only detailed account, of their real economy, and which this 

 enterprising ornithologist remarked during his travels in 

 Africa, and published in his work on the birds of that con- 

 tinent ; a work which will be valued and consulted when 

 most of the systems framed by closet naturalists will be 

 forgotten. . 



M. Vaillant records a singular fact respecting these birds : 

 which is, that the males only assume their rich and vivid 

 colours during the season of courtship ; at other times they 

 are scarcely to be known from the females, whose plumage 

 in general is very plain. Another bird, very nearly re- 

 sembling this, has been figured by M. Vaillant under the 

 name of Le Sucrier a Plastron rouge (Ois. d'Af. pi. 300.) ; 

 his reasons, however, for separating them, are, I think, suffi- 

 cient, at least until more forcible ones are adduced than mere 

 conjecture. Our figure is the size of life ; on each side the 

 breast is a tuft of yellow feathers ; the back, neck, and head 

 shining golden green, changing in various lights. The female 

 is said to be the Certhia Capeiisis of Lin., which is greyish 

 brown above, and paler beneath. 



The different generic names which have been given to 

 these birds by modern systematic writers, require some elu- 

 cidation. They were originally placed by Linnaeus among 

 the Certliuc ; out of this genus lUiger formed another by the 

 name of Nectarinia, in which he included not only these 

 birds, but many others allied to them. From this genus of 

 Illiger's, Cuvier separated a part under the generic appella- 

 tion of Cinnijris, a genus which comprised those species of 

 Illiger's Nectariiiia only whicli are found in the parallels of 

 latitude of the old world. So far these changes can be 

 understood; but Professor Temminck, without noticing this 

 previous arrangement, places the birds belonging to Cuvier's 

 genus Ciiiin/ris, under his own ni-odification of Illiger's Nec- 

 tarhua, while to the Nectaritiia, as characterized by Cuvier, 

 he gives the generic name of Careha. This last change has 

 introduced great confusion; for the student must bear in 

 mind, that Cuvier's genus ^ectanina corresponds to Tem- 

 minck's Careba ; that Cinriyris of Cuvier is Nectari?iia of 

 Temminck ; and finally, that all these are included under 

 Illiger's original genus 'Nectarinia ! M. Vieillot has still 

 further added to this unfortunate multiplicity of names, by 

 giving that of Mc/lisuga to Cuvier's Ciiiinjris. This may 

 truly be termed a war of v/ords. In the meantime, as 

 Cuvier was the first who, by giving the name of Cinnyris, 

 designated the Sucriers of Vaillant, and those only, his de- 

 finition and generic name to these birds should unquestion- 

 ably supersede all others. 



