646 MR. R. B. SHARPE ON THE [Nov. 17, 



ashy brown, distinctly edged and tipped with white ; quills dark 

 brown, the primaries narrowly margined with sandy buff and tipped 

 with whitish, the secondaries broadly edged with fawn-colour exactly 

 like the wing-coverts ; rump coloured like the back ; upper tail- 

 coverts dark brown, tipped and margined with fulvous, and washed 

 with fawn-colour near the base ; tail-feathers blackish, distinctly 

 margined with sandy fawn-colour and tipped with whitish, the 

 borders of the two centre feathers and the external one the broadest ; 

 a very distinct eyebrow white ; feathers in front of the eye blackish, 

 with a line of white feathers under the latter ; ear-coverts sandy 

 fawn-colour, darker on the upper margin, and streaked with fulvous ; 

 cheeks buffy white, spotted with black, and forming a moustache on 

 each side of the throat, which is buffy white and unspotted, except- 

 ing a few blackish spots on the lower part; rest of the under surface 

 isabelline sand-colour, the chest plainly covered with triangular spots 

 of dark brown, some of the spots inclining to rufous ; sides of the 

 body streaked, and the flanks washed with sandy rufous; under wing- 

 coverts ashy, with broad whitish margins, some of them washed with 

 sandy colour ; the inner lining of wing light ashy brown, inclining 

 to pale isabelline near the base of the inner web ; " upper mandible 

 and tip of lower one light reddish brown, rest of the lower one sienna- 

 yellow ; legs, toes, and claws sienna-yellow, tinted with flesh-red ; 

 claws faintly shaded with light reddish brown" (Sir A. Smith). 

 Total length 5 - 8 inches, culmen 055, wing 3*3, tail 2 - 4, tarsus 0"9. 



Adult female. Similar to the male. Total length 5 - 5 inches, 

 culmen 06, wing 3*25, tail 2'25, tarsus - 9 (mus. H. B. Tristram). 



Hab. North-eastern districts of the Cape colony, ranging into the 

 Transvaal. 



The summer plumage is different from the winter dress only in 

 being much darker by reason of the absence of light margins to the 

 feathers of the upper surface, which is also much more rufous ; un- 

 derneath the chest is washed with rufous, and the black spots are 

 more distinct ; the inner lining of the wing is also deeper and more 

 leaden grey. 



Specimens examined. 



E mus. Brit. : — a. South Africa, lat. 54° (Sir A. Smith), b, c. 

 South Africa (Sir A. Smith), d, d ad. Transvaal, July 10th, 

 1873 (T. E. Buckley). 



E mus. R. B. S. : — a, d ad. Transvaal (T. Ay res). 



E mus. H. B. Tristram: — a, b, c, d $ . Transvaal (Ayres). 



18. MlRAFRA N^VIA. 



Alauda ncevia, Strickl. Contr. Orn. 1852, p. 152; Gray, Hand-1. 

 ii. p. 118 (1870) ; Sharpe, Cat. Afr. B. p. 72 (1871) ; Giebel, Thes. 

 Orn. p. 298 (1872). 



Alauda sabota, Giebel, Thes. Orn. p. 300 (1872). 



Megalophonus sabota, Gurney, in Anderss. B. Dam. Ld p. 195 

 (1872). 



Megalophonus ncevius, Gurney, t. c. p. 199 (1872).. 



Adult male in summer plumage. Above sandy rufous, with dark 



