PSALIDOPROCNE NITENS (Cass. 



SQUARE-TAILED ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW. 



Atticora nitens, Cass. Proc. Acad. Philad. 1857, p. 38 ; Hartl. Orn. Westafr. p. 2G2 



(1857) ; Cass. Proc. Philad. Acad. 1859, p. 33 ; Du Chaillu, Equat. Afr. p. 472 



(1861). 

 Hirunclo nitens, Gray, Hand-1. B. i. p. 71, no. 831 (18G9). 

 Psalidoprocne nitens, Sharpe, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 291 ; id. P. Z. S. 1871, p. 010 ; id. 



Ibis, 1872, p. 90; Ussber, Ibis, 1871', p. 61; Sharpe, Cat. Birds in Brit. Mus. x. 



p. 204 (1885). 



P. viridi-nigra : gula fuscescenti-griseit : dorso pileo concolore : subalaribus pectori coucoloribus : caudtl 

 Laud furcata. 



Hub. in Africa occidentali. 



Adult male. General colour above glossy bottle-green or greenisb black ; lesser wing-coverts like the 

 back ; remainder of wing-coverts, quills, and tail-feathers black, edged with bottle-green ; lores 

 velvety black ; sides of face, ear-coverts, cheeks, and under surface of body glossy bottle-green, 

 the under wing-coverts black glossed with green ; quills blackish below ; throat sooty grey. 

 Total length 4-3 inches, cuknen 0-25, wing 3'85, tail 193, tarsus 0\3. 



Adult female. Similar to the male in colour, but wanting the saw-like edge to the first primary. 



Hab. West Africa, from the Gold Coast to the Congo. 



We know so little of this species from the Gold Coast that a larger series of specimens 

 will have to be examined before it can be ascertained for certain whether the square- 

 tailed Psalidojyrocne from that region is really of the same species as the typical 

 P. nitens of Gaboon. At first sight it would appear that the individuals from the 

 Cameroons, Gaboon, and the Congo region differed in having the throat smoky brown 

 instead of greenish black, like the breast ; but the British Museum bas a specimen from 

 the Muni River in Gaboon which appears to agree precisely with others from the Gold 

 Coast, and on that account we have not separated the two forms specifically. 



Erom the other species of Psalidojjrocne the present one is easily recognized by its 

 square tail. It was first discovered by M. DuChaillu on the Muni and Ogowe rivers in 

 Gaboon, and it extends to the Congo region, as specimens collected at Landana by 

 M. Petit are in the British Museum. It is likewise known from the Cameroons, where 

 the late Mr. Crossley met with it in January, and our late friend Governor Ussher found 

 it on the Gold Coast. He writes : — " Not uncommon in the morning on the gravelly 



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