BIRDS OF WESTERN AFRICA. 
bills and feet bright Vermillion. Yieillot separated the Senegal from 
the South African birds, because the former had black bills. Lichten- 
stein called it melanorhynchus from the same circumstance ; and 
under that name, Hartlaub introduces it in his Catalogue, while 
Swainson, in the birds of Western Africa, also keeps the names 
distinct, though he says, “ They are almost precisely the same size, 
and that the white spots on the wings and tail are the same.” He, 
however, notices the difference in the curvature of the bills and of 
the tints of plumage. We possess a series of specimens I. erythro- 
rhynchus from South Africa, from the collections of Dr. A. Smith, 
in which the general dimensions vary as well as the length and cur- 
vature of the bills. We possess also specimens from Sierra Leone, 
procured by the late Governor Fergusson, with black bills, and 
Mr. Fraser’s birds, with red bills, are now before us. The result of 
the comparison is, that the southern and western birds are quite 
distinct, and that the colour of the bills is incident to age or season. 
The size and markings of the two are extremely similar, but the 
white on the wings of I. senegalensis is always larger and slightly 
different in form, so that when the differences are pointed out, there 
would be no difficulty in separating the birds by their wings only. The 
woodcut illustrates the form of the white on one of the feathers of 
the Bustard wing or pinion. 1. The West, 2. the South African bird. 
The white spots on the tail are also larger. In /. erythrorynchus 
the reflected tints of the back are bright yellowish-green, on the 
scapular feathers bronzed, while in /. senegalensis the plumage in- 
clines more to blue reflections, on the shoulders to purple. The 
colour of the bill is probably dependant on age or season, but the 
form is very different. In I. erythrorhynchus it is strong and tri- 
angular at the base, but suddenly becomes slender and attenuated , 
in I. senegalensis the strength and size at the base is gradually car- 
ried out to the tip, the whole bill is stronger, deeper, and not so 
much curved. In the West African bird, the foot is also larger 
and stronger. These birds are from Abomey. 
