590 MR. R. B SHARPK ON THE CUCULID.E [ June 17, 



outer web ; tail as iu adult, but not so broadly tipped ; throat and 

 tore neck as well as under wing-coverts rich ochre ; rest of under 

 surface white, washed with ochre, the outer face of the thighs dusky 

 brown. 



Whether the female always differs, as I have described, in having 

 a tinge of rufous on the primaries, I cannot say for certain, but such 

 has been my experience in a large series of carefully sexed specimens. 

 As, however, the amount of rufous varies, being sometimes more, 

 sometimes less, it may not improbably be the remains of the rufous 

 wing of the young bird. 



Hab. N.E. Africa: Egypt {Shelley); common everywhere, 

 found along the whole Nile valley to the Gazelle River and Djur, 

 also in Bogos, Quola of Abyssinia, and on the Danakil and Somali 

 coasts, as well as in most parts of Arabia — apparently resident {Von 

 Heuylin); Kordofan {Petherick). W. Africa: river Gambia 

 (Mas. R. B. S.); Kasamanze and Bissao (Verreaux) ; Cape Coast, 

 Dec. 1869 {Hinde). S.W. Africa : Ovampo {Andersson) ; Damara 

 Land and Okavango river (Andersson); Windvogelberg {Bulger); 

 lvaffraria {Layard) ; Port Elizabeth {Mus. R. B. S.). 



2. COCCYSTES CAFER. 



Cuculus cafer, Licht. Cat. Rer. Nat. Hamb. p. 14 (1/93). 



Voriete du Coucou Edolio, Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. v. p. 44, pi. 209 

 ('.806); Sundev. Crit. om Levaill. p. 47 (1858). 



Cuculus qfer, Leach, Zool. Misc. p. 72, pi. 31 ( 1814) ; Steph. Gen. 

 Zool.ix. p. 115, pi. 24(1815). 



Coccyzus levaillantii,S\v. Zool. lllustr. 2nd ser. pi. 13 (1829). 



Cuculus levaillantii, Less. Traite, p. 148 (1831). 



Oxylopkus vaillantii, Sw. B. of W. Afr. ii. p. 182 (1837). 



O.rylophus ater, Riipp. Syst. Uebers. p. 96 (1845) ; Bp. Consp. i. 

 p. 102(1850); Hard. Om. W. Afr. p. 188(1857). 



Oxylophus afer, Gray, Gen. B. ii. p. 464 (1847); Heugl. Syst. 

 Uebers. p. 48(1856); Layard, B. S. Afr. p. 253(1867); Heugl. Om. 

 N. O. Afr. p. 790 (1870); Blanf. Geol. & Zool. Abyss, p. 312 (1870); 

 Finsch, Tr. Z. S. vii. p. 285 (1870). 



Coccystes afer, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. p. 48 (1862) ; 

 Schl. Mus. P.-B., C'ucu/i, p. 44 (1864). 



Coccystes coffer, Sharpe, Ibis, 1870, p. 58 ; Gray, Hand-1. B. ii. 

 p. 220(1870); Sharpe, Cat. Afr. B, p. 13(1871). 



Oxylophus coffer, Gurnev, ed. Anderss. B. Dam. Ld. p. 225 

 (1872). 



Adult male. Above shining greenish black, the head deeper black 

 and ornamented with a long crest of lanceolate feathers ; lores and 

 ear-coverts dull black ; quills brown, the inner webs white at the 

 base, the primaries also externally white at the base, causing a large 

 alar speculum, the inner secondaries greenish black like the back ; 

 tail greenish black like the rest of upper surface, broadly tipped with 

 white, the inner webs showing somewhat of a purple tinge ; under 

 surface of body buffy white, the feathers of the throat, breast, and 

 under tail-coverts black in the centre, giving a thickly striped ap- 



