OF NEW OR LITTLE KNOWN BIRDS. 359 



compressed. The wings have an obscure greenish gloss ; but 

 there is none on the body : the chestnut on the crown and 

 back of the neck is very dark, and blended with the unglossed 

 black of the upper and under plumage : the bill appears to 

 have been white, or pale yellow : the four middle tail feathers, 

 the tips of the others, and the external margins of the outer- 

 most, are black ; the rest fine yellow : third and fourth quills 

 longest. 



225. Rhamphopis melanogaster. 



Above, brownish black : rump, tail covers, and body 

 beneath, bright crimson : head, throat, and breast, red- 

 dish chestnut : thighs, and middle of the body, black. 



Inhabits Peru. Mr. W. Hooker's Collection. 



Size of R. nigro-gularis of Spix : form typical. Total length 

 about 7| inches ; bill, gape f^ ; front \ ; wings 3 ,| ; tail, beyond, 

 1 j| ; base 3 ^^ ; tarsus j|. The head, throat, and breast are of the 

 same dark colour as in R. atrococcineus ; but the rump, tail covers, 

 and the sides of the body are bright crimson ; which colour 

 blends into the darker hue of the throat, upon the breast : the 

 middle of the body and belly are deep black. The female is light 

 brown above, graduating into rufous red on the rump and tail 

 covers : the under parts are of the same tint, but not so bright; 

 the throat being brown. Wings and tail black in the male, 

 and brown in the female : bill black ; the base bluish white. 



226. Lamprotornis chloropterus. 



Uniform shining sea-green on the whole of the back, 

 wings, and tail : ears, shoulder and inner wing covers, 

 flanks, and belly, blue ; greater and lesser wing covers 

 with black spots. 



Inhabits Western Africa. Mus. Nost. 



Total length about T^ inches ; bill, gape 1 ; front, f^ ; wings 

 41; tail, beyond, ^; base 3; tarsus 1. The smallest African 

 species I have yet seen of this genus. It has a general resem- 

 blance to Cyanotis, but is much smaller; and the tail, instead of 

 being purple, is of the same glossy green colour as the wings, 

 quills, back, and all the upper plumage : the ground colour of 

 the under parts is the same; but on the flanks, belly, and inner 

 wing covers the green changes to blue, yet without any lilac or 

 purple reflections : the ears and the shoulder covers are also 

 rich blue : under tail covers green. This has come into my 

 possession since the publication of The Birds of Western Africa. 

 A A 4 



