592 MR. R. B. SHARPE ON THE CUCULIDjE [Julie 17, 



the back spreads and occupies the rufous cross bars, while it is also 

 apparent that the green bars on the tail, always irregular in shape, 

 merge and occupy the whole feather. Below, the metallic shade of 

 the spots becoming dimmed, the latter break up into frecklings and 

 streaks, and finally disappear ; but the bars on the sides become in- 

 tensified, and more boldly developed. The greater coverts, which 

 showed very slight indications of this change in the younger stage, 

 now become conspicuously marked with white. The dark green 

 portion of the outer tail-feather becomes much more pronounced 

 than in the former stage. The change in colour on the head from 

 cinnamon to purplish brown seems to take place by a moult, and not 

 by a change of plumage as in the rest of the upper surface. Whether 

 the full metallic dress is attained without any actual moult I have 

 no evidence to show ; but it seems to me by no means improbable. 



Adult. — Above metallic green, changing to golden green, some- 

 times with a coppery gloss, according to the light ; a streak down 

 the fore part of the head, and a distinct eyebrow, white ; ear-coverts 

 coppery green ; cheeks, sides of neck, and underparts white, the sides 

 of the body as well as the under wing- and tail-coverts barred, the 

 sides of vent streaked with dull metallic green ; wings metallic green 

 above, like the back, varying with the light, the inner greater wing- 

 coverts and the quills externally spotted with white, the primaries 

 more minutely ; under surface of quills ashy brown, with oval spots 

 or bars of white on the inner web ; lateral upper tail-coverts exter- 

 nally white ; tail metallic green, all except the two middle feathers 

 tipped with white, the outermost spotted with white on both webs, 

 vanishing towards the centre feathers ; " bill dusky above, horny be- 

 neath ; legs dusky ; iris and orbit scarlet " (Blanford). 



Total length 8 - 5 inches; culmen 0*7; wing 4-25 ; tail 3*4 ; tar- 

 sus - 65. 



Hab. N.E. Africa : Commonest of the Emerald Cuckoos, rarer 

 on Upper White Nile and Blue Nile, and only a few examples ob- 

 tained from Gondokoro and Fazogl. Appears early in rainy season, 

 and leaves in September and October (von Heuglin). W. Africa : 

 river Gambia (Mus. B. B. S.) ; Goree (Mus. Lisb.) ; Fantee 

 (Ussher); river Volta (Ussher); Cameroons (Crossley) ; Gaboon 

 (Verreaux); Kattenbella (Sala). S.W.Africa: Benguela (Mon- 

 teiro) ; Damara Land (Andersson). S.Africa: The Karroo ( Yic- 

 torin) ; Natal (Ayres) ; Traansvaal (Ayres). E. Africa : Zanzibar 

 (Kirk). 



No difference has been shown to exist between the sexes of this 

 little Cuckoo ; and it is quite probable therefore that the birds said 

 to be the females of 0. klaasi and C. smaragdineus are after all only 

 the young birds. 



10. CUCUI.US KLAASI. 



Le Coucou de Klaus, Levaill.Ois. d'Afr. v. p. 53, pi. 212 (1806); 

 Snndev. Crit. om Levaill. p. 47 (1 80S). 



Cucuhis klaasi, Steph. Geu. Zool. ix. pt. l,p. 12!) (1815); Gray, 

 Hand-1. B. ii. p. 218 (1870). 



