VIOLET CREEPER. 209 



part of the breast green-gold, with a changeable 

 gloss of violet, especially on the breast : across the 

 lower part of the breast a reddish-chesnut bar, 

 and immediately beneath that a brown one : belly 

 pale yellow: wings and tail brown: beneath the 

 wings a yellow tuft. Native of Madagascar. The 

 female is said to be somewhat smaller than the 

 male, of an olive-brown above, and olive-yellow 

 beneath. Monsieur Montbeillard, in Buffon's Or- 

 nithology, mentions a variety of this species, in 

 which the throat, neck, and breast are steel-blue, 

 with green reflexions, and in which the bands are 

 four in number, viz. the lowest violet-black, the 

 next marroon, the third brown, and the fourth 

 yellow. In the Gmelinian edition of the Systema 

 Naturae it is considered as a distinct species, under 

 the name of Certhia Manillensis. It may be added, 

 that the Violet Creeper seems so nearly allied to the 

 Certhia chalybea or Collared Creeper, as to leave a 

 doubt whether it may not belong to the same 

 species. 



V. VIII. P. Jr 14 



