40 
WHITE-FRONTED STONE-CHAT. 
Suxicola frontalis, Swains. 
Entirely uniform black ; front of tlic head snowy. 
The SaxicolcO, or Stone-cliats, as instanced in the 
last species, enjoy one of the widest geographic 
ranges assigned to the insectivorous birds ; and as 
they love open plains and sandy tracts, we conse- 
quently find they are peculiarly abundant in the 
African continent. The present species is one of 
the rarer inhabitants of Western Africa, since a 
specimen we have long possessed, and another in 
the Fort Pitt museum at Chatham, are the only 
examples we have yet seen. Dr. Riippell, however, 
has informed us that he found it in Abyssinia. 
Its colouring is simple and striking ; the plumage 
is of a deep and uniform black inclining a little to 
grey, but directly in front of the head is a large 
patch of snowy white ; this must give to the bird, 
when running, a very singular appearance, and 
render it a conspicuous object at some distance : 
whether this white spot is a sexual distinction, 
given only to the male, or whether it is common 
also to the female, is yet to he discovered. 
The size is equal to our common stone-chat, but 
