Competitive bromination of mixtures of 8-hydroxyquinoline and its chelates with iron (III), chromium (III) and cobalt (III) results in preponderant bromination of the metal chelates when insufficient bromine is used. From infra-red analysis of the products it can be estimated that the metal chelates brominate approximately thirty-five times faster than the free ligand. The heats of the bromination reactions in chloroform are very similar for the free ligand and the chromium (III) and cobalt (III) complexes, but that of the free ligand is apparently slightly greater. The reconciliation of diverse reports on the reactions of coordinated aromatic ligands is possible if the literal electron pair donor picture of the coordinate bond is recognized as inadequate for the description of the charge distribution in such bonds in metal complexes.