^58, p. 137 ; Heine, J. f. O. 1801, p. 142 ; 



Hartl. J. f. O. 1801, p. 257; Gray, IIand-1. of 13. ii. p. 49 (1870) ; 



Shai-pe, Cat. Afr. B. p. 08 (1871). 

 fluttata, Hartl. J. f. O. 1854, p. 115, et 1855. p. 301 ; Cass. Proc. Phil. 



Acad. 1858, p. 137 ; Heine, J. f. O. 1801, p. 142 ; Hartl. J. f O. 1801, 



p. 257; Shar]5e, Ihis, 1809, p. 384; Gray, Hand-1. of B. ii. p. 49 (1870). 



Both S. hfvmatina and ;S^. guttata were figured by Vieillot 

 originally as different species, as indeed they would appear to 

 any one at first sight to be — the former bird having a black 

 rump, while the latter has a beautiful crimson rump and 

 a spotted breast. It was, however, afterwards discovered 

 that the latter bird was a female, and that the male was 

 jet-black on the breast and upper surface of the body. To 

 S. ho'inatiyia, however, no female has ever been discovered, 

 and Dr. Hartlaub, in his standard work on the Birds of 

 Western Africa, says, " Foem. ignota." But, on looking 

 through the large series of these birds in my collection, I was 

 able to solve the mystery; for I am now in a position to de- 

 clare that S. hoimatina is nothing but the perfectly adult male 

 of S. guttata. The males, before they get fully adult, have 

 black rumps ; and the crimson colour is only gradually as- 

 sumed ; for I have now before me examples in Avhich there is 

 no trace of crimson on the rump, some where a slight lustre 



Ann. d: Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 4. Vol viii. 18 



