

Adult Male. Entire head and neck, upper half of the back, scapulars, and the least and median series of 

 wing-coverts deep metallic green ; lower half of the back and the upper tail-coverts brilliant steel-blue, 

 shaded with violet; in front of the eye a triangular patch of black feathers; remainder of the wings 

 black, the greater coverts partially margined with metallic violet and green ; the quills narrowly 

 margined with pale brown ; tail black, glossed with blue, the feathers partially edged with steel-blue 

 or metallic violet; a broad violet-shaded steel-blue collar at the base of the metallic-green throat; 

 entire breast rich gamboge-yellow, slightly paler on the sides of the chest, and partially fading into 

 white on the under tail-coverts ; thighs black ; under surface of the wings dark brown, with the coverts 

 black; bill and legs black ; irides dark brown. Total length 6"8 inches, culmen - 4, wing 2'2, tail 4 - 3, 

 tarsus 06. 



Adult Female. Upper parts pale ashy brown ; a broad buff eyebrow and a narrow band of black feathers in 

 front of the eye ; wings and tail dark brown, with pale brown edges to all the feathers ; tail narrowly 

 tipped with white, which colour wideas out considerably on the inner webs of the outer feathers ; 

 underparts white, shaded with pale yellow on the breast ; bill black, fading into pale brown at the 

 base of the lower mandible; irides and legs dark brown. Total length 37 inches, culmen 0'4, wing 21, 

 tail T5, tarsus - 6. 



Male in moult. Similar in plumage to the adult female, excepting that it is mottled all over with feathers 

 of the adult male plumage, and has the breast bright yellow. 



Hab. North-east Africa. 



The small genus Hedyclipna is restricted to the Ethiopian Region, where it is represented by two 

 species, H. metallica and H. platura. It is characterized by the bill being very short and rather 

 wide towards the base ; and the males in full plumage, as in the genus Nectarinia, possess two 

 long central tail-feathers. 



From II. platura the present species may be most readily recognized by the steel-blue collar 

 at the base of the metallic green throat. 



This beautiful Sun-bird is confined to North-eastern Africa. In the lowlands of Abyssinia and 

 in Southern Nubia it is a resident throughout the year, while it extends its range as a spring and 

 summer migrant further north than any other member of this family upon the African continent, 

 ranging in the Nile valley down to the First Cataract (in lat. 24° N.). 



On the 10th of April, while on the Nile, I procured my first specimens near Korosko, and 

 frequently met with it afterwards to within a few miles of the lovely island of Philae, which 

 overlooks the first cataract. They were at the' time in full breeding-plumage^ and exhibited no 

 kind of fear, but fluttered within a few yards of me about the sparsely scattered flowering-plants 

 which decorate the river-banks, or chased each other around the "sont" trees, on the outer 

 boughs of which a pair would frequently sun themselves side by side, preening their feathers, 

 and twittering in a sweet little duet, made the more pleasing by their graceful attitudes and 

 their apparently perfect enjoyment rather than from any great variety in their song. The latter, 

 indeed, only consists of a few soft notes, and rather suggested the idea of a pleasant tete-a-tete 

 between two happy lovers : and no doubt such was really the case ; for these birds were evidently, 

 at that season, migrating down the Nile in search of a suitable spot for the construction of 

 their nest. 



