Key to the Species.
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a. General colour of plumage black or brown, unrelieved by any distinctive marks. a'. Legs black or brown M. maxima, p. 123. b'. Legs yellow or orange. a". Wing quite 5 inches and generally more. a'". Lower plumage uniformly dark brown ; crown of male not much darker than back M. simillima^ p. 124. b'" '. Lower plumage albescent on abdo- men and under tail-coverts ; crown of male black, forming a cap con- spicuously darker than back M. nigripileus, p. 126. b". Wing about 4*5 inches, rarely reach- ing 5. c'". Upper plumage with all feathers margined M. kinnisi, p. 124. d'". Upper plumage uniform. a 4 . Sides of head of much the same colour as other parts of head .... M. bourdilloni, p. 125. 6 4 . Sides of head rufous * M. erythrotis, p. 126. b. Plumage variegated. c'. Hind neck of different colour from back. c". Crown and back of same colour M. albicincta, p. 127. d". Crown and back of different colours . . M. castanea, p. 128. d'. Hind neck of same colour as back. e". Feathers of upper plumage variegated with dark central marks M.fuscata, p. 129. f". Feathers of upper plumage not varie- gated. e'". Tail, throat, and upper breast chiefly chestnut M. ruficollis, p. 130. f". No chestnut on tail, throat, or upper breast, c*. Wings boldly marked with a large patch of grey or rufous M. boulboul, p. 1 30. d 4 . Wings uniform. a 5 . Under wing- coverts and axil- laries wholly or in part chest- nut or orange-brown, a 6 . Sides of breast and abdomen grey or brown. a 7 . Throat and breast uni- formly of one colour. a 8 . Throat and breast black. M.atrigularis <$,"$. 131. b s . Throat and breast slaty grey M. unicolor tf , p. 132. b 7 . Throat and breast streaked. c 8 . Under wing - coverts orange-brown; axillaries rufous-grey M. atrigularis , p. 131.
- Of M. Jcinnisi, M. bourdittoni, and M. erythrotis the series to which I have access is so very small and unsatisfactory that the characters for these three species given here may not prove to hold good in all cases.
