291 



June 8, 1658. 



Dr. Gray, F.R.S., V.P., in the (hair. 

 The following papers were read : — 



1. On New Species of Birds from Western Ai rica, in mil 

 Collection of the British Museum. By Dr. (m-st.w 

 IIartlaub of Bremen, Foreign Mlmber. 



One of the principal reasons that made me anxious to visit Eng- 

 gland was the wish to increase my materials for a second edition of 

 my hook on the Birds of Western Africa. In this object I have been 

 most liberally assisted by Mr. G. It. Gray, who has allowed me every 

 opportunity of examining the specimens in the magnificent Collec- 

 tion of the British Museum. Besides some interesting novelties 

 which we found, and which I wish to describe in the ' Proceeding ' 

 of the Society, among whose Foreign Members I have the honour 

 to be enrolled, I have had the pleasure of inspecting some very rare 

 species which I had not seen before. Among these I may mention 

 some of those rare types collected during the second Niger Expe- 

 dition by Mr. Louis Fraser, — as, for instance, the Sylvicola super- 

 ciliosa of that naturalist, which from a second and more perfect 

 Ashantee specimen I have found to be what I never expected, a 

 typical Camaroptera ; then the Coccothraustes olivacetu of Fraser, 

 a type most peculiar and unique amongst the great number of African 

 Fringillidae. But by far the most interesting and most curious 

 African form which I have seen for the first time, is a little bird 

 hardly larger than the smallest Humming-bird, the Dictsum Rtuhue 

 of Cassin, and the type of my genus Pkolidornis. This minute and 

 very peculiarly coloured species is the only true African representa- 

 tive of the essentially Asiatic form Dicceum, from which, however, I 

 hold it to be truly generically distinct. 



The new species which I have observed, are the following: — 



1. Onychognathus hartlaubii, G. R. Gray, MS. 



Minor, obscure violascentichalybeus ; capite toto et rcmigum mi- 

 norum marginibus externis in centum vergentibus \ SCapularibus, 

 tectridbua alarum minoribus et subalaribus (torso concolorilm.- , 

 rrrtricibus obscure chalybeis, margine tsnescentibus ; rcmigum 

 nigrorum dimidiO basali oblique ruf<> ; rostra nigra ; pcdibus 

 fuscis. ? , capite et collo cinerascente striatit. 

 Long. tot. 10-}", rostr. a fr. 12'", al. I 1 ,", rectric. interned. 

 tars. 11'". 



Hal,. Fernando Po. 



This bird is a second and very typical species of my genus ' 

 chognathiis, the type of wliieli, O.JStlguhu, seems to !"■ confined 

 to the Island of St. Thomas. The system of colouring i- unite the 



Same in both species ; but (). Iiart'lanlju \> a mueh smalbr l.inl, 



and has the bill much less hooked. <>ne of the two specimens in 



