

Adult Female. Upper parts and the sides of the head brown, rather darker towards the forehead; a partial 

 buff eyebrow ; wings and tail dark coppery brown with narrow paler edges to the feathers, and a few 

 of the outer tail-feathers with very narrow pale ends; underparts buff; throat, front of the chest, 

 flanks, and under tail-coverts mottled with brown, owing to the centres of the feathers being of that 

 colour ; under surface of the wings coppery brown with pale margins to the inner webs of the quills, 

 and the coverts mottled with white ; bill and legs black ; irides dark brown. Total length 4'2 inches, 

 culmen 07, wing 2 - 4, tail 16, tarsus 06. 



Young Male. Similar in plumage to the adult female, excepting that the underparts are yellow, chin and 

 throat black and the chest mottled with black, which forms partial bars ; base of the lower mandible 

 pale brown. 



Hab. West Africa. 



The Angola Sun-bird belongs to tbe brown-coloured African group to which Reichenbach 

 applied the generic title of Chalcomitra. Its best-marked specific character is the metallic 

 green throat, which at once separates it from all the other nearly allied species. In other 

 respects it most nearly approaches C. kirkii from Eastern Africa. 



It inhabits West Africa from Cameroons to Angola, and has been met with on Fernando 

 Po, where it was shot by Dr. Thomson during the Niger expedition, and was named by Sir W. 

 Jardine after Dr. Strange, the geologist to that expedition ; here it was found specially resorting 

 to the Papaw (Papaya carica) while in flower, attracted thither by its sweet juice, which is a 

 favourite food of these and the other Sun-birds. 



From the Gold Coast Mr. Sharpe has recorded a specimen in his lists of the birds of 

 Fantee ; but I am informed by him that the species in question was really C. adelberti, and was 

 only included by a lapsus calami. 



Along the coast southward from the Niger it has been collected by Mr. Crossley in the 

 Cameroons. Its head quarters appear to be the Gaboon district, where it is by no means 

 uncommon : here it has been procured by Du Chaillu on the banks of the Muni, Moonda, and 

 Camma rivers, and by Marche and De Compiegne on the Ogowe. 



Lesson's type came from Angola ; and more recently it has been collected there by 

 Mr. Monteiro at Bembe. We have examined a large series, and find the specimens perfectly 

 constant throughout its rauge. 



A male before us, in apparently full moult, is almost similar in plumage to the adult female ; 

 in the next stage the feathers on the throat become black ; they then gradually assume the 

 metallic portions of the plumage ; and lastly the breast becomes brown. 



The Cinnyris rubcscens, Vieill., was discovered by Perrein in the Congo district and, we 

 have little doubt, should be referred to this species ; yet as it lias failed to be recognized by 

 more recent naturalists from Vieillot's description, it appears to us a good reason for considering 

 that description insufficiently accurate. As the type specimen no longer exists, we have there- 

 fore employed Lesson's title, by which it is generally known to naturalists of the present day. 



The specimens from which our description and illustration are taken were in Mr. Sharpe's 

 collection, and now belong to our national Museum. 



