24 NECTARINIJDJE. 



Cinnyris chalybea (Linn.'}. 



Cinnyris chalybaeus, Sharpe, ed. Layard, Birds S. Africa, p. 314 



(1875-84). 

 Cinnyris chalybeus, Shelley, Monogr. Nect. p. 253 (1876-80) ; id., Birds 



Afr. ii. p. 76 (1900). 

 Cinnvris chalybea, Gadow, Cat. Birds B. M. ix. p. 37 (1884) ; Sharpe, 



Hand-l. v. p. 48 (1906). 



An egg of the Lesser Double-collared Sun-bird is of a very 

 narrow oval form and devoid of gloss. The ground-colour is olive- 

 grey and it is streaked and mottled with olive-brown, the markings 

 forming a small and indistinct zone at the broader end of the egg. 

 It measures '65 by "42. 



A second specimen, of a wider oval form, has the same type of 

 markings, but the general colour is of a warm brown, and there 

 are a few small spots of darker brown scattered over the shell. It 

 measures -65 by -47. 



1. South Africa. E. L. Layard, Esq. [P.], 



1. South Africa (E. L. Layard : Crowley Bequest. 



Tristram Coll.). 



Genus CHALCOMITRA, Reichenb. 



Chalcomitra acik (Antin.). 



Cinnyris acik, Shelley, Monogr. Nect. p. 265 (1876-80) ; Gadow, Cat. 



Birds B. M. ix. p. 94 (1884). 

 Chalcomitra acik, bhelley, Birds Afr. ii. p. 90 (1900) ; Sharpe, Hand-l. 



v. p. 50 (1906). 



Eggs of the Acik Scarlet-chested Sun-bird vary in shape from a 

 regular oval to a pointed oval and are very slightly glossed. The 

 five odd eggs in the Collection represent two distinct types of 

 coloration. In the first the ground-colour varies from pinkish- 

 white to greenish-white, and the markings, which are scattered all 

 over the shell, are pale violet-grey and dark brown ; some of the 

 latter markings take the form of spots with blurred edges merging 

 into the ground-colour, while others form short irregular lines and 

 scrolls. In the second type the ground-colour is greenish-white, 

 and the whole surface of the shell is finely and thickly mottled 

 with dull olive-brown, or longitudinally smeared with cloudy 

 streaks of the same colour. They measure from *66 to '79 in 

 length, and from '48 to '53 in breadth. 



5. Busoga, British East Africa, F. J. Jackson, Esq. [C.]. 



May. 



Chalcomitra gutturalis (Linn.). 



Cinnyris gutturalis, Shelley, Monogr. Nect. p. 261 (1876-80) ; Gadow, 

 Cat. Birds B. M. ix. p. 91 (1884) ; Kuschel, J. f. O. 1895, p. 347 ; 

 Nehrk. Kat. Eiersamml. p. 78 (1899) j Marshall, Ibis, 1900, p. 236. 



