336 CAPT. SHELLEY ON BIRDS FROM SOUTH AFRICA. [Mar. 21. 



4. On some new Species of Birrls from South Africa. 

 By Captain G. E. Shelley. 



[Received March 10, 1882.] 

 (Plate XVIII.) 



On peace being proclaimed with the Boers, Major E. A. Butler, 

 Major H. W. Feilden, and Captain Savile Reid were quartered for 

 about nine months at Newcastle, Natal. Here they not only made 

 some very valuable collections of birds, but took a large amount of 

 notes referring to over 230 species, which they intend shortly to 

 publish. Meanwhile they have permitted me to describe here the 

 new species brought home. 



These I propose to name Antlms butleri (a very interesting 

 yellow-breasted Pipit) and Sphencpacus natalensis, the Natal repre- 

 sentative of iS. africamis, to which I will add the characters of S. 

 inlermedius, an intermediate form from Kaffraria. 



Anthxjs butleri, sp. nov. (Plate XVIII.) 



Compared with Macronyx croceus, the upper parts and the 

 wings both above and beneath are similarly coloured ; but the crown 

 is faintly tinted with yellow, and the under wing-coverts are of a 

 slightly paler sulphur-yellow ; a white patch just in front of the eye ; 

 sides of the head and neck brown, with a few dark-centred feathers 

 towards the throat ; chin, throat, and upper half of the breast yel- 

 low ; remainder of the underparts tawny buff with a slight yellow 

 shade down the centre of the abdomen ; the feathers of the crop and 

 sides of the chest are mostly with black central streaks, and are very 

 slightly tinted with brown ; flanks inclining to rufous-brown ; sides 

 of the belly rather indistinctly striped with rufous-brown ; under 

 tail-coverts with dark brown centres ; under surface of the tail 

 brown, with white on the outer two pairs of feathers ; the outer 

 pair white, margined on their inner webs with a brown patch of the 

 same form as the feather itself. Iris dark brown ; upper mandible 

 horny brown, lower one lavender-colour ; legs pale brown. Total 

 length 7*2 inches, culmen 0'5, wing 3-25, tail 3, tarsus 1, middle toe 

 without claw 0*7 . November 9, Newcastle. 



Four other specimens (one collected 6th June, and two males and 

 a female, July) are apparently in the winter plumage, and differ from 

 the one above-described in having no shade of yellow on the head, 

 in the under surface of the body being tawny buff, only very slightly 

 tinted with yellow on the middle of the breast and fading into white 

 on the centre of the throat and chin. The yellow on the wings is 

 about the same in them all ; and this, together with the peculiar 

 Macro7)i/x-\ike dark mottling on the back, are characters by which 

 the species may be readily recognized. In the specimen collected in 



£ 



