Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 
257 
New Species and Subspecies. 
Spinus symonsi, spec, nov.* 
<£. The whole top of the head and nape olive-yellow, with dark brown 
streaks down the centre of each feather ; a broad line above the lores 
extending backwards over the fore part of the eye citron-yellow, this 
colour becoming lost gradually posteriorly towards the nape ; sides and 
back of the neck like the top of the head, but less distinctly streaked ; 
on the lower hind neck this colour merges into that of the back and 
scapulars, which are “ walnut-brown ” ; feathers of the rump like the back, 
but the lower ones tipped with yellowish; upper tail-coverts dark grey, 
with the margins lighter grey ; greater, median and lesser wing-coverts brown, 
with broad yellowish margins ; primaries and their coverts brown, the former 
for the basal two-thirds, and the latter for the whole extent, narrowly 
margined externally with very light grey ; secondaries and their coverts 
brown, with broad, light grey margins to and around the tips ; tail 
feathers dark brown above, narrowly margined with light grey, the outer- 
most with a broad white mark, broadest at the tip, extending along the 
centre of the inner web for the terminal third, the last part for about 10 mm. 
being white right across the inner web ; the next tail feather also with 
a white mark, which is shorter, however, and does not extend to the outer 
margin except at the tip ; chin greyish with a tinge of yellow ; centre of 
throat uniform citron yellow, merging on the sides into the colour of the 
neck and below much tinged with olive-greenish, but retaining a more or 
less well defined tract of yellow in the middle line of the breast to the 
abdomen, where the yellow merges into white ; the sides of the breast 
and flanks tinged with olive-brown ; under tail-coverts brown at the 
base but otherwise white ; thighs light-grey to white ; under surface of 
the wings lighter than above, with pale inner margins ; under wing-coverts 
olive-yellow. 
Type : <£, Sangebetu Valley, Basutoland, presented by R. E. Symons, 
Esq. Length of wing 76 mm., tail 57, tarsus 15, culmen 11. 
$. Differs from the $ in having no yellow in the plumage, this being 
displaced by white, the throat with short streaks on the centre of the feathers, 
and the underparts, except the abdomen and under tail-coverts, drab-grey. 
Measurements the same as those of the (J. 
The Transvaal Museum is indebted to Mr. Symons for a series 
consisting of three pairs of this bird and a clutch of its eggs. It appears 
from Mr. Symons’ account to be quite common on the Drakensberg. 
There is also a juvenile specimen of this bird in the collection, taken by 
Lieut. C. G. Davies at Matatiele in February, 1912, which I was previously 
unable to identify in the absence of adults ; this specimen has the 
characteristic markings on the tail feathers, and the general coloration 
of the adult $$, but is more streaked above and below. 
Mr. Symons writes as follows in regard to this bird : — “ Mr. Barnes, 
who is assisting me here on the Giant’s Castle Game Reserve, first called 
my attention to the above birds during the winter of 1914, when they 
* First described iii a separate slip: supplement to Yol. V, No. 3, issued January, 191G. 
