Vol. xii.] 38 



" Adult. Crown, nape, back, breast, and sides sooty black, 

 with a purplish-bronze gloss ; chin and throat dark metallic 

 green ; white band across the primaries 0"9-l'l inch wide ; 

 bill red. Total length ca. 17'0 inches; culmen in $ 22, 

 in ? 1-7; wing 5-7-6-4; tail 9-6-10-3. 



"Hub. South-west Africa : Damara-land. East Africa: 

 Kibwezi, INgomeni, and Machakos, B. E. Africa. 



"The birds from British East Africa have the white 

 band across the quills somewhat narrower than in typical 

 Damara-land birds, but are otherwise identical. 



"4. IRRISOR MELANORHYNCHUS. 



" Nectarinia melanorhynchus , Licht. Yerz. Doubl. p. 15 

 (1823) [Senegal]. 



" Falcinellus senegalensis, Vieill. Enc. Meth. ii. p. 580 

 (1823). 



" Irrisor erythrorhynchus, Salvin, Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xvi. 

 p. 19 (1892) [part. spec, a-e, h-k, and m-u], 



" Hab. W. Africa : Senegambia ; also N.E. Africa : 

 Bogos-land and Tigre, N. Abyssinia. I cannot distinguish 

 the Abyssinian birds from West-African specimens. 



" 5. Irrisor somaliensis, n. sp. 



Adult. Top of the head blackish, with indistinct green 

 bronze-edged spots ; nape, back, and breast velvety black, 

 slightly glossed with dull purplish blue; upper throat dark 

 steel-blue, lower throat metallic green ; rest of underparts 

 brownish black ; bill black. Total length ca. 170 inches ; 

 culmen in <J 25, in ? 1*8 ; wing 5-5-6-1; tail 80-93. 



" Hab. N.E. Africa : Somali-land." 



A letter from Mr. J. I. S. Whitaker drew attention to the 

 difference in coloration of the Crested Larks of the Red Sea 

 region from that of the true Galerita cristata. They were 

 altogether paler and more grey in colour, and had the plumage 

 more clearly marked, especially the crest and breast, the spots 

 on the latter being smaller; the tail had a palerufescent pattern 

 on the outer feather, and the bill was rather longer and more 

 curved. These characters were to be found in specimens 

 from Arabia, the Red Sea coasts, and Berbera in Somali-land. 



