246 Mr. D. A. Bannerman on a Collection of 



see whether certain examples originally had the under tail- 

 coverts yellow or white. In every recently-killed specimen 

 from the N.W. Coast these feathers are bright yellow, as in 

 the breast, whereas birds collected at about the same time 

 in S. Africa shew no trace of yellow at all on the under tail- 

 coverts. This character will doubtless prove to be constant ; 

 the emerald green bauds on the under tail-feathers appear to 

 vary individually. 



A third character which will be noticed on examination of 

 a series of both forms, is that the scale-like feathers on the 

 upper parts of C. smaragdineus are noticeably larger than 

 in C. s. intermedius. 



It will be noticed that IMr. Lowe obtained his two 

 examples in Liberia and the Gold Coast at a season when 

 C. intermedius has returned from the north in order to 

 spend the southern summer (October to March) in South 

 Africa : cf. Stark & Sclater, Faun. S. Africa, vol. iii. p. 186. 



C. smaraydineus intermedius will probably be found to 

 migrate on the East Coast as far north as Uganda, although 

 many more data are necessary before its exact range can be 

 determined. 



The credit for noticing the ditterence between the 

 Northern and Southern form is entirely due to Mr. Lowe, 

 who remarked the yellow^ under tail-coverts as soon as he 

 had shot the first example, and brought the interesting fact 

 to my notice. 



C smuraydineiis is not included in Mr. Chubb's List of the 

 Birds found in Liberia, and must now be added on Mr. Lowe's 

 authority. 



[This handsome Cuckoo appears to be rare in Liberia and 

 the Gold Coast. It is seldom seen, and I found it to be 

 very retiring. The male sings from the top of a lofty tree, 

 as in South Africa. — W. P. L.] 



Note. — Dr. Reichenow has introduced a new generic 

 name, Metallococcyx, for this species Orn. Monatsb. 1896, 

 p. 54). However, careful investigation shews that C. smarag- 

 dineus is absolutely the type of Bole's genus Chrysococcyx. 

 Boie (Isis, 1826, p. 977) proposed Chrysococcyx for Cuculus 

 cupreus Lath. By monotypy, therefore, this must be accepted 



