1873.] OF THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 621 



Abyss, p. 315 (1870); Heugl. Orn. N. O. Afr. p. 797 (1870); 

 Gray, Hand-1. B.ii. p. 213 (1870) ; Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1870, pp. 145, 

 149; id. Cat. Afr. B. p. 14 (1871). 



Centropus superciliaris, Bocage, Jorn. Lisb. ii. p. 349 (1869, 

 lapsu). 



Adult. Head and hind neck blackish or brownish black, the 

 feathers under the eye and ear-coverts also black ; over the eye a 

 broad stripe of yellowish white ; all the feathers of the hind head 

 and neck distinctly streaked down the centre with yellowish white ; 

 centre of back and scapulars dull rufous brown, all the feathers 

 mesially streaked with whitish, these stripes being further bordered 

 with blackish on each side, causing them to stand out in bolder re- 

 lief; wings dull rufous above and below, the quills tipped with 

 dusky, the inner secondaries inclining to olive-brown, the least wing- 

 coverts streaked with whitish, like the scapulars ; lower back dusky 

 black, transversely barred with dull ochre ; upper tail-coverts and 

 tail greenish black, with somewhat of an oily-green gloss, the latter 

 narrowly tipped with white, the upper tail-coverts barred with dull 

 ochre ; undersurface of body yellowish white, the feathers of the 

 sides of the neck whitish in the centre, this streak margined on each 

 side with black, giving a very distinctly striped appearance, the 

 shafts of the breast-feathers whitish, but without the black lines on 

 them ; sides of the body, flanks, and under tail-coverts narrowly 

 barred with blackish ; under wing-coverts pale rufous, with obsolete 

 streaks as on the sides of the neck ; beak black ; feet bluish slate- 

 colour ; iris bright crimson. Total length 16'3 inches, culmen 1*35, 

 wing 6 - 25, tail 8*3, tarsus 1"55. 



Young. Above dull rufous brown, barred with blackish ; lower 

 back and rump black, barred with pale fulvous, more narrowly on 

 the upper tail-coverts ; head and hind neck streaked along the shaft 

 with straw-colour or pale rufous ; superciliary streak and sides of 

 face fulvous, the latter slightly washed with rufous, the shafts 

 whitish ; undersurface of body fulvous, the breast and sides of neck 

 marked with rufous, with whitish shaft-stripes ; quills rufous, the 

 primaries not barred for their basal half, the secondaries barred 

 all the way ; tail dull greenish, with fulvous bars towards the tip and 

 on the external feathers ; iris light brown. 



Hab. N. E. Africa : Resident, inhabits S. Arabia and Abyssinia 

 coast country to the Anseba valley, found on the Tacazi and Blue 

 Nile, from Southern Nubia northwards to the province of Dongola 

 and in Kordofan ( Von Heuglin) ; Ailat, Ain, the Lebka, and 

 Anseba valleys, never seen in Abyssinia Proper (Blanford). E. 

 Africa : Zanzibar {Kirk). S. Africa : Swellendam (Layard) ; 

 Natal (Ayres). S. W. Africa : Rio Coroca, Ambaca (Anchieta). 

 W. Africa : Angola (Monteiro) ; Rio Dande and Katenbella 

 (Sola). 



4. Centropus francisci. 



Centropus francisci, Bp. Consp. i. p. 107(1850, descr. orig.) ; 



