CREEPER. 217 



5— BEAUTIFUL CREEPER. 



Certhia pulchella, Ind. Om. i. 288. Lin. i. 187. Gm Lin. i. 481. 



longicauda Seaegalensis, Buf. iii. 645. t. 34. 3. Id. 8vo. ii. 14. Gerin. ii. t. 201. 



Sylvia versicolor, Klein Av. p. 80. 19. 



Avis Amboinensis discolor, Seba ii. t. 7. 2. 



Soui-manga vert dore changeant a longue Queue, Buf. v. 519. PI. enl. 670. 1. Ois. 



dor. ii. 62. pi. 41. 

 Le Sucrier cossu, Levail. Afr. vi. 154. pi. 293. f. 1. 

 Beautiful Creeper, Gen. Syn.W. 719. Shaw's Zool. viii. 210. 



LENGTH seven inches and a quarter. Bill eight lines and a 

 half, blackish ; general colour of the plumage green gold, with a 

 gloss of copper ; breast fine red ; on the lower part of the belly a 

 mixture of white ; greater wing coverts and quills brown ; tail 

 blackish, edged outwardly with green gold, the feathers in general 

 very little rounded ; but the two middle ones exceed the others by 

 two inches and a half; legs black. This, M. Levaillant observes, is 

 equally brilliant beneath as above, particularly the red on the breast, 

 the sides of which appear gilded ; and, if exposed to the sun, seem 

 like sparks of fire. 



The female is smaller ; head, neck, and upper parts olive grey 

 brown ; breast olive-brown, growing white as it approaches the vent, 

 so that the lower belly, and under the tail are white ; wings brownish 

 black, bordered with olive-grey. 



The male, at some seasons, cannot be easily distinguished from 

 the female, more especially when young, but the belly is more 

 yellow. 



Buffon's bird, described as a female, is a young one in the second 

 moult, and ready to take on the summer plumage ; and his male not 

 having quite finished its moult, with the lower part of the white belly 

 and brown tail of youth remaining. 



VOL. IV. F F 



