316 MR. R. B. SHARPE ON BIRDS FROM MADAGASCAR. [Apr. 18, 



Paris as the investment of the city was completed, and the cases 

 were shut up during the whole of the siege. Luckily no injury was 

 done to any of the specimens. 



Another example of this Swift only differs from the one described in 

 having a few scarcely discernible edgings to the back-feathers, while 

 the throat is distinctly mottled with black and white ; another, seem- 

 ingly younger, has the edgings to the dorsal feathers very distinct, 

 and the whole of the throat white varied with little black markings. 



I transcribe Dr. Sclater's description of C. parvus (from his paper 

 in P. Z. S. 1865, p. 601) for the sake of comparison with that of 

 the Madagascar bird. 



" Murino-fuscus, gutture albido fusco striolato : alis et cauda 

 ceneo tinctis: cauda prof undissimefurcatu : long, tota 7 X alteb'A, 

 caudce 1"4, red. ext. 4, med. 1*4." 



Compared with the Madagascar skins these West-African examples 

 are always very much paler in colour, rather stouter in form, and have 

 the tail more conspicuously forked. 



Family Coraciid.e. 

 Subfamily Brachypteraciin^e. 



42. Geobiastes souamigera. 



Geobiastes squamigera (Lafr.) ; Sharpe, Ibis, 1871, p. 186; id. 

 Cat. Afr. B. p. 5 (1871). 



One specimen, the same mentioned in my paper on the African 

 Coraciidce (Ibis, 1871, p. 184), and on which I founded the genus 

 Geobiastes. 



Family Turdid^e. 



43. Cossypha imertna. 



Cossypha imerina, Haiti. Faun. Madag. p. 43 (1861); Verr. in 

 Vins. Voy. Madag. Ann. B. p. 2 (1865); Schl. & Poll. Faun. Madag. 

 p. 158 (1868). 



Cossypha emerina. Grand. Rev. et Mag. de Zool. 1867, p. 359. 



" Saralalan, January 28, 1870, February 1, 1870. Nossi Vola, 

 February 1, 1870. Native name Vorun poottat." 



In his well-known ' Ornithologischer Beitrag zur Fauna Mada- 

 gascar,' Dr. Hartlaub first described this pretty species, from an 

 example brought home by Professor Peters from St. Augustine's Bay, 

 and preserved in spirits in the Berlin Museum. The birds which 

 Mr. Crossley has forwarded agree in the main with the original 

 description ; but as no mention is made of the colouring of the tail, 

 which forms one of the most distinctive characters, I canuot guarantee 

 the absolute correctness of my identification. For the better settle- 

 ment of the matter, therefore, I subjoin a detailed description of old 

 and young birds, examples of both of which are contained in Mr. 

 Crossley's last consignment. I may mention that in his first col- 

 lection an adult specimen was forwarded by him, which passed into 

 the National collection. Mr. G. R. Gray was inclined to consider it 



