196 INDICATOR! DiE. 



2. Indicator conirostris. 



Melignothes conirostris, Cass. Pr. Philad. Acad. 1856, p. 1.jG, ct 1859, pi. 2; Hartl. J. f. 0. 



1861, p. 201. 

 Indicator conirostris, Hartl. Orn. Westafr. p. 181 ; Cab. & Heine, Miis. Hein. iv. 



p. 4, note. 

 Indicator occidentalis, Verr. in Hartl. Orn. Westafr. p. 185. 



Head above dark cinereous, every feather nearly black in the middle ; 

 back, rump, upper tail-coverts, and wing-coverts with every feather brownish 

 black in the middle and edged on both sides with golden yellow ; quills 

 brownish black, edged externally with the yellow of the back — narrow on the 

 primaries, wider on the secondaries; feathers of the throat white at base, 

 dark at their tips ; small space of the abdomen and flanks white, with 

 longitudinal stripes of dark ashy brown ; other underparts and sides of the 

 head and neck clear dark cinereous ; under tail-coverts slightly edged with 

 white ; under wing-coverts ashy ; tail with the four central feathers 

 brownish black, narrowly edged with yellow, others yellowish wdiite tipped 

 with dark brown ; bill and feet bluish black. Total length (of skin) 5f inches, 

 wing 3^, tail 2^, bill ^ (^Casshi). 



Habitat. — Gaboon ; Cape Lopez (^Verreaux) ; Moonda river (Dm 

 Chailhi) . 



The above is Cassin's original description, which I am obliged to 

 transcribe, not having seen the bird myself. He says : — " This species is 

 about the size of /. minor, and somewhat resembles it. In addition to the 

 differences already pointed out, this bird has the bill entirely bluish black, 

 not white at the base of the under mandible as in /. minor and as carefully 

 represented in Temminck's 'Planches Coloriees,' pi. 54 2. The colours are 

 much clearer, and different from that species. The bill in the present 

 bird is remarkably short and thick. Dr. Hartlaub describes the Gaboon 

 specimen sent to him by Verreaux (Ornith. Westafr. p. 18oj, and considers 

 it distinct from /. minor. Dr. Otto Finsch is inclined to unite with /. coni- 



