AVMS. 377 



Iris burnt sienna, pupU small, orbit pinkish brown ; 

 legs flesh colour ; bill black. In the female the iris is 

 pearl grey, the colour of the plumage duller and more 

 uniform, and the throat whiter. 



I never saw this bird in the winter, and I am inchned 

 to suspect that, like Grandala leucogaster, it emigrated 

 into the passes during the spring months. In May, it 

 was far from rare at 4,000 to 6,000 feet, and it abounded 

 on the Anseba in July and August. The females were 

 very rarely seen, and I only obtained one. The males 

 were most conspicuous. Perched on the topmost branch 

 of a tree, or some conspicuous spray, they kept up a re- 

 iterated monosyllabic call like "to6k-to6k-to(5k," repeated 

 at a regular interval. In the stomach I found smaU 

 insects. 



Wing. Tail-. Tarsus, 



in. in, in. 



Male 2-3 1-6 l-Q 



„ 2-25 1-55 0-95 



Female 2-0 1-5 0-8 



From the much shorter tarsus in the only female 

 obtained, I should have thought it belonged to a distinct 

 species, but that it was with a male (also kiUed). On 

 another occasion, when I saw both together but only 

 succeeded in securing the male, I noticed the paler tinge 

 of the female plumage. 



Riippell's figure and description are probably taken 

 from a hen. C. tincta of Cassen is founded on a male 

 bird. Sundevall's C. oUvacea, to judge from a specimen 

 in the Berlin Museum, is quite distinct, being much 

 greener above. 



