610 MR. R. B. SHARPE ON THE CTJCULID.E [June 17, 



with the back, as also are the quills, the under surface of the wing 

 being ashy brown with a very faint shade of greenish ; tail metallic 

 oily green, the two middle feathers having a slight shade of bronze ; 

 sides of face, throat, and fore part of chest whitish, with a yellowish 

 shade ; lower part of belly greyish, the under tail-coverts metallic 

 green ; bill yellow, with a brown mark at base of culmen ; iris beau- 

 tiful dark red. Total length 13"5 inches, culmen 1-2, wing 4 - 9, 

 tail 8, tarsus 1 - 15. 



Hah. Natal (Ayres); Caffraria (Wahlberg) ; Zambesi {Bicker- 

 son) ; Bay of Bombatoc, Madagascar (Bojer). 



The description is taken from a Natal specimen in my collection. 

 Another bird in my possession from the same country has some of 

 the tail-feathers very much worn, and although in perfect plumage 

 everywhere else it still carries these old feathers in the tail : their 

 ends ate abraded ; and they have faded to a brownish colour, with a 

 slight greenish gloss on the inner web. This bird has also a rusty 

 tinge on the thighs. Another example, also from Natal, is appa- 

 rently younger, as it has the bill of a dull yellow colour, the whole 

 of the culmen along the ridge and towards the tip brownish, and 

 the chest is somewhat shaded with olive ; on the lower breast there 

 is a shade of rust-colour. 



The range of this species, so far as I know, only extends from 

 Natal to the Zambesi ; but Speke collected a Cuckoo of this genus 

 in Uzaramo {cf. Sclater, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 112), which may pro- 

 bably be the southern species. Heuglin includes C. aeneus in his 

 great work on the strength of this specimen, but he describes the 

 southern bird. 



2. Ceuthmochares aeneus. 



Le Coucou gris bronze, Levaill. Ois. d'Afr. v. p. 60, pi. 521 

 (1806); Sundev. Crit. om Levaill. p. 48 (1858). 



Metallic Cuckow, Lath. Gen. Hist. hi. p. 274 (1822). 



Bronzed Cuckow, id. 1. c. p. 294 (1822). 



Cuculus a'ereus (err. pro aeneus), Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat, viii. 

 p. 229 (1817, ex Levaill.). 



Zanclostomus Jlavirostris, Swains. B. W. Afr. ii. p. 83, pi. 19 

 (1837); Fraser, P. Z. S. 1843, p. 52; Gray, Gen. B. ii. p. 460 

 (1845) ; Bp. Consp. i. p. 98 (1850) ; J. & E. Verr. Rev. et Mag. 

 de Zool. 1855, p. 176; Gray, Hand-1. B. ii. p. 206 (1870); 

 Sharpe, Cat. Afr. B. p. 14 (1871) ; id. P. Z. S. 1871, p. 605. 



Zanclostomus cereus, Hartl. Orn. W. Afr. p. 187 (1857); Cass. 

 Pr. Phil. Acad. 1859, p. 142 ; Mont. P. Z. S. 1860, p. 1 12 ; Sharpe, 

 Ibis, 1869, p. 194. 



Zanclostomus aeneus, Hartl. P. Z. S. 1860, p. 112. 



Ceuthmochares cereus, Cab. & Heine, Mus. Hein. Th. iv. p. 60 

 (1862). 



Phamicophaes Jlavirostris, Schl. Mus. P.-B. Cuculi, p. 50 

 (1864). 



Adult. Eutire upper surface purplish blue, witli violet reflexions, 



