118 SENEGAL RED -FOOTED PROMEROPS. 
birds, on the other hand, differ from that of Southern 
Africa ; first, by having little or no glossy green on 
the hack, breast, and body ; secondly, by having 
the bill red only at its base, the rest being black ; 
and, thirdly, by having the bill rather longer, and 
obviously less curved. Now, the question is, whe- 
ther these Senegal specimens are of a different 
species, or mere varieties, of that from the Cape of 
Good Hope ? In regard to the above differences, 
the first may arise from climate or from age ; the 
second may he accounted for by the fact, that the 
red colour is only gained by mature age ; for one of 
our specimens has the bill entirely black, and a full 
half inch shorter than the other: the third difference, 
as far as regards the degree of curvature, is much 
more important, for we do not suppose that this 
would be the effect of age or of climate ; and yet, 
is it sufficient to constitute a specific distinction? 
On this question we cannot at present return a de- 
finite answer ; but as M. Vieillot has done so, by 
retaining these birds under different specific names, 
we shall follow the same plan, at least until further 
information is procured upon the subject. M. Vieil- 
lot likens his Seneyalmsis, not to the Moqueur of 
Le Vaillant (which is the erytlirorynchos of au- 
thors), but to the Namaquois Promerops of the 
same author , neither does he notice the difference 
in the curvature of the bills, above pointed out. 
We shall now describe the Senegal Promerops as 
concisely as possible. Size and structure similar to 
P. erytlirorynchos , excepting the hill, which is 
