Birds from Southern Abyssinia. 591 



every part of southern Abyssinia visited by Zapliiro, and 

 he obtained a hirge series during tlie greater part of the year, 

 but between the 15th of November and the 24th of April 

 little collecting seems to have been donCj and no speci- 

 mens of this bird \>ere obtained. This was unfortunate, as 

 tlie males shot in the middle of November were just 

 beginning to assume an eclipse-plumage on the head and 

 throat, somewhat similar to that of the female : other males 

 killed on the 21th of April are all in full plumage. This 

 bears out exactly the observations made by Shelley on birds 

 of this species collected by Antinori and Ragazzi. Im- 

 mature males obtained in June resemble the female in 

 general appearance, but the middle of the breast aiul abdo- 

 men is distinctly greyer and less yellowish and the metallic 

 feathers of the adult are making their appearance on the 

 throat, back, rump, and lesser wing-coverts. 



1 have already pointed out [Trans. Zool. Soc. xix. p. 316 

 (1910)] that iniV. cupreonitens, I had good reason to believe 

 that the males did not assume an eclipse-plumage, as was 

 apparently proved by the collections made in South Africa 

 by Mr. Claude Grant which contained fuU-plumaged males 

 killed during every month of the year. 



103. CiNNVRIS CUPREUS. 



Cinnyris cupreus (Shaw) ; Shelley, ii. p. 36 (1900) ; Neu- 

 mann, J. f. O. 1906, p. 251. 



A series of the Common Copper-coloured Sunbird was 

 procured in April and May, mostly between *the Gibbe River 

 and the Charada Forest, KafFa. Two of the males shot on 

 the 28th of April and the 7th of May are partially in adult 

 plumage. 



104. Cinnyris habessinicus. 



Cinnyris habessinicus (H. & E.) ; Shelley, ii. p. 46 (1900) ; 

 Reichenow, iii. p. 484 (1905). 



The Abyssinian Splendid Sunbird was met with near Lake 

 Helene in February and at the north end of Lakes Rudolf 

 and Stefanie in August. The British Museum possesses 

 examples of this species, in the plumage described by RiippcU 



