ILLUSTRATIONS OF ORNITHOLOGY. 
NECTARINIA NATALENSIS, Jardine. 
Far. Zanzibar. 
Mr. Edward Wilson haying purchased Mon. Bourcier’s collection 
of Nectar inice for his brother’s extensive ornithological museum in 
New York, kindly transmitted them to me for examination before 
being sent abroad. The collection was accompanied by M. Bourcier s 
list of the species, to which M. Verreaux, the well known collector 
in Paris, had added observations chiefly based upon his experience 
of these birds, gained during his residence at the Cape of Good 
Hope. In the list of the former, the species which we have now 
figured w as marked “ espece nouvelle but M. Verreaux observes 
regarding it, “ Cette espece indique conime nouvelle sur le catalogue 
fie Bourcier, ne m’a jamais paru d’etre la ineme que celle decrit et 
figuree par Sir W. Jardine dans le Nat. Lib. pi. 12. Tous les 
individus que j’ai vu venant du cap, n’etoient jamais du meme rouge 
Vermillion de cette individu que j’ai vu venir assez souvent de Zan- 
zibar, j’engage dont Sir W. Jardine a bien comparer les deux 
oiseaux, que je regard comme deux especes parfaitment character- 
ises, et veuillez je vous prie, m’en faire savoir le nom. 
On comparing this bird with M. Bourcier’s specimen of N. na- 
talensis in its ordinary plumage, and my own specimen, which was 
used for the figure referred to by M. V erreaux, the distribution of 
the markings is almost identical, as much so as in any two 01 
three specimens slightly varying in size ; my Natal specimen is 
father larger than M. Bourcier’s, and both are larger than the 
Zanzibar bird. The principal distinction is in the coloui of the 
throat and breast, which M. Verreaux states is similar and con- 
stant in specimens from Zanzibar, in these the throat and breast 
are of a vivid vermillion red, whereas in the others the same par ts 
are scarlet or a rich carmine red. In the Zanzibai specimen t ie 
c °ronal patch seems to extend rather farther back, but wit ou 
seeing more specimens, this can scarcely be judged oi e e 1 
tensions of the three specimens now before us, aie as fo ows * 
62-12 
