MIRAFRA AFRICANA.-Smith. 



AvEs.— Plate LXXXVIII. Fig. 1. 



M. supra fusca; capitis cervicisque plumis rubro-aurantio, dorsi pluniis sordide albo griseove niar- 

 ginatis : gula guttureqiie albis ; pectore pallide rubro-aurantio, niaculis fuscis variegato ; ventre 

 subflavo rubro-aurantio-tincto ; remigibus primariis secondariisque versus basin rubro-aurantio- 

 marginatis ; rostro flavo-brunneo, ca8taneo-unibrato ; pedibus subflavis, carneo-tinctis. 



LoNGlTUDO e rostri apice ad basin caudce 5 unc. 2 lin. ; caudae 2 unc. 4 lin. 



Colour. — The upper surface of the head streaked liver-brown and clear 

 reddish orange, the edges of the feathers, particularly of those towards the 

 nape, being of the latter colour; back and sides of neck umber-brown, with 

 the edges of each feather either reddish orange or sienna-yellow. Back 

 liver-brown, the feathers edged broadly and tipped narrowly either with rusty 

 white or rusty grey, — the latter most abundant and distinct on the rump and 

 upper-tail coverts. Chin and commencement of throat white ; middle of 

 throat and sides of neck immediately behind ear-coverts white, mottled with 

 small, triangular, umber-brown spots. Breast anteriorly sienna-yellow, pos- 

 teriorly light reddish orange, and each feather is marked, in the course of 

 the shaft, with a narrow liver-brown stripe which expands towards the point 

 of the feather into an angular spot. Belly sienna-yellow, tinted with reddish 

 orange ; the under tail coverts cream-yellow. The lesser wing coverts are 

 reddish orange towards the edges, greyish brown along the shaft ; the 

 primary quill coverts intermediate between orpiment and reddish orange, and 

 each is marked with a liver-brown line following the course of the shaft ; 

 the outer vanes of the secondary quill feathers ai'e brownish grey ed^ed with 

 rusty white, the inner vanes towards the shaft liver-brown, elsewhere colored 

 like the primary quill coverts. Primary quill feathers towards base reddish 

 orange, shaded with deep reddish orange, towards points intermediate 

 between broccoli and umber-brown ; secondaries coloured like the primaries, 

 and towards and at the tip edged with rusty white ; tertiary quill feathers 



