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BULLETIN 

OF THE 

BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB. 

EDITED BY 

Dr. G. CARMICHAEL LOW, 

VOLUME LIII. 
SESSION 19382-19348. 

LONDON: 

H. F. & G. WITHERBY, 326 HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.2. 

1933. 


PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, 
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. 


PREFACE, 

THE number of attendances at the meetings of the Club 
during the past Session was again very good, though falling 
short of the record of 1931-1932, 365 members, 31 members 
of the B. O. U., and 129 guests having been present, a total 
of 525. 

Unfortunately Major Stanley S. Flower had to resign the 
Chairmanship of the Club through ill-health, and Mr. David A. 
Bannerman was elected Chairman in his place. 

The new Chairman delivered his annual address at the 
December Meeting, and in it dealt with what had been going 
on in the world of Ornithology during the past year. 

As usual, a series of interesting communications on a variety 
of subjects were delivered. Mr. G. L. Bates gave an account 
of a journey made by himself to the French Niger and French 
Sudan in 1931-1932 ; Mr. H. F. Witherby exhibited a nesting- 
cavity and skins of the British Willow-Titmouse, and made 
remarks thereon ; Mr. D. L. Lack read a paper on the “ Birds 
of Bear Island,” this being illustrated with lantern-slides ; 
Mr. B. G. Harrison read a paper on ‘‘The Factors governing 
the Development of Parasitic Habits of Passerine Birds, 
and in particular of American Cowbirds”’; Mr. T. H. Harrisson 
gave a short lecture on an expedition to British North Borneo, 

also illustrated with lantern-slides; Mr. Jack Vincent: gave: 
a lecture on an expedition to Portugese East Africa in 1931- 
1932; Dr. C. H. Kellaway showed a series of lantern-slides 
of Australian birds: and Mr. Jack Mavrogordato read a paper, 
illustrated with photographs, on “ Flights with the Trained 
Goshawk,” specimens of English and Indian falconry 
equipment being shown. 

ae 


1V 

New forms were described by Mr. G. L. Bates, Dr. C. B. 
Ticehurst, Mr. Hugh Whistler, Mr. D. A. Bannerman, Mr. N. B. 
Kinnear, Professor Oscar Neumann, Captain C. H. B. Grant 
and Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed, Mr. Jack Vincent, Colonel R. 
Meinertzhagen, Mr. G. M. Mathews, Rear-Admiral Lynes, 
Mr. J. Delacour, Dr. Finn Salomonsen, and Dr. W. S. 
Stachanow. 

Captain C. H. B. Grant and Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed 
contributed several notes on correct type-localities of various 
birds. 

Mr. A. F. Griffith exhibited a specimen, secured by 
Major A. A. Dorrien-Smith, of the Black-billed Cuckoo 
(Coccyzus erythropthalmus), the second record for the British 
Isles; Dr. G. Carmichael Low showed skins of the races of 
Dowitcher, from Canada, for Professor Rowan; and 
Dr. P. R.Lowe showed the nest and eggs of a Redwing taken 
in Scotland. 

The Annual Dinner, held in conjunction with the British 
Ornithologists’ Union, took place this year at the Knights- 
bridge Hotel, where a specially large room was available for the 
company. Some excellent films and slides were shown—by 
Mr. W. E. Higham of the Short-eared Owl; by Mr. Anthony 
Buxton of Montagu’s and the Marsh-Harrier etc.; by 
Mr. Ralph Chislett of the same Harriers, and of the Wood 
Sandpiper from Lapland ; while Mr. Jack Vincent exhibited a 
series of slides illustrating a day in the life of a field-collector, 
from the Portugese East African Expedition of 1931-1932. 

The Club entertained as distinguished guests during the 
Session Dr. H. L. Lack, Dr. T. G. Longstaff, Dr. Finn Salomon- 
sen, and Dr. C. H. Kellaway. 

G. CARMICHAEL Low, 
Editor. 
' London, July 1938. 


BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB. 
(FounpEpD OctossEr 5, 1892.) 

8 

TITLE AND OBJECTS. 

The . objects of the Club, which shall be called the 
“ British Ornithologists’ Club,” are the promotion of social 
intercourse between Members of the British Ornithologists’ 
Union and to facilitate the publication of scientific infor- 
mation connected with ornithology. 

RULES. 
(As amended, October 8, 1930.) 

MANAGEMENT. 

I. The affairs of the Club shall be managed by a 
Committee, to consist of a Chairman, who shall be 
elected for three years, at the end of which period he 
shall not be eligible for re-election for the next term; a 
Vice-Chairman, who shall serve for one year, and who 
shall not be eligible for the next year; an Kditor of the 
‘ Bulletin,’ who shall be elected for five years, at the end 
of which period he shall not be eligible for re-election for 
the next term; a Secretary and Treasurer, who shall be 
elected for a term of one year, but shall be eligible for re- 
election. There shall be in addition four other Members, 
the senior of whom shall retire each year, and another 
Member be elected in his place; every third year the two 
senior Members shall retire and two other Members be 
elected in their place. Officers and Members of the 
Committee shall be elected by the Members of the Club at 
a General Meeting, and the names of such Officers and 
Members of Committee nominated by the Committee for 
the ensuing year, shall be circulated with the notice 
convening the General Meeting, at least two weeks before 
the Meeting. Should any Member wish to propose another 
candidate, the nomination of such, signed by at least two 
Members, must reach the Secretary at least one clear week 
before the Annual General Meeting. 


VI 

II. Any Member desiring to make a complaint of the 
manner in which the affairs of the Club are conducted, 
must communicate in writing with the Chairman, who will, 
if he deem fit, calla Committee Meeting to deal with the 
matter. 

III. If the conduct of any Member shall be deemed by 
the Committee to be prejudicial to the interests of the Club, 
he may be requested by the Committee to withdraw from 
the Club. In the case of refusal, his name may be removed 
from the list of Members at a General Meeting, provided 
that, in the notice calling the Mecting, intimation of the 
proposed resolution to remove his name shall have been 
given, and that a majority of the Members voting at such 
Meeting record their votes for his removal. 

A Member whose name has been removed shall forfeit all 
privileges of Membership and shall have no claim on the 
Club from the date of his removal. 

SUBSCRIPTIONS. 

IV. Any Member of the British Ornithologists’ Union 
may become a Member of the Club on payment to the 
Treasurer of an entrance-fee of one pound anda subscription 
of one guinea for the current Session. On Membership 
of the Union ceasing, Membership of the Club also ceases. 

Any Member who has not paid his subscription before 
the last Meeting of the Session, shall cease, ipso facto, to be 
a Member of the Club, but may be reinstated on payment 
of arrears. 

Any Member who has resigned less than five years ago 
may be reinstated without payment of another Entrance Fee. 

Any Member who resigns his Membership on going 
abroad may be readmitted without payment of a further 
Iintrance Fee at the Committee’s discretion, 

MEETINGS. | 

V. The Club will meet, as a rule, on the second Wednes- 
day in every month, from October to June inclusive, at such 
hour and place as may be arranged by the Committee, but 
should such Wednesday happen to be Ash Wednesday, the 
Meeting will take place on the Wednesday following. At 
these Meetings papers upon ornithological subjects will 
be read, specimens exhibited and described,.and discussion 
invited. 


VII 

VI. A General Meeting of the Club shall be held 
on the day of the October Meeting of each Session and 
the Treasurer shall present thereat the Balance-sheet and 
Report ; and the election of Officers and Committee, in so 
far as their election is required, shall be held at such 

Meeting. 

VII. A Special General Meeting may be called at the 
instance of the Committee, for any purpose which they 
deem to be of sufficient importance, or at the instance 
of not fewer than fifteen Members. Notice of not less than 
two weeks shall be given of every General and Special 
General Meeting. 

INTRODUCTION OF VISITORS. 

VIII. Members may introduce visitors at any ordinary 
Meeting of the Club, but the same guest shall not be 
eligible to attend on more than three occasions during 
the Session. No former Member, who has been removed 
for non-payment of subscription, or for any other cause, 
shall be allowed to attend as a guest. 

‘ BULLETIN’ OF THE CLUB. 

IX. An Abstract of the Proceedings of the Club shall be 
printed as soon as possible after each Meeting, under the 
title of the ‘ Bulletiu of the British Ornithologists’ Club’ 
and shall be distributed gratis to every Member who has 
paid his subscription. 

Contributors are entitled to six free copies of the 
‘Bulletin,’ but if they desire to exercise this privilege, 
they must give notice to the Editor when their manuscript 
is handed in. Members purchasing extra copies of the 
‘Bulletin’ are entitled to a rebate of 25 per cent. on 
the published price, but not more than two copies can be 
sold to any Member unless ordered before printing. 

Descriptions of new species may be published in the 
‘Bulletin,’ although such were not communicated at the 
Meeting of the Club. This shall be done at the discretion 
of the Editor and so long as the publication of the ‘ Bulletin’ 
is not unduly delayed thereby. 

Any person speaking at a Meeting of the Club shall 
be allowed subsequently—subject to the discretion of the 
Editor—to amplify his remarks in the ‘ Bulletin,’ but 
no fresh matter shall be incorporated with such remarks. 


VIII 

X. No communication, the whole or any important part 
of which has already been published elsewhere, shall be 
eligible for publication in the ‘ Bulletin,’ except at the 
discretion of the Editor; and no communication made 
to the Club may be subsequently published elsewhere 
without the written sanction of the Editor. 

ALTERATION AND REPEAL OF RULEs. 

XI. Any suggested alteration or repeal of a standing rule 
shall be submitted to Members to be voted upon at a General 
Meeting convened for that purpose. 

COMMITTEE, 1932-1933. 

D. A. BANNERMAN, Chairman. Elected 1982. 
H. F. Wiruersy, Vice-Chairman. Elected 1932. 
Dr. G. CarmicnuakEL Low, Editor. Elected 1930. 

C. W. Macxworrn-Prarp, Hon. Secretary and Treasurer. 
Elected 1929. 

Dr. P. H. Manson-Banr. Elected 1930. 

Dr. A. Lanpsporoveu Tuomson. Elected 19380. 
Rev. J. R. Hare. Elected 1931. 

H. Wuistier. Elected 1982. 


Officers of the British Ornithologists’ Club, 

Past and Present. 

Chairmen, 

P. L. Scrater, F.R.S. 
Lord RoruscHiLp, F.R.S. 
W. L. Scrater. 

H. F. WitTHERBY. 
De-PaRe Low: 

Major 8S. 8. FLoweEr. 

D. A. BANNERMAN. 

Vice-Chairmen. 

Lord RotruscHip, F.R.S. 
W. L. ScrateEer. 
H. F. WirHerpsy. 

Editors. 
R. BowpLER SHARPE. 
W. R. Oginvie-GRAnrt. 
D. A. BANNERMAN. 
D. Setu-Smira. 
Dr. P. R. Lowe. 
N. B. Kinnear. 
Dr. G. CarMicHarEL Low. 

1892-1913. 
1913-1918. 
1918-1924, 
1924-1927, 
1927-1930. 
1930-1982. 
1932- 

1930-1931. 
1931-1982. 
1932-19338. 

1892-1904. 
1904-1914. 
1914-1915. 
1915-1920. 
1920-1925. 
1925-1980. 
1930- 

Honorary Secretaries and Treasurers. 

Howarp SAUNDERS. 

W. E. pE Winton. 

H. F. WirHersy. 

Dr. P.. Re Low 

C. G. TarBor-Ponsonsy. 
D. A. BANNERMAN. 

Dr. Purirp Gossk. 

J. L. Bonnore. 

C. W. 
Dr. G. CarmMicHaEL Low. 
C. W. Mackworru-PRAED. 

Mackworru-PRrakEp. 

1892-1899. 
1899-1904. 
1904-1914. 
1914-1915. 
1915-1918. 
1918-1919. 
1919-1920. 
1920-1922. 
1922-1923. 
1923-1929, 
1929- 



) Ze) 

15 

20 

25 

LIST OF MEMBERS. 

JUNE 1933. 

———_=<—__—$_ 

Actanp, Miss C. M.; Walwood, Banstead, Surrey. 

Acworta, Capt. Brrnarp, D.8.0., R.N.; 12 Tudor Street, H.C. 2. 

Avams, Ernusr E.; Lloyd’s, Royal Exchange, H.C. 3. 

ALEXANDER, H. G.; 144 Oak Tree Lane, Selly Oak, Birmingham. 

ALEXANDER, W. B.; Dept. of Zoology, University Museum, Oxford. 

APLIN, OniveR VeRNon ; Stonehill House, Bloxham, Banbury, Oxon. 

Ascuerson, C. 8.; 15 Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, W. 8. 

AYLMER, Commdr. EH. A., R.N.; H.M.S. ‘ Marazion,’ China Station. 

Pann, B.C. Stuart, C.1.E., O.B.E., F.Z.8., F.L.8., H.F.A.0.U. ; 
6 Harold Road, Upper Norwood, 8.E. 19. 

Bannerman, Davin A., M.B.E., B.A., F.R.S.E. (Chairman) ; British 
Museum (Natural History), 5.W.7, and 7 Pembroke Gardens, 
Kensington, W. 8. 

Barciay-Smitu, Miss P.; Park Lodge, Hervey Road, Blackheath, 
Si. a. 

Barrineton, Fruprrick J. F., M.8., F.R.C.S.; University College 
Hospital Medical School, Gower Street, W.C. 1. 

Bates, G. L.; Blasford Hill, Little Waltham, Chelmsford. 

Best, Miss M. G. S.; Broadwater, Amport, Andover, Hants. 

Braavw, F. E., C.M.Z.S. ; Gooilust, s’;Graveland, Hilversum, North 
Holland. 

Brezarp, Miss Ruth; Stocks, Tring, Herts. 

Boorman, 8.; Heath Farm, Send, Woking, Surrey. 

Boorn, H. B.; “ Ryhill,” Ben Rhydding, Yorks. 

Boyp, A. W.; Frandley House, near Northwich. 

Braprorp, A. D.; Garston House, near Watford. 

BraprorpD, Sir J. Roszr, K.C.M.G., M.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.S.; 8 Man- 
chester Square, W.1. 

Brown, Grorer; Combe Manor, Hungerford, Berks. 

Browns, Parricx, R.E.; Firwood, Trumpington Road, Cambridge. 

Bunyarp, P. F., F.Z.S.; 57 Kidderminster Road, Croydon. 

Butter, Artuur L.; St. Leonard’s Park, Horsham, Sussex. 

Buxton, AntHony; Horsey Hall, Gt. Yarmouth, Norfolk. 


30 

35 

40 

45 

50 

XII 

CampBeLt, James; Layer Marney Hall, Kelvedon, Essex. 

Caapsan, F. M.; American Museum of Natural History, New 
York, U.S.A. 

Caarteris, Hon. G. L.; 24 Oxford Square, W. 2. 

Cuasen, Freverick N.; Raffles Museum, Singapore. 

CuessMan, Major R. E., O.B.E.; E. India United Service Club, 
16 St. James’s Square, S.W. 1. 

Crarkn, Brig.-General Gonanp van Hott, C.M.G., D.S.O. F.Z.S. 
Wiston Park, Steyning, Sussex. 

CiaRkE, Joan P. Stepuenson; Broadhurst Manor, Horsted Keynes, 
Sussex. 

CrarkeE, Col. SrepHenson Rosert, C.B., F.Z.8.; Borde Hill, Cuck- 

field, Sussex. 

Crueave, Henry P. O.; Mansfield House, Kendrick Road, 
Reading. 

Cocurann, Captain Henry L., R.N. (Retd.); The Chase, Whaddon, 
Bletchley, Bucks. 

Cottier, Cuartes, F.Z.8.; Bridge House, Culmstock, Devon. 

Conover, H. B.; 6 Scott Street, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. 

Cox, Major-Gen. Sir Percy Z., G.C.LE., G.C.M.G., K.C.S.1.; 
25 Kensington Palace Mansions, Kensington, W. 8. 

Cunnineuam, Josias; Drinagh, Kensington Road, Knock, Belfast. 

Curtis, Freprrics, F.R.C.8.; Alton House, Redhill, Surrey. 

Dantes, CuristopHer; 75 Grosvenor Street, W.1. 

Deane, Roperr H.; Seaford Head Golf Club, Seaford, Sussex. 

Derxacour, Jean ; Chateau de Cleres (Seine-Inf.), France. 

Detmi-Raporirre, Lieut.-Col. A., D.S.0.; Cypress Lodge, Bridge 
Street, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey. 
Dertui-Rapeurrr, Lieut.-Col. H., F.Z.8., F R.G.8.; ¢/o Lloyds 
Bank (Cox & Co.’s Branch), F. Dept., 6 Pall Mall, $.W. 1. 
Dewuorst, Captain F. W., Royal Marine L.I.; Elmwood, North 
End, Hampstead, N.W.3. 

Dorin, Witt1amM Henry, M.R.C.S.; 2 Hunter Street, Chester. 

Duncan, Arraur Bryce; Gilchristlands, Closeburn, Dumfriesshire. 

Duncan, Watrer Bryce; Newlands, Dumfries. 

Ex.is, H. Wiitovcusy, F.Z.8S., F.E.S.; Speldhurst Close, Seven- 
oaks, Kent. 

Exxis, Raupu, Jr.; 2429 Ridge Road, Berkeley, California. 

Evans, Antoun Houmsiz, M.A., D.Se., F.Z.8.; Cheviot House, 
Crowthorne, Berks. 

Lizra, A., O.B.E., F.Z.8.; Foxwarren Park, Cobham, Surrey, 


55 

60 

65 

7O 

75 

XIII 

Ferrier, Miss Juptra M.: Hemsby Hall, Hemsby, Norfolk. 

Frnuryson, Horace W., F.Z.S.; 50 St. Michael’s Road, Bedford. 

Fisurer, Kennetu; School House, Oundle, Northamptonshire. 

Fiemine, James M.; Drumwalt, Long Road, Cambridge. 

Frower, Major S. 8. (Chairman, 1930-1932); Spencersgreen End, 
Tring, Herts. 

Fourxus-Roserts, Captain P. R.; Kwale, Warri Province, Nigeria, 
West Africa, and Westwood, Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire. 

Guiree, W. E.; The House, Albion Brewery, Whitechapel Rd., I. 1. 

GirnistER, A. G.; The Barn House, Kast Blatchington, Seaford. 

Gopman, Miss Eva; South Lodge, Horsham, Sussex. 

Grant, Captain C. H. B., F.Z.S.; 1 @ Gloucester Terrace, 8. W. 7. 

Grirritu, ArTHUR F.; 3 Evelyn Terrace, Brighton. 

Gurney, G. H., F.Z.S.; Keswick Hall, Norwich, Norfolk. 

GyLDENstoLPE, Count Nizs; Royal (Natural History) Museum, 
Stockholm, Sweden. 

Hacuisuxa, The Marquess; Mita Shiba, Tokyo, Japan. 

Haie-THomas, Mrs. Rost; 71 Strand on the Green, W. 4. 

Haieu, Grorce Henry Caron, F.Z.S.; Grainsby Hall, Great 
Grimsby, Lincolnshire. 

Harz, Rev. James R., M.A. (Committee); Boxley Vicarage, Maid- 
stone, Kent. 

Hamerron, Colonel A. E.; 1 Park Village West, Regent’s Park, 
IN Wes I, 

Harrison, Bernarp Guy; 45 St. Martin’s Lane, W.C. 2. 

Harrison, Dr. James M., D.S.C.; Bowerwood House, St. Botolph’s 
Road, Sevenoaks, Kent. 

Harrisson, Tuomas H.; The Chase, Weeke, Winchester. 

Harrert, Ernst, Ph.D., F.Z.8.; 606 <Albrechtstrasse, Berlin, 
Stdende. 

Heata, R. K.; 54 Brompton Square, 8. W. 3. 

Hert, Grorrrey Seccomset, M.B., F.R.C.S., F.Z.8.; 86 Brook Street, 
Grosvenor Square, W. 1. 

| Honexi, Mrs. T. Epwarp; Old Ridley, Stocksfield, Northumberland. 

80 

Horr, R. F.; Herons Ghyll, Uckfield, Sussex. 

Hopxinson, Emirtus, C.M.G., D.S.0., M.B., F.Z.S.;  Wynstay, 
Balcombe, Sussex. 

Horpern, Miss Doruen ; Babworth House, Darling Point, Sydney, 
N.S.W., Australia. 

Horson, Major H. P. W., R.E.; Windy Ridge, Old Compton Lane, 
Farnham, Surrey. 


85 

go 

95 

I0o 

105 

XIV 

Inetts, C. McFartane; Natural History Museum, Darjiling, India. 

Ineram, Capt. Cottinewoop; The Grange, Benenden, Cranbrook, 
Kent. 

JABOUILLE, Prerre; Gouvernement de la Cochin-Chine, Saigon, 
Indo-China, 

Jorpan, Dr. Kart; Zoological Museum, Tring, Herts. 
Jourpatn, Rev. F. C. R., M.A., H.F.A.0O.U., H M.S.O. de France ; 
Whitekirk, 4 Belle Vue Road, Southbourne, Hants. 

Kinnear, Norman B.; British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell 
Road, 8.W. 7. 

Kross, C. Bopen; Royal Societies Club, St. James’s Street, 
S.W. 1. 

Kuropa, Dr. Nagamicar; Fukuyoshi Cho, Akasaka, Tokyo, Japan. 

La Tovcue, J. D. D.; Kiltymon, Newtownmountkennedy, Co. 
Wicklow, Ireland. 

Leacu, Miss E. P.; 17 Hereford Square, S.W. 7. 

Lewis, Joun Spepan, F.Z.S.; North Hall, Mortimer Crescent, 
Greville Road, St. John’s Wood, N.W. 6. 

Lioyp, Bertram ; 53 Parkhill Road, Hampstead, N.W. 3. 

Low, Gzorce Carmicuany, M.A., M.D., O.M., F.R.C.P., F.Z.S. 
(Editor of the‘ Bulletin’); 86 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, 
W.1. 

Lows, P. R., 0.B.E., B.A., M.B., B.C., F.Z.S. (Chairman, 1927- 
1930); British Museum (Natural History), Cromwell Road, 
S.W. 7. 

Lucas, Narnanier S., M.B., F.Z.S.; 19 Westbourne Terrace, Hyde 
Park, W. 2. 

Lynes, Rear-Admiral Hosert, R.N., C.B., C.M.G.; 23 Onslow 
Gardens, S. W. 7. 

Mackenzin, Joun M. D., B.A., C.M.Z.S.; Sidlaw Fur Farm, 
Tullachard, Balbeggie, Perthshire. 

McKrrrricx, T. H., Jr.; Great Surries, East Grinstead, Sussex. 

Macxwortu-Prarp, OC. W., F.Z.8. (Hon. Sec. & Treasurer) ; 
51 Onslow Gardens, S.W. 7. 

Macminian, Captain W. E. F.; 42 Onslow Square, 8.W. 7. 

MoNettz, J. H.; Guards’ Club, Brook Street, W.1. 

Mageratu, Lieut.-Colonel H. A. F.; 43 Grosvenor Road, West- 
minster, 8.W.1. 

Manson-Baurn, FP. H., D.8.0., “M-A., M.D., F.R.C.P.. F.Z8, 
(Committee) ; 149 Harley Street, W. 1. 

Marnews, G. M., F.L.S., F.Z.8.; Meadway, St. Cross, Winchester, 
Hants. 


IIo 

115 

120 

525 

130 

135 

Ver 

Mavrogorpato, J. G.; Mariners, Westerham, Kent. 

May, W. Norman, M.D.; The White House, Sonning, Berks. 
Mayaup, Nonzt; 1 Rue de Bordeaux, Saumur, France. 
MeavE-Watpo, E. G. B., F.Z.S.; Stonewall Park, Edenbridge, 

Kent. 

MEINERTZHAGEN, Colonel R., D.S.O., F.Z.S.; 17 Kensington Park 
Gardens, W. 8. 

Mrcnotts, Mrs. Dorotuy; Silver Birches, Wentworth, Virginia 
Water. 

Momryama, Toxu Taro; 1146 Sasazka, Yoyohata-mati, Tokyo, Japan. 

Monn, P. W.; Puerto Alcudia, Majorca, Balearic Isles, Spain, 

Morton, Mrs. C. D.; Cranbrook Lodge, Cranbrook, Kent. 

Musseiwuire, D. W.; 59 Mayford Road, Wandsworth Common, 
S.W.12. ) 

Musrurs, James Lawrence CuawortH; Royal Societies Club, 
St. James’s Street, S.W. 1. ; 

Navumsoure, Mrs. W. W.; 121 East 64th Street, New York. 

Newmay, '’. H., F.Z.S8.; Verulam, 46 Forty Avenue, Wembley 
Park, Middlesex. 

OxrpHam, Caas., F.Z.S.; The Bollin, Shrublands Road, Berk- 
hamsted, Herts. 

Osmaston, Berrram Beresrorp; 116 Banbury Road, Oxford. 

Pautson, C. W. G.; 10 King’s Bench Walk, Temple, E.C. 4. 

Prask, H. J. R.; Medmenham, Marlow, Bucks. 

Prrsuouss, Major S.; c/o Lloyds Bank (Cox & King’s Branch), 

6 Pall Mall, S.W. 1. 

Pirman, Capt. C. R. S., D.S.0., M.C., c/o The Postmaster, 
Livingstone, N. Rhodesia. 

Prayer, W. J. P.; Wernfadog, Clydach R.S8.0., Glamorganshire. 

Pornam, Hucu Lryzorne, M.A.; Houndstreet House, Pensford, 
Somerset. 

Rarcuirr, F. R.; 29 Connaught Square, W. 2. 

Ruopes, Miss G. M.; Hildersham Hall, Cambridge. 

Ricxert, C. B., F.Z.S.; 27 Kendrick Road, Reading, Berks. 

Rivirkre, B. B., F.R.C.S.; The Old Hall, Woodbastwick, Norfoll. 

Roruscaitp, Lions WattEr—Lord, D.Sc., F.R.S., Ph.D., F.Z.S. 
(Chairman, 1913-1918); Tring Park, Herts. 

Sanpeman, R. G. C. C.; Dan-y-pare, Crickhowell, Brecon. 

ScHAUENSER, Baron R. M. pr; Devon, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. 

Scrater, Witrram Lurtey, M.A., F.Z.S8. (Chairman, 1918-1924) ; 
10 Sloane Court, S.W. 1. 


140 

145 

150 

155 

160 

XVI 

Scoyz, The Rt. Hon. Mungo Davin—Lord; Scone Palace, Perth. 

Sera-Sarra, Davi, I'.Z.S.; Curator’s House, Zoological Gardens, 
Regent’s Park, N.W. 8. 

Snrpton, Wu., B.A., M.D.; 2 The Square, Buxton. 

Sutonps, Major Maurice H., Fines Baylewick, Binfield, Berks. 

Srapen, Major A. G. L., M.C.; Kingswood House, The Lee, 
Great Missenden, Bucks. 

SmaLLey, Freperick W., F.Z.S8., Uppleby House, Parkstone, 
Dorset. 

SNoUCKAERT VAN ScHavuBure, Baron Rent Cuaries; Hotel les 
Terrasses, Territet, Switzerland. 

Sparrow, Col. R., C.M.G., D.S.0., F.Z.8., F.R.G.S.; The Lodge, 
Colne Engaine, Earls Colne, Essex. 

Srares, J. W. C.; Portchester, Hants. 

STEVENS, Hespaiard Clovelly, Beaconsfield Road, Tring, Herts. 

SrongHam, Lt.-Col. H. F., O.B.E., F.E.S.; Kitale Estates, Kenya 
Colony, British Kast ‘Mien! 

Srvart-Menreru, W. G.; Bransfield, Godstone, Surrey. 

Sryan, F. W., F.Z.S.; Stone Street, near Sevenoaks. 

Swynnurton, C. F. Massy; Poste Restante, Dar-es-Salaam, 
Tanganyika Territory, East Africa. 

Taxa-TsvKasa, Prince Nosusuxs; 1732 Sanchome, Kami-meguro, 
Meguro-Ku, Tokyo, Japan. 

Tatsot-Ponsonsy, C. G.; 5 Crown Office Row, Temple, E.C. 4. 

Tavistock, Hastines Wititiam SackviLLE, Marquess of, F.Z.S.; 
Warblington House, Havant. 

Tuomson, A. LanpsBoroven, O.B.E., D.Sc. (Committee); 9 Addison 
Gardens, W. 14. 

Tuorre, W. H., M.A., Ph.D.; Jesus College, Cambridge. 

Ticenurst, Craup B., M.A., M.R.C.S.; Saxon House, Appledore, 
Kent. 

Ticrnvrst, N. F., O.B.E., M.A., M.B., F.R.C.S., F.Z.8.; 24 Peven- 
sey Road, St. Leonards-on-Sea. 

Tucker, B. W., B.A., F.Z.S.; 9 Marston Ferry Road, Oxford. 

Turner, Miss E. L., F.Z.8.; The Half Way Cottage, 13 Storey’s 
Way, Cambridge. 

Turtie, Lancetot J.; Rosemount, Knock, Belfast. 

Tyrwuitt-Draxr, Hueuw G., F.Z.8.; Cobtree Manor, Sandling, 
Maidstone. 

Urauuart, Capt. Anasrarr, D.S.0., Latimer Cottage, Latimer, 
Chesham, Bucks, 


XVIL 

vAN Somrren, Dr. V. G. L.; Last Africa and Uganda Natural 
History Society, Coryndon Memorial Museum, Nairobi, Kenya 
Colony, Kast Africa. 
Vernay, A, S.; 51 Berkeley Square, W.1. 
165 Warre, Herserr Wiitiam; c/o Messrs. Grindlay & Co., Ltd., 
Bombay. 
Watts, H. M.; 110 Kendrick Road, Reading. 
Ware, R.; Leafwood, Frant, Tunbridge Wells. 
Wuistter, Huew, F.Z.8., F.L.S. (Committee); Caldbec House, 
Battle, Sussex. 
Wuirtaxrer, Joseeu I, 8., F.Z.S.; Malfitano, Palermo, Sicily. 
170 Wurre, S. J., F.Z.8.; 17 Philpot Lane, E.C.3 
Wuuittey, H.; Primley, Paignton, 8. Devon. 
Witurams, Victor Owen; 6 Crown Office Row, Temple, H.C. 4. 
Wiuiramson, Sir W. J. F., C.M.G., F.Z.8.; c/o Lloyds Bank, 6 Pall 
Mall, S.W;.1. 3 
Wine, J.Stapen ; 21 Cheyne Gardens, Chelsea Embankment, 8.W.3. 
175 Wisuart, W. E.; Marsh Farm, Binsted, Arundel, Sussex. 
Wiruursy, Harry F., M.B.E., F.Z.8. (Vice-Chairman) (Chair- 
man, 1924-1927); 326 High Holborn, W.C. 2. 
. Wirrserineton, G,; Sumner Plat, Hayward’s Heath. 
Woop, Dr. Cassy A., M.D.; c/o The Library of Ornithology, 
McGill University, Montreal, Canada. 
Workman, Wittiam Hvueues, F.Z.8.; Lismore, Windsor Avenue, 

_ Belfast. 
180 Worms, Cuaries pe; Milton Park, Egham, Surrey. 

Total number of Members .... 180 

NOTICE. 

| Members are specially requested to keep the Hon. Secretary 
informed of any changes in their addresses, and those 
residing abroad should give early notification of coming home 
on leave. | 

VOL, LIII. b 


LIST OF AUTHORS ‘ 

. AND OTHER PERSONS REFERRED TO. 

Page 
ACCOUNTS; STATEMENT OF osc. suo% so sie inl 0 mae sels 3.6 6 oe 4 
ALEXANDER, H. G. | 
Notes on Willow- and Marsh-Tits, with a graph showing : 
the song of the two birds. . 2.0.46 cae ds sien wee tim ele + 3 ve 33-35 . 
ANNUAL GHNDRAL MENTING ... . Seis sine nins © « « «ces lems smart 2 . 
BANNERMAN, D. A. | 
Read for Mr. G. L. Bates an account ofa journey made by 
the latter to the French Niger and French Sudan in 1931-1932 5-7 j 
Exhibition of, and remarks on, birds collected by Com- ; 
mander G. N. Hughes from the islands off the Sierra Leone 
CBSE © ste eia 5 imiess naieie. 6: 5.200 © ne eRe or kee ene ee 44-45 
4: 
Note on the correct name of the West African Hoopoe j 
(Upupa, senegalensis) ..:.. 5s. cs, setae skass pid’= See ee ene cee 70-71 
Note on a new genus for the Little Swift (Tetragonopyga 
510) Oo ie (Ait er eae ESS Acaeetn SAB Anides ao Aig Sis Aap ks 71-72 
A correction that Colletoptera has precedence over Tetra- 
gonopyga.(antea, Sp. 1 2). ac Rie eee, s 2 rie Wis wi Oe epanee. 6 alae 97-98 
Description of a new race of the Double-toothed Barbet ‘ 
(Pogonornis bidentatus friedmannt) from North Angola .... 124 
Notes on the Hairy-breasted Toothbills (Z’richolema) in { 
DC inca nop Sel Ge eae oe +S aM Ratisce lca sow 152-153 , : 
Description of a new race of Speckled Tinker-Bird r 
(Pogoniulus scéblopaceus angolensis) from Angola......,.,... 184-185 


XIX 
Page 
Batss, G. L. 
An account of a journey made by him to the French 
Niger and French Sudan in 1931-1932 (read by Mr. D. A. 
Bannerman). Also descriptions of eight new subspecies: 
Onychognathus morio modicus, Lagonosticta rubricata virata, 
Mirafra rufa nigriticola, Saxicola torquata moptana, Hirundo 
lucida clara, Charadrius marginatus russatus, Glareola cinerea 
colorata, Columba livia lividior, and Charadrius marginatus 
hespervus ; these new races were eollected by him during his 
eR PRED Raa ees wala of Sid win ny «) os alin eran ons of ways, 0) alte. 4-0 excell ob 09 o—12 

Descriptions of two new subspecies, Awripasser luteus 
tilemsiensis and T'chagra senegala tembuktana, and Mesopicos 
goerte agmen, nom. nov., from French Niger and French 
RRR rete 8 Cathe ten eR ole Sars aI AL» eed a tied dyes 72-75 

A note on Charadrius marginatus russatus being pre- 
occupied, and should now be known as Charadrius marginatus 
REMI tse aee is Se at ete 2a wits ea nies a ehend « c ctb ek ald 2/0 d'e/'ere 75-76 

Descriptions of two new subspecies, Cercomela melanura 
ultima and Thamnolea cinnamomeiventris cavernicola. 
Also remarks on the races of Dicrurus adsimilis, Hypochera 
chalybeata, Hypochera amauropteryx, and Steganura para- 
cee a EE el caf a Oc. 6765s Shepa'n, § Seem ocae' 6.4 #8 Kol aire © 175-181 
Further remarks on the races of Charadrius marginatus : 

a reply to Professor Oscar Neumann (antea, pp. 10 and 96). 211-213 
British Trust for Ornithology. An appeal for funds..... 198-199 

BuUNYABRD, P. F. 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, a clutch of five eggs of the 
Kestrel (Falco t. tnnunculus) taken near Croydon ......... 15 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, eggs of the British Marsh- 
Titmouse (Parus palustris dresseri), Northern Willow- 
Titmouse (Parus atricapilius borealis), and the British 

_ Willow-Titmouse (Parus a. kleinschmidit) ..........000005 76-77 

Read a paper entitled “‘A Few Notes on the Birds of 
ERC e gt rates ae) aba%e asa ldlieeie le Sere SS sels Af We alae anise» 83-85 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, eggs of a race of the 
Dowitcher or Red-breasted Snipe (Limnodromus griseus 
Renddreent) irom AMDOrEa I iaiis.c 8 bias wld on Vale le Maldidle qs Sea's 90-92 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, the eggs, nest-feathers, 
and down of the Ruddy Sheld-Duck (Casarca ferruginea) .. 116-117 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, the eggs of Steller’s Eider 
(Polysinecta stetiers) irom Alaska .........ccccccncesscnces 117-118 


xx 
Page 
BunyARD, P. F. (cont.). 
Exhibition of, and remarks on, seven plaques of mounted 
nest-feathers and down, with weights and measurements, 
of the Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis) ...........000008 166-167 

Buxton, ANTHONY. 

Exhibition of slides and films of various marshland birds, 
photographed at Horsey, Norfolk... .......8000 seewuweee. 129 

CHAIRMAN, THE. 
Annies) Addveie << cots . aa toccpadve- ta ioe cc A ore 50-63 

Introduction of Dr. Finn Salomonsen...............00% 102 

CHARTERIS, The Hon. Guy. 
Exhibition of eggs from Hungary of the River-Warbler 
(Locustella fluviatilis), Cuckoos’ eggs laid in nests of the 
Great Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus a. arundinaceus), and 
the Short-toed Lark (Calandrella b. brachydactila) ........ 240 

CHISLETT, RALPH. 
Exhibition of slides of the Bittern, Montagu’s Harrier, 
and the Marsh-Harrier, taken at Horsey, Norfolk, and the 
Wood-Sandpiper (Tringa glareola) from Lapland. ......... 129 

oo 

COMMIT THE TOR 1932-1038 oi. ee ae ete eee. 

CORRECTIONS. 

For American Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus a. ameri- 
canus) (antea, p. 77) Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythrop- 
thalmus) should be substituted (antea, pp. 88 & 97)........ 98 

Capt. C. H. B. Grant’s paper in the ‘ Bulletin’ (antea, li. 
oak bat ml 2) 3 eae Re Reon Aci eS pipe mere eyes 154 

CoOBBIGENDA TO VOEUME ASTER (W.... ewiek ee ene oe eee eee 247 

DELACOUR, J. 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, Liocichla omeiensis and 
Alcippe variegaticeps from China .........0-+.seeecesces 85-88 

Remarks on a new race, Nesillas typica monticola, from 
Madagascar, named by Dr. E. Hartert and Monsieur L. 
Ud 0 eee Oe ee Pte ar en Se See 95 

Description of a new subspecies of Weaver-bird (Huplectes 
axillaris batesi) from the River Niger ................000- 18] 

ee 


XXI 

DIAGRAMS. 
Of nesting-cavities of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker 
(Dryobates minor) and British Willow-Tit (Parus atricapillus 
RMP IOREANER Oe isi tence ee ee er iA cate oa wis ote biele Malla 

GRANT, Capt. C. H. B. 
Correction to his paper in the ‘ Bulletin’ (aniea, h. 
RIED Rae late ao) wes, 05 nash aya Wiefe versie eee «0.82 @ ¢ se) 9) 0) 

A note on Mr. B. G. Harrison’s paper (antea, p. 102) on 
the Cowbirds of S. America, drawing attention to his 
meee ei LOU ye DUS. iiss clcdrlals woe eas ee meee en ails 

GRANT, Capt. C. H. B., and C. W. MackwortH-PRAED. 
Description of a new species of Booby (Sula nicollz) from 
Om MENG NIRGL. 5 Lecce) a =o, afeieiyatie Brits opis) si o.ak aia) © 414 4ain 16'S) "en (96, F 
1. Remarks on the correct type-locality of Sula sula sula. 

2. The subspecific status of Pelecanus roseus and the 
correct type-locality of Pelecanus onocrotalus........ 

3. On the relationship, status, and range of Hgretia garzeita, 
Demigretta gularis, D. schistacea,. D. asha, and 
D. dimorpha, a new subspecies, LHgretta garzetta 
assumptionis, and the correct type-locality of Hyretta 
BPP Mert PE Oia oe red oho ral shen oh sy ot ali s/w «oo efie sc ofei'ac elie ar visi,s Siw aie, «a's? 6 

4. On the races of Scopus u. umbretia, and the correct 
reference to the type-locality ...........2.ceeceees 

Remarks on the correct type-locality of the Purple Heron 
(Pyrrherodia purpurea purpurea), the Long-tailed Cormorant 
(Phalacrocorax africanus africanus), and the African Woolly- 
necked Stork (Dissoura episcopus microscelis) ........0005 

1. Remarks on the exact type-localities of Hrismatura 
maccoa and Thalassornis leuconotus ...........006- 

2. The exact type-locality of Spatula capensis, and a 
character by which the females of this species may 
be distinguished from females of Spatula clypeata.... 

3. Amore definite type-locality for Anas undulata ruppellv. 
4. The status of Anas sparsa leucostigmd......6..0.006- 
5. The occurrence of Dajila acuia and Anas querquedula in 
emipomiyseet T CmtatOrytiwncks bin b lpia s oe Bhs sae 
6. Further notes on Demigretia schistacea, Egretta garzetta 
garzetia, and EL. g. dimorpha, with some corrections . . 
7. Anew subspecies of Rusty Bush-Lark (Mirafra rufa 
lynest) from Kordofan Province ...........2scceeee 

Page 

29 

1d4 

247 

118-119 
185-187 

187-189 

189-196 

196-197 

208-211 

242 

242-243 

243 
243-244 

245 

245-246 

246-247 


XXII 
GRIFFITH, A. F. 

Exhibition of a supposed American Yellow-billed Cuckoo 
(Coccyzus a. americanus) and a Noddy (Anous stolidus), both 
being British killed 

a 8 2 © ©) 6 BBO 6 8 6 80's © Cn © 0 0 6 6 O88 8 Oe 8 8 CC 

Observation of White’s Thrush (Oreocincla dauwma aureus) 
in Brighton 

C © 2: © G0 %8 0 8 © © © 96. \@ ‘ee a © 0) @ (0 (e180) © 6.8 a e716 & 6 6.0 le e:8 8 © 6 6 © 

Death of Mr. J. Whitaker, and appealing for financial 
assistance to purchase his collection 

eoeoceeneeeeeecee eee ewe ee ee 

Sale of the late Mr. J. Whitaker’s collection (antea, p. 78). 

Harrison, B. G. 

A note that Mr. P. F. Bunyard considered the Cuckoo 
exhibited by Mr. A. F. Griffith a Black-billed, and not a 
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (antea, pp. 77 & 88) 2.0.0.2... 008: 

Read a paper entitled “‘ A few Remarks on the Factors 
governing the Development of Parasitic Habits in Passerine 
Birds (Troupials and Weavers), and in particular of American 
Cow Birds 2 et SEES Rae ears cok arent tee hate 

Harrison, Dr. JAMES M. 

Correction to a paper, appearing in ‘ The Ibis,’ on his 
Bulgarian tapi... sere t.c «2 ae sate seeker epee ajeie nt ctatalsetetahato cats 

Harrisson, T. H. 

A preliminary account (illustrated by lantern-slides and 
exhibits) of his recent work in Sarawak, Borneo .......... 

HicHam, W. E. 

Exhibition of a film illustrating the Short-eared Owl 
(Asio f. flammets) at is NeSt! cer a. oc,- v= 6 oe aiadgee wale 

JOURDAIN, Rev. F. C. R. 
Remarks on the Willow- and Marsh-Tits .............. 

Remarks on the breeding of Pernis a. apivorus in Great 
Bribes ois bine ccna edie 5 pice a Pak el alae 

Remarks on Mr. David Lack’s paper on the Birds of Bear 
ASAT tt kas 28 oc yh. sro tesiee res aretha os Sars lode eke 

Limnodromus griseus hendersont not yet recognized by 
the American Ornithologists’ Union ...........eeeeeeees 

Page 
77-78 
78 
78-79 
97 

97 
102-107 
124 
107-115 
128 
39-40 
45-46 
69-70 
93 


XXIIL 

JOURDAIN, Rev. F. C. R. (cont.). 
Remarks on the Willow-Tit, dealing specially with 
Mr. P. F. Bunyard’s exhibition and statements (antea, 
POPE ec eben cine series Ha te oe Oh eas het 
Remarks on the Great Skua (Stercorarius s. skua) in the 
eee uaa RMCTME ET Ga fciaysy* Syalch otis gate eid 4 sistas inlnes (qe «(ord ded Seeiere mrs 

KELLAWAY, Dr. C. H. 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, a series of photographs 
of common Australian birds at the nest ................. 

KINNEAR, N. B. 

Descriptions of two new subspecies, Actinodura nipalensis 
wardi and Grammatoptila striata cranbrooki, from N.E. 
RRR ear shee ohh a8 ond! Tees coax alia Bao, 6 S801 6 6,5 Cain om Snes os 

La ToucuHeE, J. D. 

Correction of Yungipicus scintilliceps kurodai for Yungi- 
picus scintilliceps nagamichii, nom. NOV. ........... 02 eee 

Lack, Davip. 

Introduced by the Chairman, and read a paper on the 
BEd Gir Okt A Slaklele: .)-ieeicnesh eos) Aaa srale's Sleieus «fs Des pow e's a! « 

LITERATURE, List oF (referred to at Annual Address) ....... 

LonestaFr, Dr. T. G. 

Introduced by the Chairman, and made a few brief 
EE aye Pete RNs PA Poke ees Sk wile eee Cheats she 

Low, Dr. G. CARMICHAEL. 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, a series of Redshank 
(Tringa totanus totanus), Dunlin (Calidris a. alpina), and a 
Purple Sandpiper (Calidris m. maritima) from the Orkney 
BRS Se. Pee RES SRWGIL TE ORS SE PES RS Ae 

Exhibition of a race of the Dowitcher or Red-breasted 
Snipe (Limnodromus griseus hendersoni) from Alberta, 
COSTER. 0 MBSE A 2 ee oo ree ores: 2a 

Exhibition, on behalf of Dr. J. M. Harrison, of a Yellow- 
shank (Tringa flavipes) shot in Lincolnshire 

Exhibition of a series of picture post-cards of Texel birds 
Sea MPPNEE TTA ORIECIMNT. 31st, tha, oA nh aks (aval cd reustv mist) <j ty adens Sale Wiad aane « « 

LowE, Dr. P. R. 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, a fossil Ostrich egg 
and the cast of a portion of the pelvis of a fossil Ostrich 
from China 

Se fe Pewee 8 6 8 Cele es Mw Pec Pe ege degen COC Beemeesecee 

Page 

96-97 

168 

201-202 

79-80 

64-69 

62-63 

64 

163-164 

164—166 

239 

240 


XXIV 

LowgE, Dr. P. R. (cont.). 

Remarks on and a diagram showing structural differences 
in the feathers of the crown of the head of the Marsh- and 
WADA Wh rape noc cas ass Wi eae eaten ssi 

Remarks on Mr. Bunyard’s exhibit of eggs ............ 

Communication on an omission to give the name Struthio 
wimani in a previous account (antea, p. 14)..........0605. 

Note on the Cuckoo exhibited by Mr. A. F. Griffith at the 
last meeting, and supposed to be the American Yellow-billed 
Cuckoo (Coccyzus a. americanus). On further comparison 
proves to be the Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythro- 
PUTTS) copie a,c eo ee =e 0c g Lgetele ane wre alee eee miei cRaee foe ee 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, the nest and two eggs 
of a Redwing (Turdus musicus) breeding in Scotland ...... 

Lynes, Admiral H. 
Three new subspecies, C%sticola galactotes luapula and 
Cisticola robusta awemba from N.E. Rhodesia, and Cisticola 
aberrans njombe from Tanganyika Territory ............. 

MackwortH-PRAED, C. W., and Capt. C. H. B. Grant. 
Description of a new species of Booby (Sula nicolli) from 
Glorioso: Velamd: 5.0. scien. aicce i eyeemeeereees So eae uence ere 
1. Remarks on the correct type-locality of Sula sula sula. 
2. The subspecific status of Pelecanus roseus and the 
correct type-locality of Pelecanus onocrotalus........ 
3. On the relationship, status, and range of Egretta garzetta, 
Demigretta gularis, D. schistacea, D. asha, and 
D. dimorpha, anew subspecies, Hgretta garzetia assump- 
tionis, and the correct type-locality of Hgretta garzetta. 
4. On the races of Scopus u. umbretia and the correct 
reference to the type-locality ........0..0 00 ce ees 
Remarks on the correct type-locality of the Purple Heron 
(Pyrrherodia purpurea purpurea), the Long-tailed Cormorant 
(Phalacrocorax africanus africanus), and the African Woolly- 
necked Stork (Dissoura episcopus microscelis) .....6...66. 
1. Remarks on the exact type-localities of Hrismatura 
maccoa and Thalassornis leuconotus ........62.2+06 
2. The exact type-locality of Spatula capensis, and a 
character by which the females of this species may be 
distinguished from females of Spatula clypeata ...... 
. Amore definite type-locality for Anas undulata ruppelli. 

. The status of Anas sparsa leucostiqma. ........eeeee : 

mm 

5, The occurrence of Dafila acuta and Anas querquedula in 
Tagan ene VerrwOny | caress rete so .e sy, «5. see dees 

Page 

40-44 
TW 

80 

88-90 

208 

168-171 

118-119 
185-187 

187-189 

189-196 

196-197 

208-211 

242 

242-243 

243 
243-244 


xx Vi 
Page 
MackwortTH-PRAED, C. W., and Capt. C. H. B. GRAntT (cont.). 
6. Further notes on Demigretia schistacea, Egretia garzetta 
garzetta, and H. g. dimorpha, with some corrections .. 245-246 
7. A new subspecies of Rusty Bush-Lark (Mirafra rufa 
lynese) from: Kordofan, Province jm .6 6 600 ody pee get 246-247 

Maruews, G. M. 

Description of a new genus of Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel 
EASELS ENE Ce oa eee I ea ene 154 

Description of a new subspecies, Diomedella cauta peruvia, 
ERIN COE ERIM ere ok avin, AY aAhgr en Get Roca etien aa oa oe Pe ee wae 185 

Descriptions of three new subspecies, Diomedella cauta 
atlantica, Diomedea exulans georgia, and Pachyptila vittata 
ERECT U cannes catered a LN SM ORE AS we ke eS Ske sae 213-214 

MAVROGORDATO, J. G. 
Read a paper, illustrated with photographs, entitled 
~ Fhghts with the Tramed Goshawk 000.2065... 218-238 

MEINERTZHAGEN, Col. R. 

Descriptions of two new subspecies, Ammomanes deserti 
bensont and Ammomanes deserti janeti, from the Central 
eee i Ee ee chennai) Ree foie Aes Ue can Dv es 151-152 

MUSSELWHITE, D. W. 
Remarks on the Willow- and Marsh-Tit .............. 37-39 

Remarks on the Willow-Tit, dealing specially with 
Mr. P. F. Bunyard’s exhibition and statements (antea, 
Ts Wl ey eas dh aWaedS a BSag, SS Sie eA an Vw Hes, ws Les 96-97 

NEUMANN, Prof. O. 
Descriptions of three new subspecies, Penelope super- 
ciliaris pseudonyma, Penelope superciliaris argyromitra, and 
Penelope superciliaris ochromitra, from Brazil............. 93-95 
Remarks on Mr. Bates’s new name, Charadrius marginatus 
CC TOTS OSS OMS FT Ne TO oe: Se ae a eee ve Se 96 

NicHo3son, E. M. 

Notes on the song and distribution of the Willow-Tit.... | 35-37 
OBITUARY. 

Peaererisetinn WS Seay OLY) ee, OI Riss Os 6G 50 

eR oe tooraho uen ks vate les wee cede mele 50 

(EAT OLE Ls TROP aia te et aan aaah ae ean an 50 

ORNITHOLOGY, British TRUST FOR. 
An appeal for funds 
VOL. LIIlI. C 


XXxVI1 

RoTHSCHILD, Lord. 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, a mounted specimen and 
an oviduct egg of Casuarius unappendiculatus rufotinctus, 
together with a drawing and photograph from life......... 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, a curious Blackbird from 
Tring Patho. con ss ghia hock aie ORRren eee EEE oo os Sau. 

SALOMONSEN, Dr. Finn. 
Remarks on the Madagascar Paradise Flycatchers, and 
a new subspecies, 7'chitrea mutata singetra................ 
Description of a new species of Sunbird (Neodrepanis 
hypoxantha from Madagascar) ..............-- ck SEE 

Sassi, Dr. M. 
Remarks on Mr. Stuart Baker’s new name, Chloropsis 
malabarica, for Chloropsis aurifrons davidsoni; says this 
should now be known as Chloropsis aurifrons fronialis ..... 

ScLaTER, W. L. 
Exhibition of, and remarks on, Lampribis olivacea akley- 
orum from ‘Tanganyika Territory (35.9). bese emtato Ge eG s 

StacHanow, Dr. W. S. 
Description of a new subspecies, Riparia rupestris central- 
asiea, irom Alashan, Central Asia: <5. :\i0.%2.5 2. Sem 6 eee a 

TiceHuRsST, Dr. C. B. 

Forwarded remarks on a new name for Melophus melan- 
icterus, also names given to birds by McClelland have been 
attributed to Horsfield erroneously ...........-.....000- 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, some breeding Red- 
shanks, and a new name proposed for the southern bird, 
Pringa trans Cnr 0.2. Pee. Fk BS SG Dee 

Descriptions of four new Indian forms: Stachyridopsis 
rufifrons pallescens, Drymocataphus tickelli grisescens, 
Cringer tephrogenys robinsoni, and Dicrurus macrocercus 
WCMATSIUNGTIS oo6 aos <5 416 5.9 c's eGR (pice alos to a le Ten emo as 

Communication on Mr. Buturlin’s protest against a new 
name for the Himalayan Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaétos 
TAGHIONE) OF EG oie, bine ae elev e fee oud 28 DRNCTE se eT ce EL cave Os 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, specimens in down of 

tenets WV BAGES us SAKES athe ee ke es». ee ces 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, an example of the Maroon 
Origie (OsIMer aia) Ses hes ses oo ess = rh yc0 0 Le ieee 

Page 

119-124 

182-183 

46 

12-13 

184 

17-18 

18-20 

21-22 
203-206 

206-208 


XXVII 

VINCENT, JACK. 

Exhibition of a series of slides, illustrating a day in the 
life of a field-collector, from the Portuguese East African 
RMSE AOTR Ue EOD nea oa he wi ae oan 8 os Supine e/a wale plelere's 

Descriptions of four new species and eighteen new sub- 
species collected during the recent Portuguese East African 
SENET SM ed oe ahaha! ae, 'o as «Sed suey etene saa, westare) ss lWi's, shay 3's 

Remarks on Lybius zombe, an interesting example of a 
recent change in the coloration of an East African species. . 

A lecture, illustrated with lantern-slides, on his expedition 
meeernmouede: Mast Airicay C6C-. .)5 <a a. <6 oste w ofo s aiece mee 

Description of one new species, Micropus achimodzi, from 
Nyasaland, and two new subspecies, Cisticola emini lurio 
and Cisticola chiniana mocuba, from Portuguese E. Africa .. 

Description of a new subspecies, Micropus apus lawsone, 
from Southern Nyasaland ............... BOGS On Pe cy Sa 

Ware, R. 
Exhibition of, and remarks on, nests and eggs of the 
enter- ates Marcie Pid  . ) . . wr. ess pias ae © owl ok hs bela 

WHISTLER, H. 
Description of a new subspecies of Crested Tit (Lopho- 
phanes dichrous kangre) from the Western Himalayas...... 

WITHERBY, H. F. 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, British and Continental 
Willow-Tits (Parus atricapillus) and Marsh-Tits (Parus 
palusiris), together with nesting-cavity and nest of a British 
Willow-Tit and diagrams of nesting-cavities ............. 

A note that Mr. T. H. McKittrick should be given the 
credit for the correct identification of Mr. A. F. Griffith’s 
MHEUOO (QHICM, DPil SG OO) oh ccs cece beeen cece en eara 

Exhibition of, and remarks on, a melanic example of the 
Common Snipe (Capella gallinago), usually called Sabine’s 
Snipe, obtained at Beaulieu, Hampshire ................. 

Remarks on Dr, C. B. Ticehurst’s paper in the previous 
‘Bulletin ’ on three nestling Waders, being undescribed in 
NE RME NRE AEIEEE 00 a.0) ici a 6 yess & gp Se oho nd aves a die ie diva ok sin oo 

Page 

129-149 
149-151 

157-163 

171-175 

240-241 

20-21 

26-33 

97 

115-116 

241-242 


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BULLETIN 

OF THE 

BRchISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB. 

’ 

No. CCCLATI. 

THE three-hundred-and-fifty-seventh Meeting of the Club was 
held at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W. 1, 
on Wednesday, October 12, 1932. 

Chairman: Mr. D. A. BANNERMAN. 
Members present :—Miss C. M. AcLtanD ; W. B. ALEXANDER ; 

E. C. Stuart Baker; F. J. F. Barrineton; Miss M. G. S. 
Best ; S. Boorman ; Sir J. Rosz— BRapForpD; P. F. Bun- 

YARD; Hon. G. L. CHarteris; R. H. DEANE; J. DELACOUR ; 

A. H. Evans; A. Ezra; Miss J. M. Ferrier; Miss E. M. 
GopMAN; Col. A. E. Hamerton; Dr. J. M. Harrison ; 
R. E. Heats ; Dr. KE. Hopkinson ; N. B. KINNEAR; Miss E. P. 
Lracu ; Dr. G. CarmicHaEL Low (Editor) ; Dr. P. R. Lows ; 
N.S. Lucas; C. W. MackwortH-PRAED (Hon. Sec. & Treas.) ; 
T. H. McKirrrick, jun.; J. H. McNeese; Lt.-Col. H. A. F. 
MaeratH; Dr. P. H. Manson-Banr; T.H. Newman; H. L. 
PorHamM; C. B. Rickert; W. L. Scuater; Major A. G. L. 
SLADEN; Dr. A. LanpsBoroucH THOMSON; Dr. C. B. 
TickHurst ; B. W. Tucker; Miss E. L. Turner; H. M. 
Wats; H. F. WirHersy (Vice-Chairman) ; C. R. Woop ; 
C.G. M. DE Worms. 

Members of the B.O.U.:—C. Dantets; W. K. Dons; 
H. B. Exton; T. S. Gimovur; Miss M. KwNoBEL; 
Miss C. LONGFIELD ; W. P. Lowe. 

Guests :—E. S. Barney; Mrs. D. A. BANNERMAN; H. A. 
GILBERT; Miss C. E. Gopman; R. S. Jenyns; A. G. R. 
RUSSELL. 

| October 31, 1982.] a yOL, Lt. 


Vol. liii.] 2 

Annual General Meeting. 

This was held at Pagani’s Restaurant, Great Portland Street, 
immediately preceding the Dinner. Mr. W. L. ScraTEr, 
in the absence of Major S. 8S. FLower, the Chairman, took the 
Chair. The Meeting was well attended, over thirty Members 
of the Club being present. 

The Minutes of the last Meeting were read and confirmed. 
Arising out of these, Dr. CARMICHAEL Low said that he had 
published an agendum with each of the numbers of the 
‘Bulletin’ of the last Session, and he wished to know the 
feeling of Members as to the value of this. Several of those 
present said it had proved most useful to them, and thought 
it certainly should be continued. Dr. Low said he would 
therefore do so. 

Mr. MackworTH-PRAED, the Hon. Secretary and Treasurer, 
presented the Financial Statement and Secretary’s Report 
for the past Session, 1931-32. He said that the position of 
the Club was still satisfactory, in spite of the financial depres- 
sion prevailing throughout the world. Several Members, 
including Lord Grey, had resigned, while four new Members 
had joined. He had to announce with regret that two 
Members of the Club had died, Mr. Arnold H. Meiklejohn 
and Dr. Francis G. Penrose. The Meetings of the Club for 
the past Session had been very well attended and formed 
a record, no fewer than 558 members and guests having been 
present. The Rev. J. R. HALE proposed, and Mr. H. F. 
WITHERBY seconded, the adoption of the Report. This was 
carried unanimously. 

The Secretary read a letter from Major FLOWsR saying 
that as he would be unable to attend any further meetings 
of the Club this winter, owing to ill-health, he would have 
to resign his position as Chairman. The Meeting accepted 
this with great regret, and passed a motion of sympathy with 
Major Flower, at the same time expressing the hope that 
he would soon be restored to health and would soon be able 
to attend the meetings again. On the recommendation of the 
Committee, Mr. Davip A. BANNERMAN was elected Chairman 
in place of Major Flower. 


3 [Vol. liii. 

Mr. H. F. WirHEerRBY was elected Vice-Chairman of the 
Club in place of Mr. W. L. Sclater, whose period of office had 
terminated. 

Mr. C. W. Mackwortu-PRAED was re-elected Honorary 
Secretary and Treasurer. 

Mr. HucH WHISTLER was elected a Member of the Committee 
in place of Mr. F. J. F. Barrington, retiring through seniority. 

Under General Business Mr. P. F. Bunyarp said that he 
thought all members of the Club were entitled to a copy 
of the new Index of the ‘ Bulletin’ free of charge. 

Mr. Stuart Baker said that the new index of ‘ The Ibis ’ 
was being sold to members of the B. O. U. at a reduced rate, 
and that he thought the price (£1 1s. Od.) for the new Index 
of the ‘ Bulletin ’ was too much. 

In answer to this Dr. CarmicuarL Low drew attention 
to the great cost of the printing and publication of the Index. 

The matter was finally left to the Committee to decide upon. 

This concluded the business, and those attending the Meeting 
then adjourned to the Dinner. 

Committee, 1932-1933. 

A. BANNERMAN, Chairman (elected 1932). 

F. WITHERBY, Vice-Chairman (elected 1932). 

CARMICHAEL Low, Editor (elected 1930). 

Mr. C. W. MackwortH-PraED, Hon. Secretary and 
Treasurer (elected 1929). 

Dr. P. H. Manson-Baur (elected 1930). 

Dr. A. LanDsBoRoUGH THOMSON (elected 1930). 

Rev. J. R. Hatz (elected 1931). 

Mr. H. WHISTLER (elected 1932). 

Mr. D. 
Mr. H. 
iG. 


Vol. liii.] 

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5 [Vol. liii. 

Mr. D. A. BANNERMAN read for Mr. G. L. Bates the following 
account of a journey made by the latter to the French Niger 
and French Sudan in 1931-1932 :— 

“The expedition (not including the initial journey through 
Nigeria or the last stage by train to Dakar, since in those 
parts no birds were collected), lay entirely in French Niger, 
north of Nigeria, and farther west in French Sudan, following 
the Niger River westward, with excursions northward into the 
Sahara. 

“The first place where I spent much time was Tawa (Tahoua), 
due north of Sokoto. Tawa, the northernmost settled spot in 
that part of the country, is so surrounded by dunes and wind- 
driven sand as to appear to be in the desert; yet it has rain 
enough in summer to pack the sand, and to bring to maturity 
a crop of millet, while even a few miles farther north rain is 
so uncertain that no millet is sown, and there are no inhabi- 
tants except nomads, and no names to be put on maps except 
those of wells. 

“From Tawa I made my first excursion (in May) into the 
desert, 100 miles north, to some wells called Tilliya (or Tilia). 
Afterwards (in July) I travelled west from Tawa overland 
300 miles to the Niger, through dry country, bare and over- 
grown with bushes, which supports a few scattered inhabitants. 
The subsequent journey (in July and August) up the Niger, 
as far as Burem, was made by canoe, with many stops for bird 
collecting. From Burem another excursion into the desert 
was made following the road or track that goes to Kidal, 
but not so far, and the whole month of September and a few 
days more was spent encamped under or beside a little Acacia- 
tree, near Taberrishat well, at nearly 18° N. lat., or a little 
farther north than Agades, in Air. 

‘Going again up the Niger to Timbuktu I once more spent 
over a month there, with a brief excursion into the desert in 
November, reaching a point at nearly 18° N. lat., at a well 
called In Alay (or In Alahy). From Timbuktu I went by 
steamboat to Mopti, and was there directed to an ideal place 
for getting birds, in the very rough country away from the 
river, 30 miles to the eastward. I stayed there the whole 
of December and part of January, after which a month spent 


Vol. liii.] 6 

in canoe-travel brought me to Kulikoro (the railhead) where 
I had collected in 1928. 

“The ornithological interest of my journey lies along two 
different lines. I was fortunate enough (because I collected 
in almost virgin country, as was all that territory lying between 
Buchanan’s localities in and south of Air, and the far-western 
coastal country of Senegal) to extend greatly the known ranges 
of a good many species, and to find some geographical variations 
that, in my opinion, justify the making of new subspecies. 
Of these there may, after further study, prove to be a few 
more besides the half-dozen shown at this meeting and the 
Nightjar already described by Mr. Bannerman (Bull. B. O. C. 
ln. 1932, p. 147). 

“The most interesting thing was the study I could make, 
in crossing and re-crossing the line (which marks the northern 
limit of human settlement and must be regarded as the southern 
limit of the Sahara) of the changes and contrasts in the bird-life 
on the two sides of the line. The desert, for a land of glaring 
heat and dry atmosphere, and total absence of surface-water 
during more than a few days in the year, was surprisingly well 
supplied with vegetable and animal life. Of the plants and 
tufted grass, many were the same as those of the Algerian 
Sahara, and must be distributed more or less over the whole 
desert in between. The same is true of the common birds 
living and nesting in the thorny bushes, such as Lanius 
excubitor, Argya fulva, and Passer simplex, which are the same 
as those of the Algerian and Tunisian border of the Sahara; 
and. they are doubtless found more or less in all the country 
between. These birds, rather than the many Palearctic 
winter migrants, or the many Ethiopian birds that wander 
north into the desert, wherever there are trees, and especially 
in that tract having a better water-supply, Air, are the true 
birds of the Sahara. They seem to extend over the Sahara 
to its southern limit, and as their affinities, on the whole, 
are more Palearctic than Ethiopian, they seem to carry the 
boundary of the former region right down to the southern 
edge of the Sahara. 

“The permanent moisture that exists deep down under the 
sandy surface and keeps the plants alive is the indirect 
source of all the water which any desert animal or bird can get 


7 [Vol. liii 

for most of the year. There is not only no surface-water, 
but the air is too dry for the formation of dew.” 
The following are Mr. Bates’s descriptions of his new birds :— 

1. Onychognathus morio modicus, subsp. nov. 

Description.—This new race of the Redwing Starling, a species 
which varies geographically, not in colour of plumage, but 
in size and proportions of wing and tail and bill (see Sclater, 
‘Bull. B.O.C. xlv. 1924, p. 5), has the bill about as in 
O. m. ruppellia * of Abyssinia, and not nearly so deep and stout 
as in O. m. neumanni of Northern Nigeria; while the full- 
grown and perfect tail is proportionally shorter than in any 
other race, the wing being of nearly the same length as in the 
two races just mentioned. 

Measurements.—Thirteen specimens of both sexes (sexes 
alike in size): wing 150-163; tail 137-150; tarsus 35-5-38 ; 
bill 28-31 mm. 

Distribution.—The rocky cliffs on or near the Upper Niger 
in French Sudan, between 12° and 15° N. lat. 

Type.—In the British Museum, ¢ adult, Kulikoro, French 
Sudan, July 9, 1928, collected by G. L. Bates, no. 9686. 
Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1930.3.4.358. 

Remarks.—Eight additional specimens from my _ recent 
trip, with perfect tails, confirm what is said in my © Handbook ’ 
(p. 519) about those previously obtained. I have measured 
again also all the specimens in the British Museum of 
O. m. ruppellu and neumanni. 

2. Lagonosticta rubricata virata, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Male not noticeably different from the male of 
L. r. polionota, but female very different from the female 
of L. r. polionota from the Gold Coast and Sierra Leone, being 
almost as red beneath as the male. 

Distribution.—Found as yet only in rocky places near the 
Upper Niger, in the region of Mopti and Kulikoro, French Sudan. 

Type.—In the British Museum, 2 adult from Kulikoro, 
French Sudan, June 25, 1928. Collected by G. L. Bates, 
no. 9648. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1930.3.4.331. 

* ruppellii (Verreaux) is the original spelling, and is used by Sclater 

in his ‘ Systema.’ 


Vol. liii.] 8 

Remarks.—Lagonosticta r. polionota, inhabiting the grassier 
parts of the West African coastal region, has, like all hitherto 
known races of L. rubricata, a distinctly different female, 
with buffy brown breast. When I said in my ‘ Handbook,’ 
under that subspecies, “ Female scarcely different from the 
male,’ I was misled by using my own specimens of what 
I now name as a new race L. r. virata. Besides the three 
female specimens obtained on my 1928 journey, I have on 
my recent visit secured another female. I examined the 
organs of all these myself, and am sure about their sex. 

3. Mirafra rufa nigriticola, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Much darker in all the light parts of the 
plumage—that is, the sides of each feather and the whole 
plumage of the underside—than in M. rufa rufa from Darfur. 
Bill also noticeably longer and slenderer. 

Measurements.—Wing, ten males 84:-5—89-5, one female 
86:5; tail 60-68 ; tarsus 21—-24-5; bill 14-5-16 mm. 

Distribution.—Ten of my twelve specimens were obtained 
in the vicinity of Tawa (or Tahoua) in French Niger, at the 
edge of the Desert, north of Sokoto. All were found either 
on the areas of bare black rock which are frequent there or 
on bushes growing near the edges of these rocks. They 
were singing and giving other indications of breeding there. 
Two more specimens, an adult and a young one, were shot 
some 200 miles farther west, nearer the Niger ; and it happens 
that this one adult from farther west is lighter-coloured than 
the rest. 

Type.—In the British Museum, ¢ adult; from Tawa, 
French Niger, May 31, 1931, collected by G. L. Bates, no. 10555. 
Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1932.8.6.5. 

4. Saxicola torquata moptana, subsp. nov. 

Description.—A form of the Stonechat having the following 
combination of characters not found in any other:—Both 
sexes have: (1) Size small; (2) axillaries and under wing- 
coverts mostly white. The adult male has: (1) Much white 
on the sides of the neck, forming a collar nearly complete, 
with a gap of only about 10 mm.; (2) most of the breast 
and belly white, leaving the chestnut patch on the upper breast 


9 [Vol. liii. 

small; (3) the chestnut patch of a pale shade. The female 
is of a general light colour. 

Measurements.—Four specimens: wing, males 64, 65, 
females 61, 63; tail 46-50; tarsus 20—21-5; bill 11-12 mm. 

Distribution.—The alluvial flats, submerged at high water 
and covered with coarse grass, bordering the Upper Niger 
in the vicinity of Mopti. The range of this race cannot 
connect anywhere with that of S. ¢t. salax, the race which 
it most resembles. 

Type.—In the British Museum, ¢ adult; from Mopti, 
- French Sudan, Jan. 13, 1932. Collected by G. L. Bates, 
no. 11327. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1932.8.6.4. 

5. Hirundo lucida clara, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Differing from H. lucida lucida in having the 
throat and the middle of the crop region of a much lighter 
shade of chestnut colour. Size in the few specimens measured 
a little less. 

Measurements.—Wing in two males and two females (sexes 
alike in size) from French Upper Volta, 107-111:5 mm. ; 
in three Timbuktu specimens with worn plumage, about 
105 or 106mm. Twelve Senegal, Gambia, Casamance, and 
Portuguese Guinea specimens of H. lucida lucida measure : 
wing 109-119 mm. 

Type.—tIn the British Museum, ¢ adult, from 70 miles east of 
Wagadugu, Upper Volta, May 20, 1928. Collected by G. L. 
Bates, no. 9535. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1930.3.4.104. 

Distribution and Remarks.—The species called Hirundo bucida 
was known only as found in the extreme western coastal part 
of Africa, from Senegal to Portuguese Guinea, until on my 
trip through West Africa I got four specimens from French 
Upper Volta. I only recently noticed, after getting four more 
specimens at Timbuktu, the difference in colour between 
birds from the coastal region and those from the far interior. 
All the old specimens from the coastal region, together with 
my recent one from Sierra Leone (see Ibis, 1932, p. 218), 
alike have the very deep dark chestnut colour, different 
from my specimens from the far interior. Of the latter, the 
Upper Volta ones are in new plumage, while the Timbuktu 

ad 


Vol. liii.] 10 

ones are in very old and bad plumage, and their extreme 
paleness is no doubt partly due to the bleaching effect of the 
fierce Timbuktu sunlight. But in new plumage the Timbuktu 
ones were very like the Upper Volta ones. 

6. Charadrius marginatus russatus, subsp. nov. 

Description—Plumage with more rust-colour even than 
in the West African coast birds that have usually been called 
C. m. pallidus (see below), and with this colour of a brighter 
tone, even in feathers that are old and worn. 

Measurements of the four specimens.—Wing 100-101 ; 
tail 44-48 ; tarsus 23-26 mm. 

Distribution.—The sand-banks of the Upper Niger, from 
the vicinity of Gao to that of Bamako. 

Type.—In the British Museum, 2 adult: from the Niger 
River, near Kulikoro, French Sudan, February 13, 1932. 
Collected by G. L. Bates, no. 11426. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 
1932.8.6.2. 

Remarks.—The White-fronted Sand-Plover has hitherto 
been found in West Africa only on sea-beaches and on banks 
of rivers near their mouths, not far inland. 

Nomenclature of the Races of Charadrius marginatus. 

The known races of White-fronted Sand-Plover are :— 

(1) C. m. marginatus. Coasts of South Africa. With no 
rust-colour at all in plumage. 

(2) C. m. tenellus. Coasts of East Africa and Madagascar. 
With a slight rusty tinge. 

(3) C. m. “pallidus.” Coasts of West Africa as far south 
as the Congo (Chinchoxo). A little more rusty. 

(4) C. m. russatus. Upper Niger River With bright rusty 
plumage. 

An examination of the type of Strickland’s Charadrius 
pallidus, which is at Cambridge, shows that it is merely a pale 
and grey immature or winter specimen of C. marginatus, 
collected by Andersson along with some typical specimens of 
marginatus. How Sharpe, in the ‘ Catalogue of Birds ’ (xxiv. 
p. 284), came to regard it as a winter specimen of a separate 
species inhabiting the same locality and as the type of the 


ll [Vol. liii. 

form which he would otherwise have called ftenellus,. need 
not be considered here. After I had become convinced of the 
identity of pallidus with marginatus I discovered that Gurney, 
in Andersson’s ‘ Birds of Damaraland,’ had concluded the same 
thing (p. 273, footnote). Reichenow also suspected it, and 
on that account used the name fenellus instead of the older 
one of pallidus for the united East and West Coast forms, 
which he did not separate (see ‘ Vogel Afrikas,’ i. p. 170, 
footnote). 

Since the name pallidus cannot be applied to the somewhat 
rusty West African coast race, we must use a new name, 
and I propose to call it 

7. Charadrius marginatus hesperius, nom. nov. 

Type.—In the British Museum, 2 adult. Collected by 
Willoughby P. Lowe, January 5, 1911, Nana Kru, Liberia. 
Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1911.12.18.111. 

Note—The name heywoodw is given in the synonymy, 
or in footnotes, in several books, as applied to the West African 
coast race of this species, and a specimen in the British Museum 
_ has written on the label “ Type of Charadrius heywoodwu Gray.” 
No description, however, seems ever to have been published. 

The name “ Hiaticula heywoodu, or Nun River Plover,”’ 
does occur as a nomen nudum in Allen and Thomson’s ‘ Narra- 
tive of the Expedition to the River Niger in 1841,’ vol. i. 
p. 167 (date of publication of book, 1848). This seems to be 
the only occurrence of the name except where it is given, 
as stated above, by several authors, in the synonymy of the 
White-fronted Sand-Plover. The reference, however, is always 
given incorrectly as vol ii. p. 50. 

8. Glareola cinerea colorata, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Like G'. c. cinerea, but the pale rufous nuchal 
collar much wider and more conspicuous, and the whole 
breast strongly tinged with pale rufous instead of being 
merely slightly washed with rufous-buff. 

Measurements.—Seven specimens (sexes of the same size) : 
wing 142-153 mm. This is a trifle more than the wing-length 
in the typical form from the Lower Niger, Benue, and Shari 
Rivers, though not so much less, as a comparison with the 


Vol. liii.] 12 

measurements published in my ‘ Handbook’ would indicate, 
since the birds used for the measurements there were under 
the average. Other measurements exactly as for G. c. cinerea. 

Distribution.—The sand-banks of the Niger between Mopti 
and Kulikoro in French Sudan. 

Type.—In the British Museum, 3 adult; from the Niger 
River between Segu and Kulikoro, French Sudan, February 8, 
1932. Collected by G. L. Bates, no. 11410. Brit. Mus. Reg. 
no. 1932.8.6.3. 

9. Columba livia lividior, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Like C. 1. gymnocyclus in the characters of the 
white rump sharply contrasting with the dark base of the 
tail, and in the wide ring of bare red skin round the eye; 
but unlike it in general colour of plumage, which is not so 
remarkably dark or blackish slate-colour, but much lighter 
and bluer, approaching that of C. livia livia. 

Measurements.—Four specimens: wing 203-211; tail 
100-105 ; tarsus 27-29; bill 20-21 mm. 

Distribution.—Rock-Doves were seen by me at one locality 
only, the rocky cliffs or palisades in the very broken and hilly 
country east of Mopti, French Sudan. The specimen collected by 
Boyd Alexander at Gambaga in the north of the Gold Coast 
Colony, hitherto referred to C. l. gymnocyclus, is more like 
my hew specimens. 

Type.—In the British Museum, ¢ adult; from Fiko, 
30 miles east of Mopti, French Sudan, January 9, 1932. 
Collected by G. L. Bates, no. 11320. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 
1932.8.6.1. 

Mr. W. L. Scuater exhibited an example of Lampribis 
olivacea akleyorum obtained by Mr. R. E. Moreau in the 
Amani Mountains in Tanganyika Territory. This Ibis was 
first obtained by Mr. Carl Akeley, the well known taxidermist 
and collector, on the slopes of Mt. Kenya in 1910. 

Since then several additional examples have been obtained 
on the same mountain, and it is also said to be found on 
Mt. Elgon and in the Aberdare Mountains; there are two 
examples in the British Museum, a female collected by 
Mr. Allan Insole in 1927 and a male obtained by 


13 [Vol. liii. 

Mr. R. Hayman, who accompanied Lord Howard de Walden’s 
expedition to Central Africa last year, both on Mt. Kenya. 

Mr. Moreau’s example extends the range of this Ibis by 
several hundred miles in a south-east direction to within sight 
of the Indian Ocean. 

It is a male, and was shot on a rock by the side of a stream 
in the foothills of the Amani Range at an elevation of only 
500 feet on July 12, 1932. 

Mr. Moreau’s example has been compared with those from 
Mt. Kenya, and it was found that it agrees very well with the 
one obtained by Mr. Hayman, which is also a male, but it is 
a good deal larger than the female collected by Mr. Insole, 
~ and has a good deal more pink sheen on the upper part of the 
wing. 

Dr. Percy R. Lowe exhibited a fossil Ostrich egg which had 
been found in the loess of North China, on the borders between 
Honan and Shensi. It had recently been presented to the 
British Museum by Mr. C. A. E. Carr, an American citizen, 
and it had the distinction of being the largest egg of this kind 
which had been recorded up to the present time. The 
equatorial circumference was 515 mm., the polar diameter 
196 mm., while the equatorial diameter measured 160 mm. 
The next largest record from the loess known to the exhibitor 
was contained in a series of eighteen eggs which had been 
examined and measured by Andersson (‘‘ Essays on the 

~Coenozoic of N. China,’’ Mem. Geol. Surv. China, ser. A, no. 3, 
1923). The polar diameter of this egg measured 186 mm., its 
equatorial circumference 492 mm.* Mr. Carr’s egg was in a per- 
fect condition of preservation, and without a hole or blemish 
of any kind. The shell had, of course, become completely 
mineralized. These Ostrich eggs had been found in the 
loess at various depths, and were usually discovered in making 
excavations or as the result of the action of rivers, which, 
in places, had cut down through the loess to a depth approach- 
ing one hundred. or more feet. 

Andersson had recorded the interesting fact that in about 
every second find of these eggs of the loess more than a single 

* The corresponding measurements of an egg of Struthio camelus from 
Nigeria (Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1899.7.23.1) were 415, 154, and 129 mm. 


Vol. liii.] 14 

specimen had been discovered, while in the very first find 
recorded by him “ four eggs lying close together and probably 
indicating an old bird’s nest’ are mentioned (loc. cit. p. 55). 
It was curious, however, to note that, although this “‘drowning”’ 
of nests and eggs by the wind-swept loess-storms seems to have 
been a common occurrence, no osseous remains of the Ostrich 
which lived at that epoch have as yet been discovered. . 

He said he had been constrained to call the Ostrich which 
had laid the eggs in the Chinese loess Struthio anderssoni 
(‘ Paleeontologica Sinica,’ 1931, ser. C, vol. vi. fase 4, p. 28), 
to distinguish it from Brandt’s fossil Ostrich (egg) which had 
been found in south-east Russia, and to which Brandt had given 
the name of Struthiolithus chersonensis. He had given his 
reasons for this action in the publication quoted. 

Dr. Lowe also exhibited the cast of a large portion of the 
pelvis of a fossil Ostrich which had been found at T’ai Chia 
Kou, near Pao Te Hsien, in north-west Shansi, on the Yellow 
River. The original fossil had been found by Andersson 
and sent to Professor Wiman of Upsala, who had remitted it to 
the exhibitor for description (loc. cit. pp. 5-24). The fossil 
had been taken from a stratum of deep red Hipparion clay 
beneath the overlying loess. Other fossil remains found in the 
same stratum included, among others, fragments belonging 
to Mastodon, Stegodon, Hlephas, Acerathervum, Sinotherium, 
and Machairodus. This is now regarded by paleontologists 
as a Pontian (Lower Pliocene) fauna. 

The characteristic presence of the remains of Hipparion 
enabled us, he said, to conjure up a picture of the time when 
the Ostrich scoured the plains of Central Asia, from China 
to the Mediterranean (Pikermi) in company with the three- 
toed horse (Hipparion), just as in recent times, far away 
in Africa, the present-day Ostrich runs with the zebra. It was 
interesting to note that, as far as he was able to conclude 
from the material at his disposal, the present-day Ostrich 
was generically identical with the Chinese Pontian Ostrich, 
although such a vast time had elapsed since the period under 
discussion. 

These recent discoveries of Eurasiatic struthious remains 
had obviously and enormously extended our view of the 


15 [Vol. liii. 

distribution in time and space of the Ostrich, and were of 
immense interest as bearing on the problem of the status 
of the struthious birds and the still vexed question as to whether 
they are degenerate or the specialized survivors of an early 
non-volant stock. 

Mr. P. F. Bunyarp exhibited a remarkably beautiful and 
exceptionally heavily pigmented clutch of five eggs of the 
Kestrel (Falco t. tinnunculus), taken by Mr. Percy W. Harvey 
near Croydon on May 4, 1907. 

These eggs, he said, had only recently been added to his 
collection, though he had known them since they were taken. 
Unlike most eggs of the Kestrel they have retained their 
richness of coloration. In the nature and distribution of the 
pigment they closely resemble certain forms of those of the 
Honey- Buzzard (Pernis a. apivorus). 

Three of the eggs have the markings confluent at the large 
ends and the other two at the small ends ; in those parts the 
pigment almost completely conceals the pure white ground- 
colour. In some cases the markings are sharply defined, 
and in others blurred. Where the pigment is rich, 7. ¢., 
thickly superimposed, the coloration is brownish-black, 
and where thinner dark reddish-brown. 

In size they are above the average. The average weight is 
1-572 mg., which is above Rey’s average 1-555 mg., due to some 
extent to the thickly superimposed pigment, the most 
heavily-marked egg weighing 1-636 mg. He also exhibited eggs 
of the Honey-Buzzard for comparison. 

Dr. C. B. Ticknurst forwarded the following communica- 
tions :— : 

(i.) In spite of Hume’s very decided opinion (‘Stray 
Feathers,’ vii. pp. 517-8) that Fringilla melanictera Gmelin is 
not the bird we know as Melophus melanicterus, the name has 
been used continuously. Gmelin (Syst. Nat. i. p. 910) gave 
this name to the bird described by Latham (Syn. iii. p. 268), 
who took his description from the plate in ‘ Planches Enlum.’ 
of Daubenton, no. 224, fig. 1, which was the “‘ Moineau de 
Macao ” of Buffon (Ois. iii. p. 486). No one reading Latham’s 
and Gmelin’s description and examining the plate in the 


Vol. liii.] 16 

‘Planches Enlum.’ could aver that they apply to the Crested 
Bunting of India. The plate depicts a black bird with chest- 
nut edges to the wings and tail and white spots on the belly, 
and it is said to be 44 inches long and the size of a Linnet. 
It is evidently a Hypochera, possibly H. funerea, or some 
allied species, from Africa. 

The name melanicterus should be discarded, and in its place 
Emberiza lathami Gray (Zool. Misc. p. 2, Feb. 19, 1831—China 
and India) should be used, and will now become Melophus 
lathami (Gray). Type in the British Museum, collected by 
J. R. Reeves at Canton. 

(ii.) In the ‘ Fauna of British India,’ Birds, ed. i., the 
names given to birds by McClelland have all been attributed 
to Horsfield, erroneously as it seems. McClelland, who was 
an Assistant Surgeon in the service of the East India Company, 
was sent with a deputation to Assam to investigate the tea- 
plant. On his return to Calcutta he sent home his collection 
of birds and animals, together with a descriptive catalogue, 
expressing the wish that this latter should be revised. This 
revision and the examination of the collection was undertaken 
by Horsfield, and on October 22, 1839, he communicated this 
Catalogue to the Zoological Society of London. The author, 
on the title-page of author’s “ separates,’ is McClelland. In 
the introduction Horsfield said :—‘‘ The following catalogue 
now exhibits Mr. McClelland’s collection, with those alterations 
which the progress of discoveries required, and with a partial 
modification of the arrangement ; and in performing this task 
the only object has been to secure to Mr. McClelland the 
discoveries he has made... .” 

Moreover, in a footnote under Macacus assamensis, it is 
stated that the names in the paper where no authority is 
given (twenty-three in number), are those of McClelland, and 
they appear under McClelland’s name in Horsfield and Moore’s 
‘Catalogue of Birds in the Museum of the East India Company.’ 

Furthermore, in two cases where McClelland had missed 
naming two novelties, Horsfield names them, and they appear 
in McClelland’s Catalogue as Sciurus McClellandii Horsfield 
and Hypsipetes McClelland Horsfield, thus confirming that 
the other names are McClelland’s. | 


17 [Vol. liii. 

According to the International Rules of Zoological Nomen- 
clature (Article 21), “the author of a name is that person 
who first publishes the name with a description .. . unless 
it is clear from the contents of the publication that some 
other person is responsible for the said name and ... its 
description.” In some of the above cases Horsfield may 
have been responsible for the descriptions, but was certainly 
not responsible for the names ; therefore all the names should 
be attributed to the author, that is, McClelland. 

Dr. C. B. TickHurst also exhibited some breeding Red- 
shanks, and made the following remarks :— 

I have for some time suspected that the Redshank which 
breeds in Britain is not the same as the typical form from 
Sweden. The difference, so far as I have been able to make 
out, can only be seen in the breeding-season; whereas the 
Norwegian birds, of which I have seen five, may be said to 
have avery full breeding dress—that is to say, they are heavily 
spotted and streaked below, and barred with rufous-buff and 
black above,—the British bird shows these characters in 
arvery much less degree. To confirm my suspicions as to 
these distinctions I sent some British .breeding birds to 
Prof. Lonnberg, asking him to compare them with Swedish 
topotypes. His reply was that the British birds were quite 
distinct on the characters I had pointed out. To put the 
differences in a sentence, the northern birds moult into a full 
and distinct breeding dress, the British birds do not. On further 
search it became apparent that the question was not entirely 
one between the British and the Scandinavian birds, as there 
is in the British Museum a breeding bird from Hungary 
which is exactly like the British bird. So that probably it 
is really a question of a northern and a southern race. For the 
northern one it is quite clear that T'ringa totanus totanus 
Linnezeus is the correct name. 

Bewick, in his ‘ History of British Birds ’ (ii. 1805, pp. 113- 
115), described what he called the Red-legged Sandpiper as 
Tringa erythropus from breeding specimens obtained in Rippen- 
gale Fen, Lincolnshire, on May 14, 1799, by Major Dilke, “‘ who 
pointed out several leading features of these birds in which 


Vol. liii] 18 

they differ materially from Scolopax calidris Linneus.” Tringa 
erythropus, of course, cannot stand for this bird, and Rennie, 
in Montagu’s ‘ Ornithological Dictionary,’ p. 412 (1831), 
seems to have realized this, as he there names the Red-legged 
Sandpiper of Bewick as Totanus bewickir. 

The name for the southern bird then will be 

Tringa totanus bewickii (Rennie). 

T ype-locality —Lincolnshire, England. 

We recognize a northern and a southern race of Golden 
Plover on much the same grounds—completeness and incom- 
pleteness of summer dress—and, moreover, in other parts of 
the world such differences are held as valid ones for the 
recognition of races. Therefore we cannot consistently 
set aside the southern race of the Redshank. 

Dr. C. B. Ticrnurst forwarded the following descriptions 
of new Indian forms :— 

f. Stachyridopsis rufifrons pallescens, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Paler and greyer, less brown above; paler 
below than 8S. rufifrons rufifrons. : 

Type—In the British Museum. 9, Gamon Chaung, 
Sandoway District (500 feet), Arakan. Collected by Messrs. 
Villar and Henrichs, February 9, 1930. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 
1932.10.20.1. 

Remarks.—This single bird differs markedly from VS. rufifrons 
rufifrons (type and series examined), and still more so from 
S. rufifrons obscura (type and two topotypes examined). 

ip Drymocataphus tickelli grisescens, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Paler and greyer above; much paler below 
and on flanks (pale cream-colour) than D. tickelli tockellr. 

Type.—In the British Museum. ¢, Nyaunggyo stream, 
Taungup—Prome cart-road, Arakan Yoma, 2500 feet. Obtained 
by Mr. J. K. Stanford, April 13, 1929. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 
1932.10.20.2. 

Remarks.—\ have had these two birds by me for over two 
years, partly to see if any change of colour would take place 


19 [Vol. li. 

(since birds of these genera seem liable to this), and partly 
in the hope that further specimens might materialize. No 
change of colour is perceptible, and it seems unlikely that 
more specimens will be obtained for some time. I have less 
hesitation in calling attention to these forms by naming them, 
since they differ in the same qualitative respects from their 
nearest allies, as Alcippe nepalensis stanfordi, A. povoicephala 
phayret, and Anthipes monileger gularis—all from the Arakan 
Yomas—do from their nearest allies. Large series of Drymo- 
cataphus tickelli tickella and D. t. assamensis examined and also 
the types of D. fulvus (Karennee), D. minor (Tenasserim), 
D. garoensis (Garo Hills) (all of which are the same as D. tickellz), 
and of D. olivaceus (Tonkin). 

3. Criniger tephrogenys robinsoni, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Differs from Criniger tephrogenys griseiceps 
in having less yellow underparts, more olive, less green 
on the mantle, and the head is concolorous with the mantle. 

Distribution.—N. Tenasserim (Yea, Amherst, Moulmein). 

Type.—In the British Museum. Yea, Tenasserim. Collected 
by W. Davison on March 27, 1874. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 
4926.9.1.1509. 

Remarks.—Three specimens examined from the above locali- 
ties. These birds differ from Criniger gutturalis ochraceus, 
which occurs also at Yea, in being more olive, not so grey above, 

and in having more yellow on the abdomen. From Cringer 

tephrogenys tephrogenys they differ in having the head con- 
colorous with the mantle and having paler under tail-coverts. 
Robinsom cannot be a race of gutturalis or of flaveolus, as forms 
of each occur in the same area. So also griseiceps cannot be 
a race of flaveolus, as C. flaveolus burmanicus occurs in its area. 
It seems that we must regard robinsoni as a connecting race 

between griseiceps and tephrogenys. The late Mr. H. C. 

Robinson first discriminated this new form, but never published 
it nor placed it under any definite species, when he was working 
at this group shortly before his death. 

4. An examination of the Black Drongos obtained recently 
in Madras shows that both winter and summer birds there 


Vol. liii.] 20 

are the same. As this form cannot be placed with the northern 
birds ‘on the one hand, nor with the Ceylon bird on the other, 
I propose to call it 

Dicrurus macrocereus peninsularis, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Smaller than D. m. albirictus and larger than 
D. m. minor. 

Measurements.—Adults (Madras). Wing, $9, 130-145; 
tail 135-161 ; bill from skull 23-26 mm. 

Distribution.—Madras (Trichinopoly, Salem, Madras City, 
S. Cuddapah, Kurnool, Godaveri Delta) ; Hyderabad State ; 
S. Central Provinces ; Travancore. . | 

Type.—In the British Museum. Madras City, May 7, 1931. 
Collected by the Madras Museum. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 
1932.10.19.1. 

Remarks.—Adults examined: 20 from Madras, 9 from 
Hyderabad, 9 from S. Central Provinces, 2 from Travancore. 
Compared with 18 from Bengal, 7 from Nepal, 13 from N.W. 
Himalayas, 18 from Punjab, 10 from United Provinces. 

This form was correctly diagnosed by Jerdon (Ibis, 1872, 
p- 119), and it is, of course, the same bird which Hermann 
described from Tranquebar as Muscicapa atra (preoccupied). © 

Dicrurus macrocercus of Vieillot was founded on plate 174, 
vol. iv. of Le Vaillant’s Ois. Afr., and no locality is given. 
In 1823, Lichtenstein founded the name Muscicapa biloba 
on the same plate. Cabanis (Mus. Hein. i. 1850, p. 111) fixed the 
type-locality of Dicrurus bilobus (Lichtenstein) asJava. Hence 
the type-locality of Dicrurus macrocercus must also be Java. 
In addition, Lord Walden, in Blyth’s ‘ Birds of Burma,’ 1875, 
p. 129, fixed Java for the lattername. The fixing of Orissa as 
the type-locality for D. macrocercus in the ‘ Fauna of British 
India,’ Birds, ed. ii, vol. ii. 1924, p. 356, is an erroneous 
fixation. Moreover, breeding birds from Bengal do not differ 
from those from Nepal. 

Mr. Huau WuHuIstLeR forwarded the description of a new 
subspecies of Crested Tit from the Western Himalayas :— 

Lophophanes dichrous kangre, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Differs from the typical race (Nepal and 
Eastern Himalayas) in being an altogether paler bird. The 


21 [Vol. liii. 

upper plumage is a paler, clearer grey, the lores and cheeks 
and the broken collar on the sides of the neck are creamy 
white instead of warm buff, and the lower plumage is much 
paler, less brown in tint. 

Both Himalayan races agree in having the chin and throat 
dark, contrasting with the rest of the lower plumage. In the 
other pale race, L. d. wellsi (W. Yunnan), the chin and throat 
are unicolorous with the rest of the lower plumage. 

Measurements.— 

5 g. Bill from skull 10-5-11 ; wing 67-5-71; tail 45-5-47 ; 
tarsus 17-5-19-5 mm. 

5 9. Bill from skull 11-5-12 ; wing 65-5-67:5 ; tail 43-46-5 ; 
tarsus 18-19 mm. 

Distribution.—Breeds in the highest tree-zone, 9000 to 
11,000 feet, of the Duala Dahr and in the ranges north of Simla, 
N.W. Himalayas. 

Type.—tIn the British Museum. No. 1468, A. E. Jones Coll., 
3d; March 9, 1924, Koti State, near Simla. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 
1932.10.23.1. 

Dr. C. B. Ticrunurst forwarded the following :— 

Mr. Buturlin’s protest (Bull. B. O. C. li. 1932, pp. 149-150) 
against my naming the Himalayan Golden Eagle Aquila 
chrysaétos hodgsoni raises a point which, I believe, is already 
settled and can only be altered by the International Committee 
on Zoological Nomenclature. In the ‘‘ Rules” which they 
drew up Opinion (4) states that “manuscript names ”’ (such 
as daphanea of Hodgson) “ acquire standing in nomenclature 
when printed in connection with the provisions of Article 25.” 
This latter Article explains that a name is valid if “ published 
and accompanied by an indication” ; Opinion (1) states that 
an indication in Article 25 is to be construed to include (inter 
alia) a bibliographic reference. 

Now, applying this to the case in point: daphanea of 
Hodgson was a MS. name, and therefore had no standing ; 
but as soon as Gray quoted it in the synonymy of Falco 
chrysaétos of Linneus, with a bibliographic reference—Syst. 
Nat. 1758, ed. x. p. 88,—-daphanea as a name became quickened 
as of Gray, and is a synonym of Falco chrysaétos Linneus. The 


Vol. liii.] 29 

rule may be good or bad, but it is not mine !, and the application 
in the way I have used it has been done over and over again 
by others ; I have established no precedent. In this particular 
case Hodgson gave a name with no description, Sewertzow 
gave a description and no valid name ; if either of these gentle- 
men had been living I should have, in accordance with the 
Code of Ethics in Article 34, informed them that their names 
were not valid, as I have done in other cases. And so I did 
the only remaining thing—to name this Eagle after the man 
who, at all events in his own mind, first differentiated it. 

Mr. J. D. La Toucus sent the following letter :— 

“ Srr,—In my ‘ Handbook of the Birds of Eastern China,’ 
vol. ii. p. 22, I described the Fohkien Spark-headed Wood- 
pecker as new under the name of Yungipicus scintilliceps kurodai. 
This name, I am informed by Dr. Nagamichi Kuroda, is 
preoccupied by Dryobates leucotos kurode Gotz (‘ Jahreshefte 
des Vereins fiir vaterlandische Naturkunde in Wiirtemberg,’ 
Stuttgart, 81 Jahrg., 1925, Feb. 15, 1926, p. 95). I therefore 
propose to change the name of the Fohkien bird to 

“* Yungipicus scintilliceps nagamichii, nom. nov.” 

NOTICES. 

The next Meeting of the Club will be held on Wednesday, 
November 9, 1932, at PAGAN’S RESTAURANT, 42-48 Great 
Portland Street, W.1. The Dinner at 7 p.m. 

Members intending to dine are requested to inform the 
Hon. Secretary, Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed, 51 Onslow 
Gardens, London, S.W. 7. 

Members who intend to make any communication at the 
next Meeting of the Club should give notice, as early as possible, 
to the Editor, Dr. G. Carmichael Low, 86 Brook Street, 
Grosvenor Square, W. 1, so that the titles of their contributions 
may appear on the Agenda List. All MSS. for publication 
in the ‘ Bulletin ’ must be given to the Editor before or at the 
Meeting. 


23 [Vol. liii. 
GENERAL INDEX. 

Volume III. 

This is now ready and can be obtained from the publishers, 
Messrs. Witherby & Co., 326 High Holborn, W.C.1, at the 
price of £1 1s. Od. 

Agenda. 

1. Mr. H. F. Witherby will exhibit a nesting cavity and 
skins of the British Willow Titmouse, and make remarks 
thereon. 

2. Mr. P. F. Bunyard will read a short paper entitled 
‘““A Few Notes on the Birds of Dunkirk.”’ 

3. Mr. D. A. Bannerman will show a specimen of an Oyster- 
catcher from Sierra Leone. 

Will Members possessing nests and eggs of the British 
Marsh and Willow Titmouse kindly bring them to the meeting ? 



BULLETIN 

OF THE 

BRITISH Spal ooyecarenkiad vp belbais? 

oe 

No. CCCLATTI. 

THE three-hundred-and-fifty-eighth Meeting of the Club was 
held at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W. 1, 
on Wednesday, November 9, 1932. 

Chairman: Mr. D. A. BANNERMAN. 

Members present :—Miss C. M. AcLanD ; H. G. ALEXANDER ; 
W. B. ALEXANDER; F. J. F. Barrineton; H. B. Boots; 
Hon. G. L. CoHarreris ; Brig.-Gen. G.v. H. CLarKe; H. P.O. 
CLEAVE; Maj.-Gen. Sir P. Z. Cox; C. Daniets; A. H. 
Evans; A. Ezra; Miss J. M. Ferrier ; Hon. M. Hacuisuxca ; 
B.G. Harrison ; Dr. E. Hopxrnson ; Rev. F.C. R. JourDAr ; 
N. B. Kinnear; Miss E. P. Leacn; Dr. G. CarmicHart Low 
(Editor); Dr. P. R. Lowe; Dr. N. 8S. Lucas; Rear- 
Admiral H. Lynes; J. H. McNeEme; C. W. Mackworts- 
PRAED (Hon. Sec. & Treas.); Dr. P. H. Manson Baur; 
G. M. Matuews ; J. L. Coawortu Musters ; T. H. Newman ; 
C. OtpHam; B. B. Osmaston; F. R. Ratciirr; C. B. 
RickeTt; W. L. Scuater; OD. Setru-SmitH; Dr. A. 
LanpDsBorouGH THomson ; B. W. Tucker; H. M. Wa tis ; 
R. Ware; H. F. Wirnersy (Vice-Chairman); C. G. M. 
DE WoRMS. 

Guests :—Capt. M. M. Bucnoanan; R. Dospson; M. J. 
IneRAM; Col. R. Jonpan; D. W. MussetwuitEe; E. M. 
NicHouson ; Mrs. H. F. Wituerpy ; J. D. Woop. 

[ November 30, 1932. | a VOL, LIII, 


Vol. liii.] 26 

Mr. H. F. WiTHERBY exhibited a series of skins of British 
and Continental Willow-Tits (Parus atricapillus) and Marsh- 
Tits (Parus palustris), as well as a nesting-cavity and nest 
of a British Willow-Tit and diagrams of nesting-cavities, 
and made the following remarks :-— 

In 1900 Dr. Hellmayr described the British Willow-Tit,* 
taking as the type a bird collected at Coalfall Wood near 
Finchley, and then in the Tring Museum Collection. This 
type, with others, has now gone to New York, but we may 
hope that some day it may be returned to us. 

Dr. Hellmayr named the bird Parus montanus kleinschmidti, 
after the well-known German ornithologist, who had already 
discovered, from specimens which he had found amongst 
Marsh-Tits in the British Museum, that we had a Willow-Tit 
in this country. 

The naming of a British bird after a German ornithologist 
was a shrewd blow at us, but one which we thoroughly deserved, 
since no British ornithologist either in the field or the museum 
had detected the presence of the Willow-Tit in this country. 
Moreover it remained unrecognized, except by a few, for a long 
time after Dr. Hellmayr described it. 

In 1907 in the first number of ‘ British Birds,’ i. 1907, p. 23, 
the late Dr. P. L. Sclater wrote an article on the British Willow- 
Tit, referring to it as a “ supposed ” new British Tit. A little 
later Lord Rothschild wrote describing the bird’s distinctions, 
and deploring the want of its recognition, and we attached 
an editorial appeal for observations. 

The first serious contribution on the notes and distribution 
of the bird from field observations was made by the late 
C. J. Alexander (‘ British Birds,’ iv. 1910, pp. 146-147), who 
worked with his brother H. G. Alexander who, I am glad to 
see, is here to-night. Since then a good many observations 
have been made, but. by comparatively few. We have now 
a general idea of the bird’s distribution and a fair idea of its 
habits, but there is much more to be learnt. 

I make no excuse for bringing the subject forward here 
for these reasons, and also because there are still a good 
many who do not know the bird and are doubtful of its 
distinctions, and some who definitely refuse to believe there 
is such a bird. 

*Orn. Jahrb. xi, 1900, p. 212, 


27 [Vol. li. 

This summer, on May 28, a keeper pointed out to me a Tit’s 
nest in a hole in a tree on the borders of Wilstone Reservoir, 
near Tring. The hole had evidently been bored by the bird 
itself, and was in a small rotten willow overhanging a wide 
ditch along a marshy field and separated by a narrow pathway 
from the reeds on the edge of the reservoir. 

The bird sat tight, then went off and joined its mate. 
It was difficult to see them well, but from glimpses I got 
I thought they were Willow-Tits, and this was confirmed 
by a deep toned “‘ tchéé-tchéé’”’ alarm note uttered twice. 
But the birds were on this occasion very undemonstrative, 
and they were no doubt incubating. 

Lord Rothschild having kindly given me permission to 
make a full investigation of the nest I visited it again on 
June 4. On this occasion I was accompanied by Mr. E. M. 
Nicholson, whom we have here to-night. 

We had perfect views of the birds, which were feeding 
young with beaks full of small flies. They were very demon- 
strative and constantly shivered their wings and uttered 
a string of alarm notes chiefly “tchay”’ repeated several 
times, a deep-toned note. Sometimes it was distinctly 
“ tehéé,” and was occasionally prefaced by a very high-pitched 
** zit,”’ which seemed to come at the height of their excitement 
at our presence. At one time the old birds were in such 
a perfect light, at close range a little below the level of our 
eyes, that the crowns appeared to both of us, at different 
angles, as obviously a deep sooty colour, and at no time could 
we see any gloss on them. A pale edging to the secondaries 
was observable once or twice, but was a difficult feature. 

We made an entry into the back of the nesting-hole and 
extracted one nestling for examination. This was one or two 
days old, with some pin-feathers but none yet broken out. 
I wrote down a description of the down-plumage and mouth- 
coloration, and this does not differ from the Marsh-Tit. 

On June 11 I visited the nest again and watched the birds 
feeding the young, this time with green caterpillars. The 
young were now nearly ready to fly. 

As carefully collected material of the birds in this stage 

was much wanted I took the young and collected one old 
a2 


Vol. liii.] 28 

bird, and am showing these here to-night, and also the nesting- 
hole and nest. 

It is well known that Willow-Tits bore their own nesting- 
holes, but I am sure there is a good deal more to be learnt 
about the shape and size of these cavities. I have brought 
up for exhibition the Tring nesting-hole, and Mr. Musselwhite 
las kindly brought one in a birch, which he took some years 
ago, and from which he caught the bird which was identified 
at the Natural History Museum as a Willow-Tit. I have 
made rough diagrams and taken measurements of these two 
cavities. You will see that they are both retort-shaped like 
the cavity made by a Woodpecker. 

-I cannot find that much in detail has been written about 
Woodpecker holes, but Baron von Berlepsch examined 
a great many in section, and found them very uniform in 
shape, though differing in size according to species. In the 
little book ‘ How to attract Birds,’ drawings in section are 
given of the nesting-cavities of four species, and I have made 
a diagram enlarged to natural size of that of the Lesser Spotted 
Woodpecker. If you will compare that with the Tring 
Willow-Tit nesting-hole you will find them remarkably alike. 
Mr. Musselwhite’s has a curved dome and is shorter and wider, 
but in the general flask-shape is the same. At the bottom 
the Woodpecker’s is more pointed, but then it makes no 
nest as the Willow-Tit does (vide figure 1, p. 29). 

It seems to me very remarkable that the Willow-Tit with 
its feeble little beak should bore out a hole shaped like those 
of the Woodpeckers—birds to which it bears no relation. 
It must have very soft rotten wood, and it evidently cannot 
overcome obstacles such as hard pieces. You will see a hard 
knot in the Tring nest which has quite spoilt the symmetry 
of the hole. And perhaps the harder wood on the entrance 
side has driven it too far over, so that it came against the hard 
bark on the other side. Mr. Musselwhite’s nest is a more 
perfect example, but it seems probable that Willow-Tits’s 
nesting-holes vary in size according to the nature of the wood. 
Even in Mr. Musselwhite’s example the bird has not been able 
to make a correct shaped entrance probably owing to hard 
bark. 


Figure 1, 

Zz 

= SF 

p p 

29 

Ne 
Rigs 

ae 

SS 

Aa 

(Vol. liii, 

), after Berlepsch; B. British 

collected by H. F. Witherby near Tring, Herts ; 

ussel 

Spotted Woodpecker (Dryobates minor 
llus kleinschmidti), 
C. British Willow-Tit, collected by D. W. M white, (One-third natural size.) 

Willow-Tit (Parus atricapi 

Nesting-cavities of : A. Lesser 


Vol. liii.] 30 

Are there any other birds which bore shaped holes like 
these? I ask for information. 

Mr. Nicholson suggested to me that Parrots might bore 
out shaped nesting-holes. I wrote to Lord Tavistock about 
this and he replies: “‘ Parrots nearly always use a natural 
cavity. If the entrance-hole is not large enough they may 
bite it to the required size in a more or less circular shape. 
If the bottom of the cavity is not large enough they stand 
on the bottom and enlarge it by biting the adjacent portions 
of the sides.”’ 

The Marsh-Tit is said occasionally to bore out a hole. 
But is there an authenticated case of its making a retort- 
shaped cavity like those in figure 1. 

It is difficult to believe that a bird could occasionally make 
a hole of such a definite specialized shape. This is surely 
the result of an instinctive habit evolved during countless 
generations. Or can it be purely mechanical? When the 
bird has got down a certain depth does it sit at the bottom 
and turn round like a bird making a nest and peck away all 
round as far as it can reach? If we could get series of specimens 
in various stages we might learn how it is done, and IL would 
ask members to lose no opportunity of obtaining nesting- 
cavities (complete and incomplete) of Woodpeckers and Tits. 

The fact that the Willow-Tit bores out this distinctively 
shaped hole is surely a very strong argument for its being 
a distinct species. 

The nest itself from the Tring birds, as you will see, is very 
slight and measured only half inch deep. It is made of 
vegetable fibre mixed with fine hairs, which Mr. B. W. Tucker 
has kindly examined and proclaimed to be rabbit. There 
were a certain amount of chips of wood and two or three 
small feathers from the bird itself. As Mr. Musselwhite 
has brought some nests and eggs of both. species and will 
speak about them, I will leave him to point out the differences. 
I need only add that Mr. A. Hazelwood, who finds the Willow- 
Tit common round Doncaster, informs me that in two nests 
there was a good quantity of leaves which were cut up and 
loose, and this was in a neighbourhood where there are no Nut- 
hatches. 3 


31 [Vol. liii. 

I did not see the eggs in the Tring nest, but there were 
certainly only five young and no sign of unhatched eggs. 
This Mr. Musselwhite tells me is an unusually small clutch. 

I have kept to the last the appearance of the birds them- 
selves, because I think the differences between the two species 
are often very difficult to detect, and I believe this has led 
to a good many observers refusing to acknowledge that there 
are two species. 

In fresh plumage from autumn to early spring the Willow- 
Tit is distinctly darker, more brown-buff on its underparts 
and especially the flanks. But this distinction unfortunately 
disappears, I find, by wear, and birds at nesting-time are often 
no darker on the flanks than Marsh-Tits. The outer webs 
of the secondaries in the Willow-Tit are pale or rufous, con- 
trasting with the brown of the rest of the feathers, while in the 
Marsh-Tit the colour is uniform. But this is, though some- 
times rather conspicuous, often a difficult field distinction, 
and is much less apparent in summer when the feathers are 
worn. The outer tail-feathers in the Willow-Tit are always 
short, but so they are sometimes in the Marsh-Tit. 

We are left with one other distinction, and certainly the best, 
the glossy black cap of the Marsh and the dull, often brownish- 
looking, cap of the Willow. But even this is not certain in the 
field. The bird is often above you and against the light. 
To see it properly you must have the light behind you and the 
bird more or less on a level, then the Marsh-Tit’s cap is really 
glossy. But there is sometimes a little dull gloss on the 
Willow-Tit. It is easy to see the difference when you have 
the two birds side by side in the hand, but it is very easy 
to make a mistake even if you catch a bird and have nothing 
to compare it with. 

As I suspected that the glossy crown-feathers of the Marsh- 
Tit would differ in structure from the dull ones of the Willow- 
Tit I took samples from the middle of the crown of two birds. 
Under a low power indifferent microscope there certainly 
seemed to be differences, so I sent the feathers to Dr. Percy 
Lowe, and he kindly mounted them on slides and examined 
them microscopically. You will see by the diagram which 
Dr. Lowe has prepared and the description he will give that 


Vol. liii.] 32 

there is a definite difference in the structure of the barbules 
or radii at the tips of these feathers. This difference in the 
structure of the feathers of the crown is obviously important. 
We should no doubt examine a whole series before saying that 
it is a constant difference, but as gloss is caused by structure 
it seems highly probable that this interesting difference will 
hold good. 

I have brought up here a series of skins in different plumages. 
Birds of the two species are put side by side, and although 
daylight is much better than artificial light you will be able 
to see some of the differences. 

I am showing British Willow-Tits (Parus atricapillus 
kleinschmidtr) and British Marsh-Tits (Parus palustris dressert). 

(a) Adults in fresh plumage. 

(6) Adults in worn summer plumage. 

(c) Juveniles fully feathered. 

(d) Nestlings not fully grown, but just ready to leave the 

nest. 

I am also showing for comparison 

From Norway :— 

The Northern Willow-Tit (Parus atricapillus borealis). 

The typical Marsh-Tit (Parus palustris palustris). 

This large grey Willow-Tit with its very white cheeks 
and conspicuous greyish-white edgings to the secondaries and 
tail-feathers is very like the Alpine Willow-Tit (Parus a. mon- 
tanus) and very different from the Norwegian .Marsh-Tit, 
which is, in fact, much like ours. 

From Holland :— 

Willow-Tits (Parus atricapillus rhenanus) and Marsh-Tits 
(Parus palustris communis), which only differ slightly from our 
birds. 

With regard to the young birds. The nestling Marsh-Tits 
Mr. Kinnear has kindly brought up from the Museum. They 
were collected with one of the parents some years ago by 
Rear-Admiral Lynes, who thought until he got them that 
they were Willow-Tits, and he was afterwards annoyed that 
he had only procured a family of Marsh-Tits. But any birds 
collected in this careful way are sure to prove of value, and 


33 [Vol. liii. 

these happen to be exactly the same age as the Willow-Tits 
I got at Tring and show an interesting difference, the Willow- 
Tits being distinctly creamy-buff on the cheeks and underparts 
compared with the white of the Marsh-Tits. In older young 
this difference is not nearly so obvious, probably through 
wear, and as the juvenile Marsh-Tit has a dull head and not 
a glossy one like the adult, it is difficult to tell it from a Willow- 
Tit. 

We thus have four main differences in the two species :— 

1. Notes and song. 

2. Nesting-cavity. 

3. Nest. 

4, Plumage and colour and structure. 

I fail to see how any one can deny them all. 

I would close my remarks by appealing to members to study 
the Willow-Tit, as there is still much to be learnt about 
its habits, habitats, and distribution. 

Mr. H. G. ALEXANDER contributed the following notes on 
Willow- and Marsh-Tits. He said :— 

I do not think I can add to what is generally known 
about field identification of the Willow-Tit by sight. Of the 
various features that might be mentioned—blackish-brown 
head instead of glossy black, buff underparts and whitish 
patch on the secondaries—the last-named, the pale wing- 
patch, is to my mind, the only infallible one. The colour 
of the crown seems to vary very much in different lights, 
and the Marsh-Tit sometimes looks fairly buff on the sides, 
though I rather think its throat is a purer white; this point 
struck me again only last week, when I saw both species 
on one day. 

But unless I see the colour of the closed wing well, I dare not 
identify the bird for certain if it is quite silent. 

As I believe the notes and plumage are supposed by some 
sceptics to vary at different times of year, I have been through 
my notes for the past 25 years, and I find that in 24 years 
of fairly regular observation I have seen Willow-Tits in every 

month of the year, though for some reason less frequently 
ad 


Number of Years. 

Vol. liii.] 34 

in May and June (14 years and 10 years respectively, out of 
the 24) than in any other month. I think this is partly 
because I am not much interested in birds’-nests, but chiefly 
because the song-period ends early. 

Actually, the Willow-Tit’s very sweet, almost canary-like 
song, is uttered very erratically through the year. In this 
respect I would compare it to the Pied Wagtail. I find that 

FIiGuReE 2. 
Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. June. July. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dee. 

Graph of Marsh- and Willow-Tit’s Song. 
Marsh-Tit’s Song : ————e Willow-Tit’s Song: —-~—-—-—-— 

in the course of 24 years I have heard the song in every month— 
only once each in June and November, and only twice in 
October and December. In March I have heard it in 11 years, 
in April in 16 years, but in May only in 4 years. But it has 
a rather strong period of song in late summer, for I have 
heard it in 7 years in July, 11 in August, and 9 in September. 

This contrasts rather curiously with the Marsh-Tit, whose 
song-period (I refer to the loud single note repeated it may be 
a dozen times or more) is much more clearly marked. In 
22 years of observation I have heard the Marsh-Tit’s song 

25 

20 

15 

10 


35 [Vol. liii. 

every year in March and April, in 15 years in February and 
May, and in 14 Januaries. For the rest of the year the 
number is much lower, and I have only heard it in 3 Sep- 
tembers. 

As to the call-notes, these, of course, are numerous with all 
the British Tits (except perhaps Long-tailed). Just as Great 
and Marsh are sometimes almost indistinguishable, so, too, 
the Willow sometimes utters uncertain notes. But it is quite 
as easy to confuse some of its notes with Blue as with Marsh. 

The two commonest notes, however, are really very distinct. 
One is about the highest, thinnest little note of any British 
bird I know, except for the little Bat-like note which a Lesser 
Whitethroat sometimes utters. It is this note which can 
sometimes be confused with a half-note (if one may use such 
an expression) of a Blue-Tit. The second note, a very deep, 
“charr, charr, charr,’’ is right at the other end of the scale, 
and is very much harsher than any note a Marsh-Tit makes. 
It is, to my mind, one of the most arresting call-notes of any 
of our small birds. It is as startling as the scolding note of 
the Dartford Warbler. 

As a rule, I hear and see Willow-Tits in hedges or small 
copses, often in places quite a long distance from woods— 
in fact, in places where one would not expect to see a Marsh-Tit. 

I might perhaps mention, in conclusion, that the Central 
European subspecies, in Holland and Germany, seem to be 
distinguishable in nearly the same way as our birds. But 
I was amused to discover that in Norway, where I again 
found the two species living side by side, they seemed almost 
to have exchanged liveries. It was clear enough, both to 
ear and eye, that two species were present ; but the Willow- 
Tit is there much the paler species, and the whitish secondaries 
are inconspicuous. 

Mr. E. M. NicHoxson dealt with the song and distribution 
of the Willow-Tit. 

The Willow-Tit, he said, has a very varied language. Some of 
the most common utterances seem to be: the full song—very 
rich, warbling, and often including a throbbing phrase very 
like the “swat-swat-swat...” of the Nightingale. Noted 


Vol. liii.] 36 

in all months, March-July inclusive, and in September and 
January (a pronounced post-breeding burst of song in late 
June and July) subsong, a weak inward warbling audible only 
at very close range; a “song-phrase’’ comparable to the 
well-known refrains of the Lesser Whitethroat or Chiffchaff, 
being a tripping repetition of a single liquid musical note, 
of Goldfinch-like quality. Another ‘“song-phrase”’ with 
exactly the same rhythm as the song of a descending Tree- 
Pipit, but the notes slurred instead of drawn out. The normal 
loud nasal ‘“‘ Kes-Aig, Aig, Aig, Aig” (or “'Tchay ”’ note) 
carrying several hundred yards. A lower version of the same 
used by foraging birds as a contact note, and much more 
slurred—*‘ Ke-zur, zur, zur, zur, zur.” The very high, shrew- 
like “ keening.”’ 

Generally speaking, the Willow-Tit appears to use notes 
either in quick tripping series or separately with a chiding 
emphasis. They are less often incidental and unaccented 
than those of the Marsh-Tit, although some of the notes 
may be confused. 

As to distribution in England and Wales some important 
questions seem to be: How far does the Willow-Tit extend, 
and in what strength ? On which geological formations does 
it flourish ? What sort of habitat does it favour? In what 
numbers does it exist relative to the Marsh-Tit ? 

While in the Alps a clear altitudinal dividing line is traceable 
between the two species, in England no such division exists. 
For instance, in N. Hampshire the Willow-Tit occurs all the 
way up to 870 feet on Pilot Hill, but, the Marsh-Tit is 
dominant in oak “coppice with standard ’’ woodland on the 
ridge above 800 feet. 

Willow-Tits have been identified by the present observer 
on other high chalk ridges at Buriton (Hants), Selsdon 
(Surrey), in Charlton Forest (Sussex), and elsewhere. Also 
on oolite at Rendcomb (Gloucestershire), on greensands at 
Haslemere, and many other localities, on London clay at 
Ruislip Reservoir, Middlesex, and on other recent formations 
in Epping Forest (Essex) and at Sandford-on-Thames (Oxford- 
shire). This list (not exhaustive) shows a_ considerable 
variety of choice. On the whole the Willow-Tit seems to 
favour more open types of ground—thickets or commons, 


37 [Vol. liii. 

wild hedgerows, scattered trees on or by marshy patches, 
and so forth. It is, all the same, met with freely in woodland, 
and the Marsh-Tit is not confined to woodland. Both may 
be found side by side, in varying numerical proportions. 

These observations are entirely tentative, and are put 
forward to stimulate fuller investigation. 

Mr. D. W. MussELwHiteE made the following remarks :— 

I first made the acquaintance of the Willow-Tit (Parus 
atricapillus kleinschmidtt) in 1929, up to which time I had, like 
many others, regarded the species as one around which there 
might be some little doubt. When I say doubt I mean 
whether there were definite and unmistakable differences 
between it and the British Marsh-Tit (Parus palustris 
dressert). Having given some attention to the Marsh-Tit 
for some years beforehand, a little study of its cousin soon 
convinced me that it is quite a separate species. Although 
the differences in the birds themselves are not very apparent 
in the field, there are, nevertheless, certain distinguishing 
features. 

As Mr. Witherby and others have dealt at some length with 
most of its characteristics I will endeavour to give you some 
information concerning the nests and eggs. From 1929 I have 
located four breeding pairs, the nests and eggs of which I now 
exhibit, together with the nesting-site of the 1929 pair. 
In addition to these I have seen several nests and eggs taken 
by others and have been able to observe several birds in the 
field, their notes in almost every case being responsible for 
their identity. 

From my own experience I am of opinion that the nests could 
not be mistaken or confused with those of the Marsh-Tit. 
To enable a comparison to be made I also exhibit six nests 
of this latter species, from which it will be noticed that there 
is not only a difference in the materials employed, but in the 
construction and general make-up. In the case of the Willow- 
Tit the nest is more loosely put together and the whole of the 
materials used are completely mixed, showing no difference 
in one part of the nest to any other. The Marsh-Tit, on the 
other hand, constructs its nest quite differently. The base 


Vol. liii] 38 

is of one material and the lining is of another, and generally 
it would be a fairly simple matter to separate the two. Even 
a casual glance at the Willow-Tit’s nests will show you that 
such a thing with them could not be done. 

The materials used in typical nests are :— 

Willow Tit :—Wood fibre. Fur or other soft material. 
Small feathers (all materials well mixed up). 

Marsh-Tit :—Base of moss lined with pad of rabbit fur or 
other soft material. (Foundation and lining can be separated.) 

As might be imagined, there is to some extent a certain 
amount of intergrading. Occasionally a Willow-Tit will 
make use of a little moss, and a nest here and there is to be 
found without feathers and so on, but the general construction 
would almost certainly dispose of any doubt. 

I have a series of fifteen nests of Marsh-Tit, which has served 
as useful material for the purpose of comparison, and Mr. R. 
Ware, who is also interested in this subject, has at least as 
many which, thanks to him, have always been a ready reference. 

As to the eggs, I would say that the markings on those of the 
Willow-Tit often show a tendency to being lighter and bolder, 
but there is little doubt that the eggs are more likely to 
intergrade or overlap than is the case with the nests. There 
is another point—the average number in a clutch. The 
Marsh-Tit usually lays 6, 7, or 8, but a good deal of evidence 
exists to support the suggestion that quite possibly the 
average clutch of Willow-Tit is about 8—perhaps one more 
than Marsh-Tit. The four clutches I am showing number 
12, 10, 9, and 8, but the average of fourteen clutches known 
to me give an average of 8. More information on this point 
is desirable. 

The birds usually start to excavate their nest-chamber 
some time in April, and generally have a complete clutch 
during the first week in May. 

A good number of the wood-chips are usually to be found 
below the hole, but I am able to state that sometimes, at any 
rate, many are carried by the birds and dropped elsewhere. 

As with most of the Titmice the eggs are generally covered 
with the nesting material until the bird beginstoincubate. The 
male frequently visits and feeds the sitting hen. 


39 [Vol. liii. 

The various notes of the two species are to my ear quite 
different. 

As to distribution, I would say that the Willow-Tit is not to 
be met with nearly so often as the Marsh-Tit, and on the whole 
is a quieter bird, and this fact, together with the similarity 
of the two species in the field, frequently results in the Willow- 
Tit being overlooked. 

Mr. R. Ware exhibited a series of nests and eggs of the 
British Marsh-Tit (Parus palustris dressert) for comparison 
with nests and eggs of the British Willow-Tit (Parus atricapillus 
kleinschmidtr), exhibited by Mr. Musselwhite. 

The markings on the eggs of the latter species are of 
a decidedly lighter and brighter shade of reddish-brown. 

Three of the Marsh-Tits’ nests were taken from cavities 
entirely excavated by the birds. 

He remarked that he had closely studied the songs and notes 
of the Marsh-Tit, and that the alarm-notes of the species 
at the nest were invariably the same and so entirely different 
from the corresponding notes of the Willow-Tit as to afford 
a certain means of identification. 

The Rev. F. C. R. JouRDAIN pointed out that the reason 
why the Willow-Tit was overlooked by British naturalists and 
detected by German and Austrian ornithologists, was because 
of the existence of the two closely allied species, the Marsh- 
and Willow-Tits, side by side over a great part of the Continent. 
In some districts the two species diverge widely, in others they 
converge. Great Britain is one of the countries where they 
converge most closely ; in fact, if the two species did not 
exist outside the British Isles, it is very doubtful whether 
any ornithologist would venture to describe them as separate 
- species on the evidence of the skins alone, but with the aid 
of a collection from other parts of Kurope the matter is sim- 
plified. Here, as in hundreds of other cases, the study of 
nests, eggs, and bird-notes comes to the aid of the observer. 
To state that these branches of ornithology have made no 
contribution to science merely shows that the writers are 
entirely ignorant of the history of ornithology. There are 


Vol. liii.] 40 

four or five similar cases in the Palearctic region, such as 
the two Tree-Creepers, the two Pied Flycatchers, and the two 
Crested Larks. In the case of the Reed- and Marsh-Warblers 
it was through the eggs that the presence of the latter was 
detected in England; oology has proved equally valuable 
in the case of the Creepers, and nesting-habits in that of the 
Marsh- and Willow-Tits. 

Structural Differences in the Feathers of the Crown of the 
Head of the Marsh- and Willow-Tits. 

Dr. Percy R. Lows said that Mr. Witherby had sent him 
two feathers, one taken from the crown of the head of Parws 
palustris dressert, the other from that of Parus atricapillus 
kleinschmidti, with a request that he would examine them 
microscopically with the object of ascertaining if there were 
any differences of structural detail by which, not only could 
the feathers of the two species be recognized and definitely 
diagnosed, but also by which the gloss on the crown of the 
Marsh-Tit and the dullness in the same situation on the Willow- 
Tit could be respectively explained. 

Dr. Lowe said that he had examined them and that he had 
found definite structural differences. He thought, moreover, 
that these differences were interesting not only as suggesting 
that the two birds in question were genetically distinct, 
but as illustrating a general principle of differentiation in the 
colour of birds’ feathers which prevailed throughout the class. 
He then proceeded to illustrate the differences found by some 
diagrammatic sketches which he had made on the blackboard 
(vide figure 3, p. 41). These represented distal barbules taken 
from the distal third of the feathers of the two species in question, 
and also some from the same situation taken from a species of 
Sunbird (Cinnyris). 

He described the differences as follows :— 

(1) PaRUS ATRICAPILLUS KLEINSCHMIDTI (British 
Willow-Tit). 

(a) The base of the barbule is distinctly differentiated from 
the pennulum. 


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Vol. liii.] 42 : 

(6) The barbules show a considerable amount of dis- 
continuity, that is to say, they are widely separated 
from one another. 

(c) They take a sweeping curved course well away from the 
barb. 

(d) The base of the barbule is a thin somewhat triangular 
and translucent structure; the pennulum is long, 
slender, undifferentiated (except that it shows evidence 
of keratinization), and quickly tapers towards the point, 
where there is evidence of cellular differentiation. 

(e) There appears to be little obvious evidence of pig- 
mentation, although, of course, some must exist. 

In respect of all the above characters the barbule does not 
differ from the generality of barbules taken from the distal 
third of feathers of adult passerines ; that is to say, of feathers 
which are not specialized in regard to coloration, or rather, owe 
their colour to pigment. 

(2) PARUS PALUSTRIS DRESSERI (British Marsh-Tit). 

(a) There is very much less differentiation between the 
base of the barbule and the pennulum. 

(6) The barbules exhibit considerably less discontinuity. 

(c) They take a much straighter course out from the barb, 
their curvature being hardly apparent. 

(dq) The entire barbule has an almost uniform width, being 
thicker throughout than the base of the barbule in the 
Willow-Tit. It is shorter, truncated, exhibits evidence 
of a nodal and internodal structure, and may be 
fancifully described as being somewhat reminiscent 
of a thin stem of Equisetum. 

(ec) It is pigmented, although somewhat translucent, 
the pigment being yellowish-brown and apparently of 
the same nature as that seen in the feathers of the 
Humming Bird, Sunbird, or Peacock. 

It would appear to be probable that in these barbules 
of the Marsh-Tit there is just enough pigment and structure of a 
refrangible nature to causea refraction of the light and so produce 
a gloss, or even enough to cause a slight tinge of blue to appear. 


43 [Vol. liii. 

This is probably rendered easier by the nearer approximation 
of the barbules than obtains in the Willow-Tit, where the 
light would pass through without any obstruction and no 
specialized pigment or special structure is present. 

(3) CINNYRIS AFER AFER (The Greater Double-collared 
Sunbird). 

(a) There is no differentiation between the base of the 
barbule and the pennulum. 

(b) The barbules exhibit no discontinuity, but lie with 
their contiguous edges touching or overlapping. 

(c) They take a perfectly straight course out from the 
barb, but, as in the Marsh-Tit, make an acute angle 
with it. They are truncated. 

(d) They have a uniform width, which is wider than in 
the Marsh-Tit ; have been shortened as in that bird, 
and exhibit a very definite evidence of cellular and 
nuclear structure. 

(e) The special pigmentation is more marked. 

Conclusions. 

(1) It is clear, then, as regards structural detail and pig- 
mentation that the barbules of the Marsh-Tit and the 
Sunbird must be associated, and that the barbules of the 
Willow-Tit, on the contrary, must be dissociated as standing 
in a different category ; the obvious inference being that 
the barbules of the Marsh-Tit exhibit a less specialized phase 
of structure than that seen in the Sunbird. Ina word, the 
feathers of the Marsh-Tit exhibit the first symptoms of 
specialization towards that category of interference coloration 
which is recognized as refractive. 

(2) Regarding the question solely from this point of view, 
it has to be decided whether the Marsh-Tit and Willow-Tit 
are (1) genetically distinct and now exhibit the phenomenon 
of parallelism, or (2) are genetically allied and are showing 
evidence of divergence. As at the present time we have no 
means of arriving at the real truth and do not even know what a 
species 1s, it would probably be wiser to leave the subject here. 


Vol. liii.] 44. 

But in the ordinary acceptance of the word there seems 
to be little room for doubt that the Marsh-Tit and Willow-Tit 
judged by histological features are specifically distinct. 

Mr. D. A. BANNERMAN exhibited a number of birds from 
the islands off the Sierra Leone coast and said :— 

I have brought for exhibition to-night a few birds which 
were collected last winter by Commander G. N. Hughes, R.N., 
which he obtained on some islands which lie off the coast of 
Sierra Leone. These islands are named Plantain Island, 
Mut Island, and Banana Island, and are situated between 
Freetown and Sherbro, as you can see on the map which is on 
the table. I do not think anyone has collected birds there 
previously, and at my suggestion Commander Hughes landed 
on as many of the islands in the Turtle and Banana groups 
as possible. It was, unfortunately, too early in the year 
to discover what sea-birds bred there, but three species of 
Terns were obtained—the African Royal Tern (Sterna maxima 
albidorsalis), the Gull-billed (Gelochelidon nilotica), and the 
Sandwich (Sterna s. sandvicensis). The breeding place of 
Sterna maxima albidorsalis is as yet undiscovered ; it is found 
on the Upper Guinea coasts in winter, fairly commonly from 
Gambia southwards. The Gull-billed Tern is also a winter 
visitor common on the coast of East Africa, but the bird which 
I exhibit to-night from Yelibuya Island is only the third 
record from the West Coast. The third species is the Sandwich 
Tern, which is an exceedingly numerous winter visitor, and 
which is constantly shot as far south as Mossamedes and 
Benguella. 

Commander Hughes’s most interesting discovery was a speci- 
men of the European Oyster-catcher (Hamatopus ostralegus 
ostralegus), which extends the known winter range south 
considerably. 

Other winter migrants from Europe were the Whimbrel 
(Numenius ph. pheopus), Grey Plover (Squatarola s. squatarola), 
and Common Sandpiper (T'ringa hypoleucos). 

A single Petrel proved to be the Common Storm Petrel 
(Hydrobates pelagicus). 


45 EVol. liii. 

The only land birds were the Grey Plantain-eater (Crinifer 
piscator), Black and White Kingfisher (Ceryle r. rudis), 
Red-eyed Dove (Streptopelia s. semitorquata), and the widely 
spread V-marked Weaver (Ploceus c. cucullatus), and a Common 
Bulbul (Pycnonotus barbatus). A few other birds were collected 
on the Bullon shore, of which a specimen of Cuvier’s Falcon 
(Falco cuviert) is the first recorded from Sierra Leone. 

Commander Hughes sailed again in H.M.S. ‘ Endeavour ’ 
for a further period of survey work off the Sierra Leone Coast, 
and I am sure will succeed in adding further to our knowledge. 
He intends to pay particular attention to the Petrels and 
Shearwaters which he may encounter. 

The Rev. F. C. R. JournpAIN made the following remarks 
on the breeding of Pernis a. apivorus in Great Britain. 

He said that as some of those present were not oologists 
they would probably be unaware that within the last 5 years 
a large raptorial species had been restored to the British 
breeding list. He referred to the Honey Buzzard (Pernis 
a. apivorus), stated to have been exterminated by egg-collectors 
offering £5 for a clutch of eggs. A fact always suppressed, 
however, is that there was also competition among local 
landowners for a pair of birds complete with nest and nestlings 
to decorate the billiard room, and for this purpose up to 
£40 was offered! The last authenticated case of breeding 
took place in 1899. Since that date not a single egg has been 
taken in the British Isles. On the other hand, the slaughter 
of this harmless species by gamekeepers has gone on steadily 
for 33 years and still continues. Mr. G. Bolam knew of 
40 cases in Northumberland and the north-eastern counties 
alone, and estimated the annual death-roll there at one 
or two per annum. In 1881 between 20 and 30 were killed 
in Norfolk alone, and at least half-a-dozen more in Essex. 
I find that over 30 were recorded as killed in various parts of 
Great Britain in the 10 years following the last breeding 
record, and this only represents a fraction of those killed. 
During the last 20 years it has become more difficult to 


Vol. liii.] 46 

publish records, as taxidermists are not willing to give eviderice 
which might be detrimental to their customers; but from 
personal experience and occasional notes in county records 
it is quite clear that the slaughter goes steadily on. If we 
take an average of only three birds per annum for 33 years 
we get a total of 99 birds, yet we know that 13 were killed 
in 1908 and between 26 and 36 in 1881 in East Anglia alone. 
The number of birds killed must therefore be largely in excess 
of 100. It has been stated that these are Scandinavian 
migrants and would not breed here. The answer is that they 
have done so, just as migrant Bitterns from Holland have 
re-colonized Norfolk. 

The speaker said that protection had done nothing to 
save this bird for us, while, on the other hand, the oologists 
(in one case an egg dealer) had found six or seven nests in the 
last five years, and not one had been interfered with. In three 
cases the eggs were actually handled and yet allowed to hatch 
off. What is the use of oologists preserving stich ‘species 
while game preservers are neutralizing all their efforts ? 

Dr. Moriz Sassi, of the Natural History Museum, Vienna, 
Austria, sent the following note :— 

In the Bull. B.O.C. xli. 1920, p. 8, Mr. Stuart Baker proposed 
for Chloropsis malabarica (Blanford & Oates) a new name, 
viz., Chloropsis aurifrons davidson. I find, however, that 
Pelzeln, in Sitzungsberichte der mathem.-naturwiss. Klasse 
der kaiserl. Academie der Wissenschaften in Wien, Tome xx. 
1856, p. 157, pl. ii. fig. 1, has already described and figured the 
same form as “ Phyllornis fronialis Natterer MS.,” the type- 
specimen, an adult male, having been collected at Khelgate, 
near Goa, by the late Baron Huegel. 

The bird, which is still preserved in the Vienna Museum, 
agrees perfectly with Baker’s diagnosis, differing from typical 
aurifrons by the black instead of blue chin and throat and by 
the absence of the surrounding golden yellow collar. 

It follows that this form has henceforth to be called 

Chloropsis aurifrons frontalis (Pelzeln). 


47 [Vol. liii. 

NOTICES. 

The next Meeting of the Club will be held on Wednesday, 
December 14, 1932, at PAGANI’S RESTAURANT, 42-48 Great 
Portland Street, W.1. The Dinner at 7 p.m. 

Members intending to dine must inform the Hon. Secretary, 
Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed, 51 Onslow Gardens, London, 
S.W. 7. 

Members who wish to make any communication at the 
next Meeting of the Club must give notice to the Editor, 
Dr. G. Carmichael Low, 86 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, W. 1, 
as soon as possible. The titles of their contributions will then 
appear on the Agenda published before each Meeting. All 
MSS. for publication in the ‘ Bulletin’ must be given to the 
Editor before or at the Meeting. 

GENERAL INDEX. 

Volume III. 

This is now ready and can be obtained from the publishers, 
Messrs. Witherby & Co., 326 High Holborn, W.C.1, at the 
price of £1 is. Od. 

Agenda. 

1. Mr. David A Bannerman, Chairman of the Club, will 
give an address on the chief ornithological events of the 
year. 

2. Mr. D. L. Lack will read a paper on the “ Birds of Bear 
Island,” illustrated with lantern-slides. 


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BULLETIN 

OF THE 

BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB. 

No. CCCLAIV. 

THE three-hundred-and-fifty-ninth Meeting of the Club was 
held at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W. 1, 
on Wednesday, December 14, 1932. 

Chairman: Mr. D. A. BANNERMAN. 

Members present :—Miss C. M. ActAnD ; W. B. ALEXANDER ; 
E. C. Stuart Baker; Miss P. Barcuay-SmitH; F. J. F. 
BarRIncTon ; Miss M. G. Best; P. F. Bunyarp; H. P. O. 
CLEAVE; Maj.-Gen. Sir P. Z. Cox; A. Ezra; Miss J. M. 
FERRIER; W. E. Gueaa; Major C. H. B. Grant; A. F. 
GRIFFITH ; Hon. M. Hacuisuka; Rev. J. R. HALE; Col. A. 
E. Hamerton; B. G. Harrison; Dr. J. M. Harrison ; 
Dr. E. Hopxryson ; Rev. F.C. R. Journparn ; N. B. Kinnear; 
Miss KE. P. Lpacu ; Dr.G. CARMICHAEL Low (Editor) ; Dr. P. RB. 
Lowe; Rear-Admiral H. Lynes; T. H. McKirrrick, jun. ; 
C. W. Mackwortu-PRAED (Hon. Sec. & Treas.); J. H. 
McNe=ILE; G. M. Matuews; Mrs. C. D. Murton; C. Oxp- 
HAM; C. B. Rickett; W. L. ScuaterR; D. Setu-Smitu ; 
Major M. H. Stmonps; Major A. G. L. SLADEN ; Marquess of 
Tavistock; B. W. TuckreR; Miss E. L. Turner; H. M. 
Watuis ; H. WuistLteR; H. F. WITHERBY (Vice-Chairman) ; 
C. G. M. p—E Worms. 

Guests of the Club:—D. L. Lack; Dr. H. L. Lack; 
Dr. T. G. LonestaFr. 

Guests :—Mrs. D. A. BANNERMAN; Miss M. Barcuay ; 
Hon. BRIDE FREMANTLE; J. P. R. Hate; D. F. Hampson ; 
G. RaopEs; Col. H: I. Ropinson; Mrs. W. L. Scuater ; 
Capt. G. SHERRIFF; B.F.SmytTHE; J. VINCENT; S. ZUCKER- 
MAN. 

[ December 31, 1982. ] a VOL. LIII, 


Vol. liii.] 50 

The CHarrRMAN (Mr. David A. Bannerman), before delivering 
his Annual Address, said that during the past year we had 
had to deplore the death of three of our members :— 
W. Shore-Baily, who was well-known to many of us, served 
on the B. O. U. Committee in 1930, and was a member of the 
Club for many years; Thomas Parkin, one of the oldest 
members of the B. O. U., and a Vice-President in 1925 ; and 
A. H. Meiklejohn, another senior member of the Club, 
who died on April 23, 1932. 

Chairman’s Address. 
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 

My Lorp, LapiEs, AND GENTLEMEN ,— 

It was the custom of past Chairmen of this Club 
to deliver an annual address at the second or third meeting 
of each Session, and up to the year 1927 your Chairmen 
confined their addresses to a detailed account of work done 
in ornithology in all its branches during the previous year, 
a task which annually became more formidable. Of recent 
years, however, your Chairmen have branched away from that 
time-honoured custom and have addressed you on subjects 
upon which they are recognized as authorities. Now that 
it is my turn to stand before you I find myself at a peculiar 
disadvantage, for I have no pet subject upon which I can 
discourse, unless it be systematic ornithology, which is a dull 
topic upon which to air one’s views. I have determined, 
therefore, to revert to the old custom and, while attempting 
to give you a résumé of ornithological events during the past 
Session, I shall conclude my address by mentioning a few 
subjects to which your energies and talents may be directed 
in the near future. 

In reviewing the chief ornithological events of the past 
twelve months there is one which stands out above all others, 
at any rate to those of us who are engaged in systematic 
work—lI refer to the acquisition by the American Museum of 
Natural ‘History, New York, of Lord Rothschild’s immense 
private collection. The passing of this collection across the 


51 [Vol. liii. 

Atlantic is unquestionably a terrible loss to this country, but 
as it had, unfortunately, to leave Kurope, we may congratulate 
ourselves that it has remained intact, and that every endeavour 
will be made by its new custodians to make it as accessible as 
distance will allow to European workers. The members of this 
Club, in particular, have cause for sorrow, as Lord Rothschild 
has for many years exhibited his treasures at our meetings, and 
has contributed more than anyone else to our enjoyment and 
interest by so doing. 

I would next emphasize the valuable work which is being 
- done in the field, particularly by the members of this Club, 
for it shows that, despite the depressing time through which 
our country is passing, the enthusiasm for our favourite 
science, far from showing signs of flagging, is very much the 
reverse, and the members of the B. O. C. and B. O. U. have been 
advancing the cause of ornithology in many far distant 
parts of the world. 

EUROPE. 

Turning first to Europe, I would draw your attention 
to what is taking place in Great Britain, and would point 
to the general and constant increase in good field-work. 
Many observers are taking more care, and are making detailed 
observations in a more and more scientific way. It would 
be invidious, where so much progress has been made all 
round, to pick out particular items for notice, but I may, 
perhaps, be allowed to quote as an instance—where many are 
involved—the Great Crested Grebe Census. Although this 
was carried out in the field in 1930 and 1931, the results were 
not published until 1932, so its success or otherwise could 
not be decided until now. 

In the opinion of those best able to judge it is certainly 
a very outstanding piece of co-operative field-work, and is 
comparable with the Heron Census. Messrs. T. H. Harrisson 
and P. A. D. Hollom, the organisers of the scheme and authors 
of the report, deserve the greatest praise, and the fact that 
no less than 1300 observers helped proves a very widespread 
interest. Moreover, the returns sent in from this large number 
showed a high average of accuracy in observation. The 

a2 


Vol. liii.] 52 

report (published in ‘ British Birds,’ August to November, 
1932) is very well drawn up and the result most valuable. 

It is, I think, obvious that a co-operative piece of field-work 
on one species, on a national scale, as in this case, of properly 
carried out, has results of inestimable value. The danger 
is that such enquiries should be attempted by individuals 
without sufficient knowledge and forethought, and the British 
Trust for Ornithology, which we hope soon to see established, 
should, in future, provide a centre for the control of such work. 

Of a different nature, but proving how meticulous has become 
the work on a single species, I may instance the observations 
carried out upon the British Willow-Tit, the results of which 
afforded the members of this Club a most instructive evening 
last month. This work was undertaken by Mr. Harry Witherby 
and others last year. Another piece of meritorious field-work 
was carried out by Mr. Lack on the breeding-habits of the 
European Nightjar (Ibis, 1932, p. 266). 

Mr. Witherby’s ringing-scheme continues to provide most 
valuable information, the cumulative results becoming more 
important as more data is amassed. 

Two events of outstanding interest to British ornithologists 
have been recorded :—The publication by the Rev. F. C. R. 
Jourdain of the fact that the Honey-Buzzard has again 
become a regular breeding species in our island (Bull. B. O. A. 
1932, no. 35, and Bull. B.O.C. liii. 1932, p. 45), and the 
definite discovery of the breeding of the Redwing in Scotland by 
Mr. A. H. Daukes (Brit. Birds, xxvi. 1932, p. 132). 

Many of our members have, as usual, devoted their attention 
to work in distant lands. Following their tour to Albania 
in the spring of 1931, Dr. C. B. Ticehurst and Mr. Hugh 
Whistler visited Portugal in 1932, and added to our knowledge 
of that imperfectly known country. They have prepared 
a paper for ‘ The Ibis’ which will appear shortly. That on the 
results of the Albania expedition was published in the January 
number this year. This makes the seventh report on seven 
consecutive trips which Dr. Ticehurst and Mr. Whistler 
have made together, each of which has added largely to our 
knowledge of the birds of Southern France, the Pyrenees, 
North and North-West Spain, the Balearic Islands, Albania, 


53 [Vol. liii. 

Jugoslavia, and Portugal—a record of which they may be 
justly proud. 

Dr. James Harrison made an expedition in the spring of 
1932 to Bulgaria, where he found plenty of interest in the 
bird-life, and has given us an interesting report in ‘ The Ibis.’ 

Messrs. B. W. Tucker and W. B. Alexander paid a flying visit 
to the Camargue,a locality from which there seems little more to 
learn. I may, however, draw attention to the better arrange- 
ment of the Camargue as a nature reserve, particularly as 
a centre for the ringing of migratory birds. 

In the Mediterranean Captain P. W. Munn has continued 
his valuable work on the avifauna of the Balearic Islands 
where he is a resident. 

Lt.-Col. Meiklejohn visited Corsica during the spring for 
the purposes of collecting, and afterwards went to Switzerland. 

While dealing with Southern Europe, although not coming 
strictly within the scope of this review, I would here like 
to draw your attention to the important announcement 
made by Lord Howard of Penrith in a letter to ‘ The Times’ 
of Wednesday, December 14, 1932. In it he announces that, 
by order of Signor Mussolini, the Island of Capri has been 
decreed a bird sanctuary, with severe punishment for killing 
any birds throughout the year. 

It seems, as ‘The Times’ says in a leading article, that 
Signor Mussolini’s sympathy was quickened by reading the 
preface to Dr. Axel Munthe’s popular book ‘The Story of 
San Michele.’ It is an announcement which will give great 
pleasure in this country, and upon which we may heartily 
congratulate our Italian friends. 

Col. Meinertzhagen has, since his return from his Saharan 
expedition, made two visits to the Hautes Pyrenées, with 
a view to obtaining collections of birds and plants from high 
altitudes. In this he was successful. 

Turning now to colder climes, Mr. David Lack and Mr. G. C. 
L. Bertram went on an expedition last summer to Bear 
Island, where they spent seven weeks, and made many 
interesting observations concerning which we shall hear more 
to-night. Their investigations are of particular importance, 
as previous workers~ have concentrated on the southern 


Vol. liii.] 54 

half of the island, whereas Mr. Lack and his companion 
worked the flat and water-sodden north. 1932 appears 
to have been an abnormal year for weather, with interesting 
results on the fauna, including the discovery of several new 
breeding-species, but I must not anticipate what Mr. Lack 
will tell us himself. The full report on this trip will appear 
shortly in ‘ The Ibis.’ 

Spitsbergen was visited during the period under review 
by Captain J. H. McNeile and Mr. E. 8. Steward, who chartered 
a boat from Norway. They failed to find the Knot breeding, 
but added a new species to the Spitsbergen list, and revisited 
the Barnacle-Goose colony discovered in 1931. Captain 
McNeile also paid a short visit to Central Spain. 

A Cambridge University Expedition (which included 
Mr. B. Roberts) visited South-West Iceland, and although the 
members did not specialize in ornithology, they did some 
work in exploring the Yokull districts which is valuable, 
though largely negative. A paper on the results of their 
ornithological observations is in preparation for ‘ The Ibis.’ 

Dr. Tom Longstaff,; who you will remember was the leader 
of a former Oxford University Expedition to Greenland, 
made a short trip to that land last July and August, travelling 
from the extreme south to the Cap north of Disko, and, I am 
glad to say, has promised to give us the result of his experiences 
at our next meeting. 

Mr. F. Spencer Chapman made a number of observations 
on the birds of Greenland when in that country last year 
with the British Arctic Air Route Expedition, but has not yet 
had time to publish his results. Mr. Chapman is again 
wintering in East Greenland, and we shall hope for some 
valuable data from him on his return. 

ASIA. 

Turning to Asia, M. Jean Delacour, who is a well-known 
member of our Club, has again visited Indo-China, this time 
turning his attention to South Laos, which adjoins the Frontier 
of Siam. I can assure M. Delacour that his work in that 
country has been followed with the greatest interest. It may 
not be known to all of you that our National Collection has 


55 [Vol. liii. 

benefited to a very great extent from the six expeditions 
which M. Delacour has now completed in the different provinces 
of Indo-China since 1923, and I would like to take this oppor- 
tunity of congratulating him on the many sensational dis- 
coveries he has made in that wonderful country. Tne 
publication, in his collaboration with M. P. Jabouille, of four 
fine volumes, ‘ Les Oiseaux de 1’ Indo-Chine Frangaise’ (1931), 
is a fitting climax to his investigations, for the amassing of 
material in museums is of no value unless the results can 
be given to the world. | 

The Legendre Expedition to Indo-China was accompanied 
by Mr. T. D. Carter, of the Mammal Department of the American 
Museum, and although the collecting of mammals was his 
principal object, Mr. Carter secured 406 specimens of birds. 

The Dolan Expedition to East Tibet (hinterland of Tatsienlu) 
was accompanied by two German ornithologists, Dr. Hugo 
Weigold and Herr Ernst Schafer. They collected chiefly big 
game, but also some 900 birds, which will be studied in 
Philadelphia. 

The Mission Automobile Citroén through the Pamirs, 
Mongolia, and China has not so far obtained any bird collection 
of importance. 

In India, the Vernay Survey of the Eastern Ghats has 
been completed. The large and valuable collections have 
been worked out by Mr. Hugh Whistler, who is publishing 
a series of important papers on Indian ornithology in the 
‘ Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.’ 

Mr. Frank Ludlow worked for 18 months in Chinese 
Turkestan, and although his investigations took place previous 
to the period we are reviewing, his activities have hitherto 
escaped the special mention which they so richly deserve. 
His important paper on this region will appear in ‘ The [bis ’ 
for next year. 

Renewed interest, after a long interval, is perceivable in 
Burma, where Messrs. J. K. Stanford and H. C. Smith (both 
members of the B.O.U.) are working up their respective 
districts. 

Lord Cranbrook accompanied Captain Kingdon Ward, 
the well-known plant-collector, in his last expedition to the 


Vol. liii.] 56 

Adung Valley in North-East Burma on the borders of Yunnan. 
A small collection from a locality in which birds had not 
previously been obtained has been divided between our 
National Collection and the Field Museum, Chicago. 

AFRICA. 

Africa has, as usual, been the centre of much activity. 
Apart from visiting ornithologists, we have a number of 
first-rate field-naturalists resident in the country, and their 
numbers are greatly increasing. 

Of the more prominent workers, Admiral Lynes has set 
us a wonderful example of what can be accomplished by a 
man whose watchwords are “ thoroughness ”’ and “ energy.” 
His published work on the genus Cisticola has now been 
in our hands for more than two years, but, not content 
to rest on his laurels, he made, in company with Mr. Willoughby 
P. Lowe, yet another journey to Africa, this time to Southern 
Tanganyika, where a survey of the avifauna of the Iringa 
Province, not forgetting the Fantail-Warblers, was success- 
fully undertaken. We look forward to the report on this 
expedition, which is now being prepared. 

Mr. G. L. Bates has enhanced his reputation as a naturalist 
and collector by yet another journey in West Africa—this time 
penetrating into the Southern Sahara, including the desert 
north of Timbuktu. His collection of over 1000 birds, most 
of which have been purchased by the British Museum, has 
added greatly to our knowledge. It was my privilege to speak 
of these birds at our first meeting this session, and I must 
refer those interested to the account of his journey which was 
published in the October ‘ Bulletin,’ pp. 5-12. 

Mr. Jack Vincent, who accompanied Admiral Lynes in his 
expedition from the Cape to Angola in 1930-31, returned to 
Africa in November of last year, on behalf of the British 
Museum, to make a widely representative collection from 
Portuguese East Africa. I am glad to welcome him here 
to-night, and to congratulate him on the success of his under- 
taking. His collection froma country which had hitherto been 
little known ornithologically, has bid fair to rival any which 
have been received at the British Museum for many years, both 


57 [Vol. liii. 

in the excellence of the skins and in the information contained 
on the labels. It is too early yet to speak of the full results 
achieved, but that difficult country has been combed of its 
secrets, and Mr. Vincent has proved himself to be a collector 
of quite outstanding ability and discrimination, of whom we 
shall expect much in the future. 

Mr. R. E. Moreau is continuing his work in the Usambara 
Mountains of Tanganyika. His collections have contained 
many novelties, and the results are now being published 
jointly by himself and Mr. W. L. Sclater in ‘ The Ibis.’ I shall 
not, therefore, need to say more here, but I would like to call 
attention to the excellence of Mr. Moreau’s field and ecological 
notes, which show the care devoted to the subject by both the 
collector and his wife. 

Mr. Arthur S. Vernay is a member of the Club whose activi- 
ties in the field in the cause of ornithology are too well known 
to need comment. A generous benefactor of the British, New 
York, Chicago, and Transvaal Museums in particular, Mr. Ver- 
nay recently undertook an expedition planned on a gigantic 
scale to survey the Kalahari Desert. Every branch of natural 
science seems to have been represented in the expedition. 
In addition to himself, the principal ornithologists were 
Austin Roberts of the Transvaal Museum and _ Herbert 
Lang, once of the New York Museum. Immense collections 
were formed, and over 3300 birds obtained. These were 
worked out in the Transvaal Museum by Mr. Roberts, who 
described no less than 42 as new. The collections were 
finally divided between the museums already mentioned, 
the share of the British Museum proving a very valuable 
addition to the National Collection. I have, with Dr. P. R. 
Lowe’s permission, arranged for a selection of the new birds 
described to be exhibited at our next meeting (in January), 
at which Mr. Vernay has promised to give us an account of 
his experiences, provided he returns from America in time. 

Colonel R. Meinertzhagen made an expedition in February 
and March, 1931, to the Sahara. His object was to arrive 
at some idea regarding the origin of life in the Ahaggar 
Mountains, for which purpose he travelled by car from Algiers 

ad 


Vol. iii] 58 

to Tamarasset, where he changed to camels and explored’ 
the high plateaux. 3000 zoological. specimens and about. 
600 botanical specimens were collected. It is hoped to publish 
the results of this important expedition next year, and 
although it does not come strictly within our period, it has not 
hitherto received notice, and I have a special. reason for 
mentioning it to-night. 

Captain C. R. S. Pitman is devoting himself energetically 
to the study of Rhodesian birds, having been transferred to 
that country from Uganda. His re-discovery of Chaplin’s 
Barbet on the Northern Rhodesian Plateau is an event of 
great interest, and settles the disputed question that this bird 
is not a hybrid. His study of the breeding-habits of African 
birds, published in the ‘ Oologist’s Record’ and elsewhere, 
is of inestimable value to all African workers. 

In West Africa a host of excellent field-workers have been 
discovered, and are slowly being roped within our Union. 
It would be invidious at this stage to mention names, but 
the result of their observations is being embodied in my 
volumes on the ‘ Birds of Tropical West Africa.’ 

I cannot, however, refrain from mentioning the excellent 
work in oology carried out by Mr. Boughton-Leigh and 
Mr. Ronald Shuel in Nigeria. The former has, unfortunately; 
left the Coast, but his companion, with the valuable assistance 
of Mrs. Shuel, is carrying on the good work in Nigeria at the 
present moment, and we shall hope to see another paper from 
these authors on the lines of the one published by them in 
‘The Ibis’ for July 1932. 

Major R. E. Cheesman is still resident in Abyssinia, and 
I hope to persuade him to give us the result of his experiences 
with the birds of that country when next he comes home on 
leave. 

Dr. James P. Chapin, a member of our Union, returned 
in May 1931 from the Belgian Congo, where he went on behalf 
of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, 
of which he is an Associate Curator of Birds, to obtain the 
materials needed for a bird-group showing the forest along the 
banks of the Congo River near Lukolela, with the more 
characteristic birds. The gathering of vegetation, together 
with the necessary photographs, sketches, and plaster-moulds, 


59 [Vol. liii. 

took a great deal of time, so his collection of birds was not 
large, and comprised only 653 specimens. A popular account 
of Dr. Chapin’s experiences appeared in ‘ Natural History ’ 
for 1931. 

PaAcIFIC AND CHINA SEA. 

An Oxford University Expedition (Messrs. T. H. Harrisson 
C. H. Hartley, and others) left in the summer (1932) for explora- 
tion work in Borneo, from which we may expect interesting 
results. 

Mr. W. F. Coultas has been carrying on the work of the 
Whitney South Sea Expedition during the past year in New 
Britain and New Ireland. 

The Heinrich Expedition to Celebes continued the exploration 
of the island, visiting South Celebes and the hitherto unexplored 
mountains of South-east Celebes, and discovering there a good 
many novelties which have mostly been described by Dr. Strese- 
‘mann in the ‘ Ornithologische Monatsberichte.’ The expedition 
returned last May with 7000 bird-skins and 1000 mammals. 

The Stein Expedition (Georg Stein and his wife) explored 
the Weyland Mountains in western New Guinea, and travelled 
from there to the islands of Timor and Sumba, where they 
worked from January to June 1932. The expedition came 
back to Europe in September with some 5000 birds and 
1000 mammals. 

AMERICA. 

In the West Indies and America ornithological work has, 
as is natural, been undertaken almost entirely by Americans. 
As an exception to this I may mention that Sir Charles Belcher, 
well known for his work in Nyasaland and Cyprus, is now 
Chief Justice in Trinidad, and has already made valuable 
observations on the breeding-habits of birds in that island. 

_ Trinidad was visited by two Americans, Messrs. W. W. 
Bowen and Radcliffe Roberts, in the summer of 1931, but 
they returned, I believe, just before the period I am reviewing. 

An event of great interest in the West Indies was the 
re-discovery of a live specimen of the Capped Petrel or 
.Diablotin (Pterodroma hasitata), which species figures as 
“ probably extinct’ in the ‘A. O. U. Check List’ of 1910! 

yy 
ai 


Vol. liii.] 60 

It has been reported from time to time as having been seen 
since that date, but the capture of a living bird has now set 
all doubts at rest. I may mention that no less than 100 were 
said to have been seen over the town of Moca,in San Domingo, 
in May 1928, a fact that did not receive the attention it 
deserved. 

Our American colleagues have not been idle, although the 
present depression has certainly curtailed expeditions from - 
American museums. In addition to those which I have 
already mentioned under other headings, the Philadelphia 
Academy sent Mr. J. A. G. Rehn to Matto Grosso, Brazil, 
with the Johnson Expedition. Mr. Rehn returned last spring 
with very extensive collections, including birds, and Mr. A. M. 
Olalla has also been collecting in Brazil on the Rio Tocantino 
for the American Museum. 

Mr. H. S. Swarth, of the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences, 
paida visit to the Galapagos Islands, returning, I believe, during 
the summer of 1931. You know, of course, his ‘List of the 
Birds of the Galapagos,’ and this trip was made with the aim 
of obtaining a personal acquaintance with the birds he had 
long been studying. 

Mr. J. Van Tyne, of the University of Michigan, made 
an ornithological expedition to Guatemala. 

CoNCLUDING REMARKS. 

I have now attempted to bring before you, Ladies and 
Gentlemen, a picture of what has been going on in the world 
of ornithology during the past year: it is a record in which 
our own nation, and in particular the members of this Club, 
have taken a most prominent part. There is one aspect 
which I particularly desire to emphasize—the importance 
of co-operating in our work with that great and powerful 
Society the Royal Geographical. We are exceedingly for- 
tunate in that both the Honorary Secretaries of the R. G.S. 
are ornithologists of standing—the Senior Secretary, Dr. Tom 
Longstaff, is our Guest of Honour to-night, the other is the 
President of our Union Mr. W. L. Sclater. They can do 
a very great deal while holding office to see that every 


61 [Vol. liii. 

expedition leaving our shores is properly equipped with 
an ornithologist. Geographers cannot all hope to be ornitho- 
logists, but ornithologists worthy of the name should ail, 
to my mind, be geographers (taking that word—as the 
Presidents of the R. G. S. do—in its widest sense). Geography 
is a subject to which it is impossible for an ornithologist to 
attach too much importance, for it embraces the study of the 
natural features of the earth upon which, to a very large 
extent, the distribution of birds (and plants) depends. In the 
excellent address which a past Chairman of this Club (Dr. Percy 
R. Lowe) delivered to you in 1928 he suggested that the time 
was close at hand when purely systematic work should make 
way for the larger biological problems. He pointed to the fact 
that, despite a huge output of ornithological work (to quote 
his own words), “.. . in all probability at least ninety per cent. 
of that work has been taken up entirely with nomenclature, 
species, and subspecies.”’ That was no doubt true of the year 
he was reviewing, but it 1s most certainly not so to-day. 
Inspired, perhaps, by Dr. Lowe’s words, there has been a great 
advance in the standard of work produced, and on all sides 
we note that ornithologists are bringing wider aspects to bear 
on their investigations. lam not one of those who believe that 
skin-collections are not required any longer, but I do urge you 
to make all the use you can of the vast material we have 
already accumulated. Those of us who work on African birds 
were stimulated in this respect by a splendid article written 
some years ago by Dr. James P. Chapin, of the American 
Museum, on the ecological aspects of bird distribution in 
Africa—a contribution to our science which has had a pro- 
nounced bearing on African literature published since 1923, 
and one which raised the author’s reputation, on this side of the 
Atlantic, to a very high level. In 1926 Professor Einar 
Lénnberg, of Sweden, published a most instructive treatise on 
*The Development and Distribution of the African Fauna 
in connection with, and depending upon, Climatic Changes.’ 
I instance these papers to show what can be done by those who 
combine a wide knowledge of ornithology with the teachings 
of geography. Let us by all means be inspired by their work, 
but do not let us leave it entirely to ornithologists of other 
nations. 


Vol. liii.] 62 

Now, one final word and I have done. It is usual for your 
Chairman to mention in his annual address the most important 
publications in ornithological literature which have appeared 
in the course of the past year. This I do not intend to do 
to-night for the simple reason that I have already taken up too 
much of your time, and we have a lantern-lecture to follow. 
I shall publish a list of the outstanding books which have 
appeared, but, as I shall have, through want of space, to 
ignore papers published in the numerous scientific journals, 
I should like to take this opportunity of complimenting 
Dr. Percy R. Lowe on the exceptionally valuable research 
work he has done during the last two sessions on the 
anatomy of birds. His ‘“‘Anatomical Review of the Waders ” 
is, I venture to say, a monumental piece of work which 
systematists, and those engaged upon the compilation of 
Check. lists (on either side of the Atlantic) can ill afford to 
ignore. I most heartily endorse Dr. Lowe’s plea that other 
workers should come forward in this field. If not themselves 
anatomists—and we have not all had the required training 
in this respect—they can at least help very materially, when 
on collecting expeditions, by bringing home really good speci- 
mens in spirit to aid investigations in this most necessary 
branch of our work. 

Finally, I should like to express my grateful thanks to those 
gentlemen, both at home and abroad, who, by their special 
knowledge, have assisted me in drawing up what I fear 
must be a very inadequate review of the year’s work. 

LITERATURE, 1931-1932. 

A.O.U. Check-List, 1931. 

CALDWELL, H. R. and J. C.—South China Birds. Shanghai, 1932. 

CayLey, N. W.—What Bird is That? A Guide to the Birds of Australia. 
Sydney, 1931. [In this volume every species of Australian bird 
is figured in colour, which should prove most valuable for 
purposes of identification. ] 

DELACOUR, JEAN, and JABOUILLE, P.—Les Oiseaux de |’Indo-Chine 
Franeaise. 4 vols. Paris, 1932. [Embodying the results 
of J. Delacour’s expedition in the field, and bringing our 
knowledge of French Indo-China fully up to date. ] 


63 (Vol. liii. 

Hacuisuxa, Hon. M.—The Birds of the Philippine Islands. Vol. 1. 
Galliformes—Pelicaniformes. London. [Containing Parts i. and 
ii., issued respectively in March 1931 and Sept. 1932.] 

HartTert, Dr. E.—Die Végel der palaarktischen Fauna Erganzungsband. 
Heft 1. Berlin, 1932. [The first instalment of additions 
to his great work. The first part, issued in August 1932, deals 
with those species dealt with in his first volume up to the end 
of the Fringillide. When completed, this will bring Hartert’s 
three volumes completely up to date. ] 

KoeEnia, Prof. Dr. A.—Katalog der Nids-Oologischen Sammlung im 
Museum Alexander Koenig. 4to. 3 vols. text and 1 vol. pls. 
(18 col. pls. of eggs). [A catalogue of the author’s egg- 
collection, containing some beautiful coloured plates of rare 
eggs and much material in the text for distributional study. 

LEGENDRE, M.—Monographie des Mésanges d’ Europe. 

Mouineux, H. G. K.—A Catalogue of Birds. Supplement, giving 
their distribution in the Western portion of the Palearctic 
Region. [ThisSupplement, with Index and Appendix, completes 
Mr. Molineux’s most useful work. ] 

Moopy, A. F.—Wild-Fowl and Game-Birds in Captivity. [A valuable 
contribution to the study of Aviculture. ] 

NicHotson, E. M.—The Art of Bird-watching. 

Prerers, J. Ler.—Check-list of Birds of the World. Vol. i. Cam- 
bridge, Mass., 1931. [This most important work covers the 
orders Rheiformes to Falconiformes. ] 

Rowan, Prof. W.—The Riddle of Migration. 

Scuuz and Wercoup, Drs.—Atlas des Végelzugs. [A most important 
compilation, which includes the mapping of all results of bird- 
marking in the Palearctic. | 

SIEWERT, Horst.—Storche. [A beautifully illustrated monograph 
of the life-history of the Black and Wh.te Storks. The photos 
are quite excellent, and the life-histories are from original 
observations. | 

STEAD, E. F.—Lite-histories of the Birds of New Zealand. 1932. 

TaxKxa-TsuKASA, Prince.—The Birdsof Nippon. Japan, 1932. [Parti., 
dealing with the Galli, was issued in August 1932, and will, 
when completed, bethestandard work on the birdsof the Japanese 
Empire. | 

TicrHurRstT, Dr. C. B.—The Birds of Suffolk. 1932. [This is a most 
valuable addition to our county faunas, and deals compre- 
hensively with the birds of that important part of England. | 

Notr.—Only the most important publications up to the date of 
going to press are noticed in the above list. 


Vol. litt] 64 

The CHAIRMAN introduced Dr. T. G. Longstaff, a Guest 
of the Club for the evening, and said :— 

Dr. Longstaff is too well known to need any introduction 
from me. His fame as a mountaineer is world-wide. He 
was the Medical Officer and Naturalist to the Second 
Mount Everest Expedition, and Leader of the Oxford Uni- 
versity Expedition to Greenland in 1928. Now he is the 
Senior Honorary Secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, 
and in his joint capacity as ornithologist and geographer 
I have prevailed upon him to say a few words to us to-night. 

Dr. LonestaFF then made a brief speech. In this he stressed 
the importance of ornithologists equipping themselves with 
a knowledge of geography before they set out on their expedi- 
tions. He pointed to the advantages which would accrue 
from such knowledge, and assured the members of the British 
Ornithologists’ Club that they could count on the support 
of the Royal Geographical Society—and of himself in parti- 
cular—where ornithological and geographical research work 
could combine. 

The CHArgMAN then called upon Mr. David Lack to give 
an account of his experiences on Bear Island, and said, in 
introducing him :— 

Mr. David Lack, who is a past President of the Cambridge 
Bird Club, is already known to many members of this Club. 
His paper in ‘ The Ibis’ for last April on the breeding-habits 
of the European Nightjar, to which I have already alluded 
in my address, will be fresh in the minds of many of you, 
and stamps him as an observer of exceptional ability. His 
powers of observation you will have an opportunity of 
appraising to-night, as he is going to give us an account of 
an expedition to Bear Island, upon which subject I will now 
ask him to address you. 

Mr. Lack thenread his paper ‘The Birds of Bear Island ’:— 
As the ornithological results of the Cambridge Expedition 
to Bear Island are being published in full in ‘The Ibis’ 
I propose to-night to deal only with the more interesting 
features. Mr. G. C. L. Bertram and myself stayed from 


65 [Vol. liii. 

June 20 to August 10, 1932, on the island in order to study 
the animal life. We are extremely grateful to the Royal 
Geographical Society for its support, and I should like 
especially to thank Dr. T. G. Longstaff, who is here to-night, 
for the trouble which he took in giving us much most valuable 
advice and information. 

Bear Island is about twelve miles long by nine broad, 
and lies in the Barents Sea, some 240 miles north of Norway 
and 120 south of Spitsbergen. Mount Misery (1800 feet) 
is the highest point, and in the south are cliffs over 1400 feet 
high. Most of the island is a barren plateau with numerous 
lakes. The temperature in summer keeps for the most part 
above freezing-point, but the climate is spoilt by the frequent 
fogs. In fifty-two days we had only five which were sunny, and 
twenty-two when the visibility was limited to thirty yards. 
This made bird-photography difficult, which was the more 
unfortunate as most species were extraordinarily tame. 
This the slides which I am showing testify, for all were taken 
without a ‘“‘ hide”’ of any sort. 

The ground was in many places almost devoid of vegetation, 
and insect-life was sparse. But the sea-bird colonies had 
a marked effect, their guano supplying nutriment which was 
absent elsewhere, with the result that both plants and insects 
were often abundant, and the plants of much richer growth. 

During our stay we saw forty species of birds, of which 
six are new to Svalbard (Spitsbergen and Bear Island). 
_ Probably twenty-three species were breeding, of which three— 
Starling, Great Northern Diver, and Herring-Gull—have not 
been found breeding in Svalbard before. 

The Snow-Bunting (Plectrophenax n. nivalis) was the 
only common land-bird, but we also found one pair of Starlings 
(Sturnus v. vulgaris), this being the farthest north that this 

species has been found nesting. Unfortunately, though 
a nest was built, no eggs were laid, probably the effect of the 
late season. The Mealy Redpoll (Acanthis f. flammea) may also 
have been breeding, an adult female being seen on July 20, 
and a juvenile being shot on July 24. This is a new species 
to Svalbard. 


Vol. liii.] 66 

The Northern Eider (Somaterta mollissima borealis) was 
much the commonest duck. It has been stated that this— 
species deliberately nests among Arctic Terns (Sterna 
macrura), since the latter can drive away their enemies, 
the Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus) and others. This 
was not true on Bear Island. Both Eider and Tern seem 
to prefer lake islands, which are inaccessible to Arctic foxes, 
and hence the two birds were often nesting together. But 
Eiders did not nest among Terns on the mainland. Further, 
so long as the Hider was sitting the Skua seemed unable to 
take her eggs, and took only deserted ones. 

Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis) and, apparently, 
Common Scoter (Melanitia n. nigra) were also breeding, 
but we failed to find any nests of the latter. A single pair 
of Tufted Duck (Nyroca fuligula) were also apparently 
‘breeding, but our other work gave us too little time to find 
the nest. This is, apparently, the farthest north that this 
species has been found. 

The Purple Sandpiper (Calidris m. marituma) was com- 
mon round the lake-shores. This bird has a most striking 
‘‘injury-feigning ’’ performance. When flushed from the 
nest it usually fluffs out its feathers, droops its wings and tail, 
and rushes round and round, uttering a characteristic call. 
An alternative performance ‘is to run, with frequent halts, 
holding out first one wing and then the other, while uttering | 
a different call from that of the first performance. The 
second performance is like the “ broken wing trick ” of so many 
Waders. The first is similar to what I have seen in the Ringed 
Plover (Charadrius h. hiaticula) when flushed from the nest 
(and also when courting). We were interested to observe 
that bcth these performances, usually termed “ injury- 
feigning,”’ figure prominently in the bird’s courtship, especially 
the “‘ broken wing trick.”’ It therefore seems probable that 
both are associated primarily with the expression of emotion, 
and that in “injury-feigning”’ the bird is distracted and 
scarcely conscious of what it is doing. We once observed 
a Purple Sandpiper vigorously “feigning,” although its off- 
spring were fully fledged and able to fly, which also suggests 
the performance is not intelligent. 


67 [Vol. liii. 

The Arctic Skua, which was common on Bear Island, also 
has a striking “‘ injury-feigning ’’ performance, settling close 
to the intruder and flapping hard with its wings. So elaboratea 
performance, if true “ injury-feigning,’’ could scarcely have been 
evolved unless it were against some natural enemy. Excluding 
man, who has only recently colonised these regions, and is 
still scarce, the only enemy is the Arctic Fox. On two 
occasions we saw one of the latter near a Skua’s nest. In 
neither case did the birds attempt to feign injury, but swooped 
fiercely at the fox’s head until it was sufficiently removed 
from their nest. This suggests that for this species also 
the feigning was not evolved primarily as a defensive mecha- 
nism, and it seems extremely doubtful if it is of any use at 
all. I have expressed a similar conclusion for the Nightjar 
elsewhere (Ibis, 1932, p. 266.) 

We found several nests of the Grey Phalarope (Phalaropus 
fulicarius jourdaini), of the Red-throated Diver (Colymbus 
stellatus) , and two of the Great Northern Diver (Colymbus 
immer), this being the farthest east that this species has bred. 

The Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) was much the 
commonest gull, but there were also some thirty pairs of 
Great Black-backed Gulls (L. marinus) and seven of Herring- 
Gull (L. argentatus). The two latter species were not 
found breeding by Koenig in 1908, and only two pairs of the 
Great Black-backed Gull by the Oxford University Expedition 
of 1921. Clearly they have colonised Bear Island only of 
recent years, like the Starling and Tufted Duck, which have 
also not been recorded breeding there before. This indicates 
that the increase of such birds as the Starling, Tufted Duck, 
and Great Black-backed Gull in Britain is not a purely local 
phenomenon. 

Early in our stay we saw an immature gull with the black 
_ wing-tips like a Herring-Gull, but a white mantle like a 
Glaucous. We concluded it must be a hybrid, and later we 
were fortunate in finding a nest with one parent of each of 
these species. The three eggs were fertile, but two, which 
1 am exhibiting, failed to hatch. The chick hatched from the 
other egg is in the British Museum. We could not obtain the 
parents, because they had selected a steep cliff over which to 


Vol. liii.] 68 

breed, but the eggs were the size of a Herring-Gull’s, so 
presumably the latter was the hen. 

The most interesting of the cliff-birds, and easily the 
commonest birds on the island, were the Guillemots. 
Both the Common (Uria aalge hyperborea) and Briin- 
nich’s (U. 1. lomvia) were in countless thousands, not only 
crowding every ledge on cliffs, which in places were 1400 feet 
high, but in places overflowing on to the flat areas above the 
lower cliffs. The two species occurred side by side, often 
touching. Eggs and young not infrequently got interchanged 
during scuffles among the parents, and it is impossible to 
believe that the two species keep their offspring separate. 
One slide shows a parent attempting to brood ten young 
at once, in the absence of its neighbours. Others had adopted 
what could only have been last year’s eggs. It seems that the 
bird will sit on anything within reason, if given the opportunity. 

The Common Guillemot of Bear Island was described as 
a distinct subspecies (Uria aalge hyperborea) by Salomonsen 
(Ibis, 1932, p. 130). In its distinctive features it approaches 
Brunnich’s Guillemot. A further link, not mentioned by 
Salomonsen, and almost invisible in a skin, is the thin white 
line along the edge of the upper mandible, as shown in the slide. 
It was apparently present in all the Bear Island Common 
Guillemots, although variably developed. (It is seen in all our 
photographs.) The many intermediate characters of U.a. hyper- 
borea suggest that U. 1. lomvia is, perhaps, the most northerly 
geographical race of U. aalge, and not a distinct species. 
It is conceivable that the two interbreed on Bear Island, 
though this would be extremely difficult to prove. 

In addition to the above, the following breed on Bear 
Island :—Fulmar (Fulmarus g. glacialis), Kittiwake (Rissa t. tri- 
dactyla), Razorbill (Alca torda), Norwegian Puffin (fratercula 
a. arctica), Little Auk (Alle a. alle), and Spitsbergen Ptarmigan 
(Lagopus mutus hyperboreus). 

The avifauna has much in common with that of Spits- 
bergen, though there are no Geese, King Eiders, or Ivory Gulls 
breeding. Further, there are several southern species which 
do not breed on Spitsbergen : Starling, Scoter (has bred once 


69 [Vol. liii. 

on Spitsbergen), Tufted Duck, Great Black-backed and Herring- 
Gulls, Razorbill, and Common Guillemot. 

Perhaps our most interesting observations concern the 
effects on the breeding birds of the extremely late summer 
of 1932. Not only did the birds begin to lay late, but in most 
species some 60 to 80 per cent. did not breed at all, though 
a few, such as Snow-Bunting and Arctic Tern, were almost 
unaffected. Though seldom previously reported, this seems 
a normal effect of a late season in the Arctic. The explana- 
tion seems to be that the snow and ice melt so late that the 
birds are no longer in breeding condition when suitable 
nesting-sites are available. Professor Bissonnette and A. P. R. 
Wadlund (Journ. Exp. Biol. ix. 1932, p. 339) have shown 
that increased light brings the Starling into breeding condition, 
but, however favourable the environment remains, the bird 
eventually regresses. Should it be unable to nest until after 
regression has set in it cannot lay at all, and this is what 
appears to happen in a late season in the Arctic. I hope 
to publish my observations on this point in full later. 

The Rev. F. C. R. JouRDAIN congratulated Mr. Lack on the 
success of his trip. 

The southern half of Bear Island (he said) had been worked 
fairly thoroughly by the Oxford University Expedition of 1921, 
and, though they were only ten days on the island, the long 
period of daylight enabled a great amount of work to be got 
through. He thought, however, that scarcely sufficient 
justice had been rendered to the work of the Swedish Expedi- 
tion of 1899. They remained about the same time on the 
island as Mr. Lack’s party, and Swenander’s work on the birds 
was a very useful and thorough piece of work. With regard 
to the breeding of Uria aalge hyperborea and U. lomvia lomvia 
on the same cliffs, Mr. Jourdain pointed out that, although 
mistakes were no doubt frequently made as to the parentage 
of eggs, and even young, by the birds, no evidence of inter- 
breeding between the two forms had ever been brought 
forward, and the fact that these two forms, in many respects 
so much alike, did not interbreed and intergrade at points 
where their ranges overlapped provided the strongest evidence 


Vol. liii.] 70 

that they were two distinct species, and that Briinnich’s 
Guillemot is not the northernmost race of Uria aalge. 

During Koenig’s Arctic expeditions all work at Bear Island 
was carried out with the yacht as a base, so that only com- 
paratively short distances from the landing-places were 
explored. 

Dr. T. G. Lonestarr, Mr. Stuart BaKer, Mr. WHISTLER, 
and the Marquess of TavisTock also discussed the paper. 

Mr. D. A. BANNERMAN communicated the following note 
on the correct name of the West African Hoopoe (Upupa 
senegalensis Swainson) :— 

At the suggestion of Dr. Erwin Stresemann I have again 
re-opened the question of the correct name to be employed for 
the resident Hoopoe in West Africa. Formerly it was referred 
to in literature as Upupa senegalensis Swainson (1837), but in 
‘Die Vogel der palaarktischen Fauna,’ ii. 1912, p. 870, 
Dr. E. Hartert stated that in his opinion the type of Swainson’s 
U. senegalensis, which is preserved in the Cambridge University 
Museum, was a faded example of the European Hoopoe 
(Upupa epops epops). There the matter rested. Such is 
Hartert’s deservedly great reputation, that in this country, 
at any rate, his decision was never questioned, and we find 
Upupa senegalensis relegated by all recent writers to the 
synonymy of Upupa epops epops, and Salvin’s name Upupa 
somalensis accepted, for the Hoopoe which had formerly been 
called senegalensis, it being an accepted, fact that the Hoopoes 
occurring in Senegal and Somaliland are one and the same 
species. 

It was Professor Neumann, of Berlin, I believe, who first 
disputed Hartert’s finding, and Dr. Stresemann, agreeing with 
Neumann, wrote to me recently suggesting that I should 
re-investigate the whole matter. Tarough the kindness of 
Mr. F. Parrington, of the Cambridge University Museum, 
I have been lent the type of Upupa senegalensis Swainson, 
and believe it to be a young bird of the resident tropical African 
race which is referred to in current literature as Upupa epops 


Ti [Vol. liii. 

somalensis. Young Hoopoes of the resident species are very 
dully coloured, and this evidently led Hartert into believing 
that Swainson’s type was faded. Its small size (bill, exp. 
culmen 46; wing 130; tail 87; tarsus 20 mm.) is, of course, 
explained by its immaturity, and in point of fact it very closely 
resembles a young bird recently procured at Ké Masina, in the 
French Sudan, by G. L. Bates. Both have the inner secondaries 
banded like U. epops epops, but as these birds cannot possibly 
be young of the European Hoopoe, it follows that young 
birds of U. senegalensis do not have the basal third of the 
secondaries white until after the first moult. The fact that 
there is not a trace of white on the crest-feathers is likewise 
a strong argument in favour of its having been bred in 
Senegal. 

We must in future accept for the West African Hoopoe 
the name 

a 

UPUPA SENEGALENSIS Swainson 

(‘ Birds of West Africa,’ ii. 1837, p. 114: Senegambia), of 
which Upupa somalensis Salvin becomes a synonym. 

Professor Neumann, writing to me under date Nov. 29, 
1932, states that “ Dr. Hartert quite agrees with me now 
that the Upper Guinea race (of the Hoopoe) must be called 
senegalensis Swainson.” Mr.W. L. Sclater and Mr. G. L. Bates, 
to whom I have shown Swainson’s type, agree with the con- 
clusions I have stated above. 

Mr. BANNERMAN further suggested a new genus for the 
Little (square-tailed) Swift (affints of Gray) ed included 
in the genus Micropus Wolf, and said :— 

The habit of placing the Little Swift (Cypselus affinis Gray) 
in the same genus as the Kuropean Swift (Jtcropus apus 
apus) and other fork-tailed species has long struck me as 
inconsistent. 

The Little Swift is the only species placed by systematists 
in the Micropus group which has a square instead of a truly 
forked tail, and although it conforms in other respects to the 
characters of that large genus, I consider that on account 
of that structural character it may be placed in another 


Vol. liii.] | 72 

genus. As I find that there is no genus available for it, 
I propose the name 

Tetragonopyga, gen. nov. 
Type, Cypselus affinis Gray. 

Mr. G. L. BATES sent some further descriptions of new birds* 
obtained by himself on his journey to the French Niger and 
French Sudan in 1931-32 :— 

Auripasser luteus tilemsiensis, subsp. nov. 

Description.—The light or whitish feather-edgings to the 
dark inner remiges and the rectrices, which are wide and 
prominent in A. luteus luteus, are narrow and inconspicuous ; 
the whitish tips also to the wing-coverts, which in typical 
luteus form two imperfect wing-bars, are very slight and little 
seen. ‘To these differences, which are seen alike in the adult 
male plumage and in the juvenile and female plumage, may 
be added that of a brighter and deeper yellow of the yellow 
parts, and a deeper chestnut of the back, in some adult male 
specimens of the new race when compared with the corre- 
sponding plumage in the typical race. 

Measurements—Wing 61-5-65-5; tail 45-51 mm. Ten 
specimens measured, including two females which are in 
size like the smallest males. These dimensions average a little 
less than in A. luteus luteus, in which the males occasionally 
reach, wing 67 mm. 

Distribution. —The edge of the desert near the northernmost 
part of the course of the Niger, from Timbuktu to Burem. 
(My specimens from Tilha, north of Tawa, have the prominent 
light edgings, and should be named A. luteus luteus.) 

Type—¢ adult with new body-plumage; Taberréshat, 
French Sudan, Sept. 7, 1931. Collected by G. L. Bates, 
no. 10867, Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1932.8.6.7. 

Remarks.—My hesitation about describing this new race, 
although the specimens look, even at first glance, sufficiently 
different from specimens from the Nile, Darfur, and Lake Chad, 
was due to the difference in the state of the plumage ; for nearly 
all the many N.E. African ones in the British Museum are in 

* For previous ones, vide antea, pp. 7-12. 


73 [Vol. liii. 

new plumage, and mine have wings and tail more or less worn. 
But there are enough of mine to show that the difference 
is not all due to abrasion. The character of the brighter 
yellow and chestnut colour in some of my specimens would 
alone be a sufficient one if they all had it in new plumage ; 
but this is a variable character. 

~ Nomenclature of the Races of T'chagra senegala in West 
Africa, with Description of a New Race. 

Sclater in a footnote in his ‘Systema Avium Afthiopicarum,’ 
p. 627, says of the races of this species, except those of north- 
eastern Africa, that they “are not sufficiently differentiated 
to be of any value, and personally I would retain only senegala 
and perhaps camerunensis.”’ A new study of the many skins 
in the British Museum, along with some I have recently 
collected from fresh localities, seems, however, to bring out 
a fairly definite picture of real geographical variation in West 
Africa, as follows :— 

(1) T. s. senegala.—Generally with more or less of a dark 
streaky mottling on the back. Size: wing 80-90 mm. (the 
sexes are alike in size in this species). The largest birds 
measured are the few Senegal specimens. Tail always a very 
little longer than the wing—up to 100 mm. 

Distribution.—All the westernmost region from Senegal to 
northern Sierra Leone, and eastward to the Upper Niger in 
the region of Bamako and Mopti. 

(2) T. s. pallida.—Like the lighter’specimens of 7’. senegala 
senegala, but with little or no mottling on the back. Size: 
same as in typical senegala. 

Distribution.—The interior-dry parts of West Africa from 
French Upper Volta or, perhaps, from the interior of the Ivory 
Coast, eastward to Bornu and Northern Cameroon, and south- 
ward to the coast at Accra (the typical locality). It is to the 
distinction of this race from 7’. s. senegala that Sclater’s 
remark is most applicable. 

(3) 7’. s. camerunensis.—Of deep or saturated colour in all 

parts. Size inclined to be small—wing not over 86, tail not 
over 90 mm. 


Vol. liii.] 74 

Distribution.—From middle or savannah Cameroon or, 
perhaps, from as far west as Lagos, eastward to Uganda. (The 
southern border of the West African range of the species.) 

(4) 7’. s. nothus.—Paler even than pallida, and especially 
the edgings of the innermost remiges and their coverts very 
light. Size large, and tail proportionally long: wing 87- 
95; tail 95-115, generally over 100 mm. 

Distribution.—Around Lake Chad and westward in the same 
latitudes on the border of the Desert to Tawa. 

(5) Tehagra senegala timbuktana, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Lightest coloured race of all; back greyish or 
hoary-looking ; the wide light margins of the inner remiges 
and their coverts very light, in places almost whitish ; under- 
side, and even flanks, almost white; axillaries and under 
wing-coverts white ; more white showing on the bend (wrist- 
joint) and edge of the hand part of the wing than in the other 
races. 

Measurements.—Size large and tail long (as in nothus) : 
wing 91-93; tail 110-112 mm. 

Distribution —Timbuktu only, so far as yet known. 

Type.—In the British Museum, 2 adult; Timbuktu, French 
Sudan, Nov. 18, 1931. Collected by G. L. Bates, no. 11096, 
Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1932.8.6.6. 

Nomenclature of the Races of Mesopicos goerte in 
West Africa, with a New Name. 

Since the discovery that Swainson’s Dendrobates poicephalus 
is merely a synonym of the typical Mesopicos goerte goerte 
of Senegal (see W. L. Sclater’s ‘ Systema Avium Aithiopicarum,’ 
p. 863), the widely extended race hitherto usually known as 
M. g. poicephalus requires a new name. I wish, in giving 
this name, to review here the other West African races also, 
as I have recently obtained specimens of the least known 
ones :— 

(1) Mesopicos goertze agmen, nom. nov. 

Description.—Characterized by the slight extent and pale 
shade of the diffused yellow abdominal spot. 

Distribution.—From the extreme west of Africa, nearly or 


75 | Vol. liii. 

quite to the Nile, in the Semi-arid Belt and the western part 
of the Savannah, but not the driest northern part on the 
border of the Desert. 

Type.—In the British Museum, ¢ adult; from 40 miles east 
of Wagadugu, Upper Volta, May 24, 1928. Collected by G. L. 
Bates, no. 9553, Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1930.3.4.66. 

Remarks.—This race has most commonly been known as 
poicephalus, or, as in my ‘ Handbook,’ united with centralis. 
The fact that it is the most widely extended one, or the main 
body of the species, is intended to be hinted at by the name 
agmen, Latin for army or throng. 

(2) M. g. centralis—Darker coloured on the average, 
with the abdominal spot more defined and more orange 
than yellow. Found along the southern border of the range 
of the main body, from middle or savannah Cameroon to 
Uganda. 

(3) M. g. goerte.—Kasily distinguished by the great extent 
of diffused pale yellow wash on the whole underside. 

Distribution.—To the north of the western part of the main 
body of the species, from Senegal to the Upper Niger at Mopti. 
Swainson’s poicephalus is a synonym. 

(4) M. g. koenigi.—General colour pale, and especially 
the grey parts; the dark barring distinct, and extending 
not only over the wings, but more or less over the back also. 

Distribution.—To the north of the main body of the species, 
in the border of the Desert, from Timbuktu through Air and 
Lake Chad to the Nile valley below Khartum. Though 
most of Lynes’s Darfur specimens belong to MW. g. agmen, 
one from Jebel Meidob plainly is M. g. koenigi. 

Mr. G. L. Batss also sent the following note :— 

Mr. James L. Peters, of the Museum of Comparative Zodlogy 
at Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts, has called my 
attention to the fact that the name Charadrius marginatus 
russatus (Bull. B.O.C. liii. 1932, p. 10) is preoccupied by 
Charadrius russatus Jerdon (Madras Journ. of Lit. & Sci. xii. 


Vol. liii.] 76 

1840, p. 213). The name, therefore, will have to be changed, | 
and I propose that the bird be known as 

Charadrius marginatus nigirius *, nom. nov. 

Mr. P. F. Bunyarp exhibited a series of eggs of the British 
Marsh-Titmouse (Parus palustris dressert), the Northern 
Willow-Titmouse (Parus atricapillus borealis), and the British 
Willow-Titmouse (Parus a. kleinschmidti), and made the 
following remarks :— 

Every clutch of the British Marsh-Tit and those of the 
British Willow-Tit which I exhibit were carefully identified 
at the nest, and in some cases the birds were caught and 
examined, either by myself or by other competent observers. 

Clutches of eleven and ten eggs of the British Marsh-Tit are 
not rare in Yorkshire and Lancashire, but I only once found 
a clutch of eleven in Kent. 

- The two clutches of the Northern Willow-Tit’s eggs are well 
marked, like those of our British Willow-Tit, which I have 
found, from the small numbers examined, to be a constant 
characteristic, and distinguishes them from those of the British 
Marsh-Tit, though it will be seen from the series exhibited it 
would be unwise to rely entirely on this as a means of identi- 
fying the eggs. 

The eggs of the British Marsh-Tit, on the average, have 
the markings more evenly distributed, and they are usually 
more finely stippled; the colour of the markings varies from 
Chiffchaff (Phylloscopus c. collybita) to Willow-Warbler 
(Phylloscopus t. trochilus) red. With the eggs of the British 
Coal-Titmouse (Parus ater britannicus) I have found that the 
Chiffchaff coloured markings are fairly constant, and even 
conspicuous when series are placed side by side. 

Since the foregoing was written (Mr. Bunyard went on to 
say) I have received the November ‘ Bulletin,’ and carefully 
studied the remarks by the various contributors on the 
question of the Marsh- and Willow-Tit. 

I was very much interested in the microscopic examination 
made by Dr. Percy R. Lowe of the crown-feathers of the 

* Called after Nigir, the classical form of the name of the River Niger. 


77 [Vol. liii, 

two species and the results of his comparative study. I am, 
however, of the opinion that the report has to a very great 
extent been robbed of its value owing to the fact that neither 
Dr. Lowe nor Mr. Witherby has informed us as to which 
sex the feathers examined belonged, nor is anything said as 
to the age of the birds or the time of the year at which they 
were secured. 

Mr. Witherby says of the Marsh-Tit: “This plumage is 
acquired by complete moult in July-September (‘ Practical 
Hand-Book of British Birds,’ i. p. 242). Presumably the 
Willow-Tit goes through a similar moult, which would include 
the crown-feathers. I suggest that these feathers would 
be subject to much variation, according to season and age 
of the bird. 

Mr. D. W. Musselwhite is quite wrong in his estimate of 
the average clutch of the Marsh-Tit. I have already informed 
you that clutches of 10 and 11 are by no means unusual 
in Yorkshire and Lancashire, though in the Kentish orchards 
I should consider them a rarity; much depends on the locality 
and the climatic conditions prevailing at nesting-time. 

Too much importance should not be attached to the general 
make-up of the nest or to the nesting-materials used. In 
regard to the former, this depends on the nesting-cavity, 
and, the latter must depend on the material available, the 
individual taste, and the general environmental conditions. 

I know of at least one instance where a Willow-Tit used 
the old nesting-cavity of a Lesser-spotted Woodpecker, 
situated in a decayed branch of a greengage-tree, and from 
which the latter’s eggs were taken the previous year. I can 
find no evidence to support the theory that the Willow- 
Tit always excavates its own nesting-cavity, and no one 
ever appears to have seen it doing so. 

Dr. P. R. Low, in reply, said that the birds he had examined 
were both adult females, and were both obtained in January. 

Mr. A. M. Grirritrx exhibited an American Yellow-billed 
Cuckoo (Coccyzus a. americanus), apparently a bird of the year, 
picked up dead in Tresco, Isles of Scilly, Oct. 27, 1932, and 


Vol. liii.] 78 

secured by Major A. A. Dorrien Smith. It had smashed the 
front of its skull against the wall of a shed. This is the 
second of these Cuckoos obtained by Major Dorrien Smith 
in the Isles of Scilly, an adult having been shot early in 
November 1921 while sitting on a telegraph wire on St. Mary’s 
Island by a man named Guy. An immature Glossy Ibis 
(Plegadis f. falcinellus) was obtained in the Isles of Scilly about 
thes ame time as this immature American Yellow-billed 

Cuckoo. 

Mr. GRIFFITH also exhibited a male Noddy (Anous stolidus), 
apparently the first sufficiently authenticated British specimen 
of this species, though a considerable number have been alleged 
to have been taken here, some of them almost certainly 
genuine wanderers to Britain from their mid-Atlantic nesting- 
places. It was shot by Capt. W. E. Dance at Petsham, near 
Bexhill, Sussex, as it came up from the lower marsh near the 
St. Leonard’s pumping station, October 29, 1930. He had 
now acquired it for the Booth Museum. 

Mr. Grirriru further said that just three weeks ago he saw 
a White’s Thrush (Oreocincla dauma aureus) in Queen’s Park, 
one of the public gardens in Brighton. He first saw it on the 
ground, and it let him get within ten yards of it before it flew 
up into the lowest branch of a small tree a few yards further 
off. Then it flew close past him and away to another part 
of the gardens, and he lost sight of it. On each occasion 
it flew so near the ground that he could not see the underside 
of its wings, but it was so close to him that the identification 
was quite certain. Its flight was even more wavy than 
that of any of its congeners. 

Finally, he referred to the death of Mr. J. Whitaker, of Rain- 
ham Lodge, at the mature age of 80, and said :— 

With the help of my brothers I am buying his collection 
of birds, intending to add the rare species to our Booth 
Museum collection, and to find a home, I hope at Cardiff, 
for the marvellous collection of varieties. 

It would be a very substantial help if I could collect, say, 
£100 towards this purchase from others, and I am venturing 


79 [Vol. liii. 

to bring the subject forward here, thinking that we, almost — 
to a man keen collectors, might be glad to contribute to 
an effort designed (and successfully so) to keep together 
a collection, the result of a long life’s effort, by so well known 
and valued a collector as the late Mr. Whitaker. 

It is thought by some of us that a collection of varieties 
should, if possible, be kept where it can be readily seen, rather 
than be reserved for personal handling ; and we are, therefore, 
looking for a museum with space for exhibiting such a collection, 
and the trained staff needed to take effective charge of it. 

It will be remembered that the rare species include the 
Egyptian Goatsucker (Caprimulgus egyptius cgyptius), the 
American Peregrine, or Duck-Hawk (Falco peregrinus anatum), 
a Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus h. histrionicus), and many 
others. 

Mr. N. B. KINNEAR sent the following descriptions of 
two new subspecies collected by Lord Cranbrook and Captain F. 
Kingdon Ward in the Adung Valley, North-East Burma, and 
presented by them to the National Collection :— 

Actinodura nipalensis wardi, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Differs from Actinodura nipalensis waldeni 
Godwin-Austen (P. Z. 8. 1874, p. 46: Tapdo Peak, Naga Hills) < 
_ in the darker coloration of the back, blacker crest, and richer 
rufous brown of the underside. 

Type.—In the British Museum, 3, March 27, 1931; Adung 
Valley, N.E. Burma, lat. 28° 10’ N., long. 97° 40’ E. Collected 
by Captain F. Kingdon Ward. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 
1932.12.10.1. 

Remarks.—A second specimen was collected in the same 
valley on April 13. 

Grammatoptila striata cranbrooki, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Very similar to Grammatoptila striata austeni 
Oates (Fauna Brit. Ind. i. 1889, p. 104: Dafla Hills), but 
darker on the mantle and crest. 

T'ype.—In the British Museum, 9, April 16, 1931; Adung 


Vol. liii.] 80 

Valley, N.E. Burma, 6000 ft., lat. 28° 10’ N., long. 97° 40’ E. 
Collected by Lord Cranbrook. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1932.12.10.2. 

Remarks.—Four specimens examined, all from the same 
locality. 

Dr. P. R. Lows sent the following communication :— 

In the ‘ Bulletin,’ antea, p. 14, in my note on the exhibition 
of a fossil Ostrich which had been found at T’ai Chia Kou, 
near Pao Te Hsien, in North-West Shansi, on the Yellow River, 
I inadvertently forgot to give this bird its name. This 
should have been Struthio wimani, called after Professor 
Wiman, of Upsala, who kindly sent me the fossil (vide 
* Paleontologica Sinica ’ (ser. C), vi. 1931, p. 18). 


81 [Vol. liii. 

NOTICES. 

The next Meeting of the Club will be held on Wednesday, 
January 11, 1933, at PAGANI’S RESTAURANT, 42-48 Great 
Portland Street, W.1. The Dinner at 7 p.m. 

Members intending to dine must inform the Hon. Secretary, 
Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed, 51 Onslow Gardens, London, 
S.W. 7. 

Members who wish to make any communication at the 
next Meeting of the Club must give notice to the Editor, 
Dr. G. Carmichael Low, 86 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, W. 1, 
as soon as possible. The titles of their contributions will then 
appear on the Agenda published before each Meeting. All 
MSS. for publication in the ‘ Bulletin’ must be given to the 
Editor before or at the Meeting. 

GENERAL INDEX. 
Volume III. 

This is now ready, and can be obtained from the publishers, 
Messrs. H. F. & G. Witherby, 326 High Holborn, W.C. 1, at the 
price of £1 1s. Od. 

Agenda. 

1. Mr. P. F. Bunyard will read a short paper entitled ‘““A Few 
Notes on the Birds of Dunkirk,’’ which he was unable to 
give on November 9, 1932, through illness. 

2. Mr. W. L. Sclater will exhibit some birds from the Kalahari 
Desert collected by the Vernay-Lang Expedition, and 
Mr. Vernay, if he arrives from America in time, will 
make some remarks upon them. 

3. M. J. Delacour will exhibit a specimen of a rare bird 
(Liocichla omeiensis) from China, and make some remarks 
upon the genus. 


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BULLETIN 

OF THE 

BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB. 

en 

ey, 
f\ 
) 

a) 
2 of No. CCCLXV. 

de 

af 
~—S 

: Vay . ah, Tht em 
| o THE three-hundred-and-sixtieth Meeting of the Club was 
~) held at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W. 1, 

4 

; on Wednesday, January 11, 1933. 

Chairman: Mr. D. A. BANNERMAN. 

Members present :—Miss ©. M. AcLanpD; E. ©. Sruart 
Baker ; Miss P. Barcuay-Smrrn ; S. Boorman ; Sir J. Rosz 
BrapForp; P. F. Bunyarp; Hon. G. L. CHARTERIS ; 
J. DELACOUR; A. Ezra ; Miss J. M. FERRIER ; W. E. GLEGG ; 
Capt. C. H. B. Grant; B. G. Harrison ; Mrs. T. E. Hopaexty ; 
Dr. K. Jorpan ; Rev. F.C. RB. JOURDAIN ; Dr. G. CaRMICHAEL 
Low (Editor); Dr. P. R. LowE; Dr. N. S. Lucas; C. W. 
Mackwortu-PRAED (Hon. Sec. & Treas.) ; T.H. McKirvrricx, 
iets Gt.-Col. -H. A. PF. Macrata; G. M. MATHEWS ; 
D. W.-Mussetwuitt; J. L. CHAWORTH Musters; T. H. 
NEwMan; C. OL~pHAM; H. LEeyBourne PopHam; F. R. 
Ratcuirr ; W. i. ScLaTer ; D. Sera-Suiru ; Major A. G. L. 
SLADEN ; Dr. A. Lanpsporoucy THomson ; B. W. Tucker ; 
Miss KE. L. Turner; H. F. Wrrnnrpy (Vice-Chairman) ; 
C. G. M. DE Worms. 

Guests :—Mrs. W. L. SCLATER ; W. P. Lowg. 

Mr. P. F. Bunyarp read a short paper entitled “A Few 
Notes on the Birds of Dunkerque.”’ 
The following is an abstract of this -—_ 
In 1917-1918 Mr. H. F. Witherby, and in the latter year 
Rear-Admiral (then Captain) H. Lynes, Spent a considerable 

[January 31, 1933. | a VOL. LIII, 


Vol. liii.] 84 

time in the environs of Dunkerque, Nord France, and 
apparently had good opportunities for observing the birds 
of the neighbourhood (* British Birds,’ xii. 1919, pp. 194-205 
and p. 235). 

I have not much that is new to add to their observations, 
the principal interest in my remarks being that the conditions 
prevailing during the War have entirely changed, not only 
physically but also environmentally. Nearly all the flooded 
land has now been reclaimed, and the bird paradise, St. Pol, 
near Dunkerque, has now disappeared. 

I was accompanied by Mr. C. F. Stedman, and we are 
in complete agreement about the following observations :— 

We left England on May 7, returning on May 19, 1932. 
Most of our time was spent along the coast, among the sand- 
dunes, marram-grass and sea-buckthorn, and partly on the 
rough ground between the dunes and cultivated land. 

Comparatively speaking birds were very scarce, due no 
. doubt to the fact that nearly all the land is highly cultivated, 
leaving little cover, and, further, there are no commons 
extensive woods nor copses, and hedges are scarce except 
at Mardick and Loon Plage. 

Considering the bombardments which took place during 
the War the whole district has made a remarkable recovery. 

Many of the common birds were noted, such as Crows 
(Corvus c. corone), Rooks (Corvus f. frugilegus), Magpies 
(Pica p. pica), Starlings (Sturnus v. vulgaris), etc. Corn- 
Buntings (E’mberiza c. calandra) were seen at every inland 
place visited, though not plentiful. Some birds resembling 
Reed-Buntings (Hmberiza s. scheniclus), watched between 
Petite Synthe and Gravelines differed considerably from the 
British bird ; they appeared, larger, the white collar was very 
conspicuous, and the black head and throat also appeared more 
prominent. I zuggest that some of these might have been 
Western Large-billed Reed-Buntings (Hmberiza tschusti com- 
pilator). Nightingales (Luscinia m. megarhyncha) were very 
numerous. They were generally found among the sea- 
buckthorn, and were in full song, though it was doubtful 
whether they were going to breed. Little Ringed Plover 
(Charadrius dubius curonicus), which Messrs. Witherby and 


85 [Vol. hii. 

Lynes found breeding at St. Pol, were not definitely proved 
to be present there, due to the fact that the area is now in the 
hands of contractors. Several were seen about Mardick, and 
Stedman was able to distinguish the difference between their 
note and that of the Kentish Plover. They were observed 
courting and “‘ scrapes’ were found. Kentish Plover (Chara- 
drius a. alexandrinus) were fairly plentiful, and many nests 
with the full complement of three eggs were found. 
Mr. Witherby has suggested that the eggs of the Kentish 
Plover are intentionally embedded in the sand by the birds 
when they leave the nest, but no evidence to support this 
theory was discovered. The favourite nesting places for this 
species were among the dunes that were open at one part to 
the sea, and here the nests were sheltered and the sand was 
firmer. Amongst Waders the Knot (Calidris c. canutus), 
Temminck’s Stint (Calidris temmincki), Bar-tailed Godwit 
(Limosa 1. lapponica), and Curlew (Numenius a. arquata) were 
noted ; the last named were obviously breeding as they were 
very demonstrative. 

Mr. J. DeLacour exhibited a specimen of Liocichla omeiensis 
Riley, and made the following remarks on the genus :— 

This genus (Liocichla Swinhoe, Ibis, 1877, p. 473 : Liocichla 
steertit, from Formosa, coloured plate) was described as 
follows :— 

“In general characters a Leiothrix, but with the stronger 
legs and shorter wings of a Garrulax, and somewhat allied 
to Sibia.” 

It remained monotypic till 1926, when Mr. J. H. Riley 
described a new species, Liocichla omeiensis, from Mt. Omei, 
Szechwan, W. China (Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington, xxxix. 
July 30, 1926, pp. 57-58), as follows :— 

“Type, adult male, U.S. National Museum, no. 306,163, 
Si Gi Pin, Mount Omei, Szechwan, China, August 7, 1925. 
Collected by David C. Graham. 

“Forehead, superciliaries, sides of neck and chin raw sienna, 
with an orange wash ; crown and. occiput deep neutral gray, 
the feathers of the forehead and crown edged with dusky 
and with a lighter shaft stripe; remaining upper-parts 

a2 


Vol. liii.] 86 

saccardo olive; cheeks and lower-parts deep grayish olive, 
the center of the breast and belly tinged with colonial buff ; 
under tail-coverts black, each feather rather broadly bordered 
with lemon chrome and, broadly tipped with scarlet ; wing- 
coverts citrine; primaries black edged on the outer web 
and tipped with light cadmium, beginning with the third 
primary there is a scarlet fringe at the base, increasing 
inwardly, and the yellow edge is interrupted in the middle 
by black on the inner feathers; secondaries black, medal 
bronze on the outer web basally with a scarlet fringe, then 
a narrow olive gray border, followed by a rather large 
scarlet sub terminal spot, the tips narrowly light cadmium ; 
tertials medal bronze, the two outer with a scarlet spot, 
margined basally with black, on the outer web at the tip, 
the inner web with a yellow border at the tip on the outer 
feather ; bend of the wing light cadmium; tail saccardo 
olive, becoming orange-citrine on the outer feather, the 
central feathers barred with black but this barring only 
showing as shadow bars on the outer feather, the first feather 
with a light cadmium tip, the second and third feather with 
a sub-terminal light cadmium bar and a scarlet tip, the 
remaining tail feathers with scarlet tips; tail below aniline 
yellow. 

“Wing, 75; tail, 85; culmen, 14; tarsus, 29-5; middle 
toe, 16 mm. 

‘“ Female—Like the male, but largely lacking the raw 
sienna wash on the forehead, superciliaries, and sides of 
neck, the scarlet on the wings reduced, and the scarlet tips 
to the under tail-coverts and tail lacking. 

‘““ Remarks.—In the six males in the series there is some 
slight variation. The lores in two are pinard yellow. The 
black barring on the central tail-feathers in several are 
more pronounced than in the type and in one the feathers 
are solidly black sub-terminally.”’ 

A small series was obtained by the Rev. David C. Graham, 
and another one of fourteen specimens was collected in 1930 
on the same mountain, Omei-Shan, by Mr. Tsen-Hwang-Shaw 
(Bull. Fan Memorial Inst. of Biology, ii. 1932, pp. 217-235, 
Peiping). This species was found to be very local, but not 


87 [Vol., liii. 

rare there. The present specimen is the first one to reach 
Europe, and has just been received by the Paris Museum 
from Washington in exchange for another rare bird. 

Obviously this species provides a link between Liocichla 
steertt and the so-called Trochalopteron pheniceum. As 
I have suggested before, this latter species has very little 
in common with the Garrulax group. Its comparatively 
slender bill and legs, different tail and wing-quills, both in 
structure and colour-pattern, the head-markings and under 
tail-coverts remove it from Garrulax and bring it, in spite 
of its larger size, into the genus Liocichla, whose principal 
characteristics may be outlined as follows :— 

Bill moderate, resembling in shape that of the Lezothrix- 
Mesia-Siva group ; legs rather long and weak ; wings short, 
the primaries and secondaries with a brightly coloured and 
sometimes decomposed border on their outer web, often 
of two different colours; tail longer than wings, graduated, 
the two median pairs of rectrices equal and more or less square 
at the tip, which is brightly coloured, forming a more or less 
decomposed terminal band, followed by black; under tail- 
coverts strikingly bicoloured, black near the base, yellow 
or red near the tip, and also more or less decomposed. Sexes 
similar or very nearly so. 

The genus Liocichla nearly resembles Siva, differing mainly 
in its larger size, shorter wings, longer legs, and bicoloured 
under tail-coverts. Minla, Mesia, and Lerothrix are also 
closely allied genera, the slight differences in their sexes 
being rather an insignificant character, the importance 
of which seems to have been so far exaggerated in the general 
classification of the Timaliidz. 

All the above-mentioned genera, with Alcippe and other 
allied birds, form a natural group or subfamily. 

As defined above, the genus Liocichla contains the following 
forms :— 

1. Liocichla steertt Swinhoe. Formosa. 

2. L. omeiensis Riley. Mt. Omei, W. China. 

3. L. pheenicea : 

a. L. p. phenicea (Gould). Nepal to Assam. 
b. L. p. bakeri (Hartert). Hills south of the Brahma- 
putra, Manipur, and Lushai Hills. 


Vol. liii.] 88 

c. L. p. ripponi (Oates). Kachin Hills and Shan States. 
d. L. p. wellsi (La Touche). S.E. Yunnan, E. Tonkin, 
and N. Laos. 

Although there are striking differences in the colouring 
as well as in the shape of the median rectrices of the western 
forms of L. phenicea (phenicea and bakeri), and of the 
eastern ones (rippont and wellsz), it seems better to consider 
them all as subspecies of one species, as specimens from the 
Kauri—Kachin tract, Upper Burma, in the British Museum 
are altogether variable and intermediate between ripponi 
and bakerv. 

I had so far considered the Indo-Chinese specimens as 
ripponi, as I thought that their yellower and brighter hues 
might have been due to the freshness of the skins and to the 
season in which they had been collected; but an examination 
of larger series shows that there is a continuous increase in the 
intensity of the yellow pigment from west to east. Conse- 
quently the name wellst La Touche, Bull. B. O. C. xlii, 1921, 
p. 15, applied to a specimen from Mongtze, S.E. Yunnan, 
is also to be used for the Tonkinese and Laotian specimens. 
A male in the British Museum, collected by P. F. Wickham 
on March 30, 1925, in the South Shan States, “‘ east of the 
Salween River,’ is almost as bright as the birds from the 
eastern bank of Mekong. 

Mr. J. Detacovr also exhibited a specimen of Alcippe 
variegaticeps Yen (Bull. Paris Mus. 1932, p. 383) from Yaoshan 
Mountains, Qwangsi, South China. 

Dr. P. R. Lowe contributed the following note on the 
supposed example of the American Yellow-billed Cuckoo 
(Coccyzus a.americanus) exhibited by Mr. A. F. Griffith at the 
December meeting of the Club. 

He said at the last (December) meeting of the Club, 
Mr. A. F. Griffith exhibited on behalf of Major A. A. Dorrien- 
Smith (antea, p. 77) a bird which he had identified as the 
American Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus a. americanus), 
and which had been picked up dead on the Isles of Scilly. 
It was, as he said, an immature bird, and apparently either 
no one present at the meeting felt competent to confirm 


gy [Vol. liii. 

Mr. Griffith in his diagnosis or to refute it, or they took. 
it for granted that the diagnosis had been confirmed. 

Since the meeting Major Dorrien-Smith has asked 
Messrs. Pratt & Sons, of Brighton, who had temporarily 
mounted the bird, to send it up to the British Museum for 
further examination. I have carefully compared it with 
the material available in the Museum, and the conclusion 
I have come to is that it is an example of the Black-billed 
Cuckoo, Coccyzus erythropthalmus (Wilson) *. 

The specimen in question shows undoubted signs of being 
an immature bird in the pale edgings to its primaries, wing- 
coverts, tail-coverts, and feathers of the dorsum : 

(1) It has the smaller bill of the Black-billed Cuckoo, 
but the size of bill is an unreliable character. 

(2) The tail-feathers are only just tipped with whitish, 
and, on close inspection show on the under surface a ghost-like 
and subterminal band of darkish, which in the more saturated. 
condition is so characteristic of the adult Black-billed 
Cuckoo. Moreover, as in the adult the rest of the under 
surface of the feather is light grey, whereas in the Yellow- 
billed Cuckoo it is black, or nearly black. In the last-men- 
tioned species, also, the three outer tail-feathers terminate 
in large and very conspicuous subovate patches of white, 
and there are no subterminal dark bands. 

In neither species are the two central feathers edged with 
white, but in C. americanus the next outlying pair is very 
narrowly edged with white, while in C. erythropthalmus all 
four outer pairs have white tips, which increase in width as 
we proceed, outwards. 

There are differences in the two species in the adult stage 
as regards the depth of rufous colouring of both webs of the 
remiges, as well as of the under wing-coverts and axillaries, 
but in the present stage of our knowledge I think this an 
unreliable character to go by. For example, in C. americanus 
both webs of the remiges are a bright cinnamon rufous. 
In C. erythropthalmus the red tinge has nearly disappeared, 
but there are all sorts of intermediate phases correlated 
with age. 

* Amer. Orn. iv, 1811, p. 16, pl. 28, fig. 2. 


Vol. liii.] 90 

Ridgway, ‘ Birds of North and Middle America,’ vi. 1916, 
p- ll, says: “ The sexes in the genus Coccyzus are alike and the 
young not materially different.” I find that in a half-grown 
juvenile specimen of C. erythropthalmus (British Museum 
Collection, Reg. no. 1906, 12.7.777)—which I exhibit—the 
colour-pattern exactly corresponds with the normal adult 
specimens, and also with the one in question, so that this 
renders it certain that the specimen in dispute is an example 
of the Black-billed Cuckoo. 

In a large series of Coccyzus americanus in the British 
Museum Collection no juvenile specimens exist; and 
I should like to take this opportunity of calling attention 
to the urgent necessity of collecting juvenile specimens, 
and even chicks, for inclusion in the systematic collections 
contained within our museums. The lack of them does more 
than it is necessary to express here to hamper the progress 
of systematic work and to handicap our knowledge of the 
relations of species and species groups *. 

Mr. P. F. Bunyarp exhibited a clutch of four eggs of the 
race of Dowitcher (Red-breasted Snipe) described by Rowan as 
Limnodromus griseus henderson (‘ Auk,’ xlix. 1932, pp. 14-35). 
The eggs were taken in Alberta by Professor Rowan on June 5, 
1931, and the authenticity of the clutch was beyond doubt 
as the female was collected off the eggs. A complete clutch 
of four eggs of L. g. scolopaceus had passed through Mr. Bun- 
yard’s hands, and were now in the Massey collection, and 
though those eggs differed considerably from his clutch of ' 
L.g. hendersoni in the nature and arrangement of the markings, 
they compare favourably in weights and measurements 
with those given below. 

Oologically he said that the Dowitcher or Red-breasted 
Snipe was a true Snipe, and its eggs showed no characteristics 

* [It is clear from the above that the diagnosis of a Yellow-billed 
Cuckoo (antea, p. 77) has to be changed to that of a Black-billed Cuckoo. 
This is important, as apparently there is only one previous record 
of the latter species for the British Isles, namely, a specimen from 
Antrim, Ireland, September 25, 1871 (‘ Zoologist,’ 1872, pp. 2943, 3022 ; 
P. Z.S. 1872, p. 681).—Ep.] 


91 [Vol. liii 

attributable to those of the true Sandpipers. Rowan, in 

referring to the eggs of L. g. hendersoni, said that they were 
very much like those of Wilson Snipe (Capella g. delica'a). 
Mr. Bunyard accordingly gave a comparative ey of the 
eggs of these two species. 

COMPARATIVE SYSTEMATIC SYNOPSIS. 

Ground-colour. 

Limnodromus griseus henderson. Capella gallinago delicata. 

Dark buff, pale olive-green to drab. | ‘‘ Olive, clay-colour, or brownish 
ashy ” (Chapman). 

Colour of Markings. 
Rich reddish-brown to brownish-{ ‘Chocolate-brown ” (Chapman) 
black (fairly evenly distributed). (evenly distributed, sometimes 
confluent). 
Underlying Markings. 

Greyish-brown, inconspicuous or 
almost absent. 

Greyish tinged mauve, ash-grey. 

Mcasurements. 
Bunyard’s. Bent’s. 
mm. mm. 
Average, 4eggs... 40-9x 28-8 *“ Average, 57 eggs. .38-6 x 28-1” 
0 a a 40-8 X 28°3 
PM citar s & 04 «5-0 40-7 x 29-2 
et. eee 41 x 28-8 
PEON als ae a 41 x29 
Weights. 
Bunyard’s. Bunyard’s. 
Average, 4 eggs..... 919-5 mg. Average, ll eggs ... 827°2 mg. 
I ee ae ollie (apo, '5 0 <= 919 ay (Massey collection). 
De a aot aise Mil ea >, © 930 sis 
M2, sca! «9 Saha! sis 948 zs 
IN BN sa Gide os wee oi © 881 55 

Texture of Shells. 

Coarsely granulated, slight gloss to | ‘Considerably finer, — slightly 
mat. | glossy ’’ (Bent). 


Vol. liii.] 

Shape. 

Limnodromus griseus hendersont. 
Bellied pyriform. 

Capella gallinago delicata, 
** Ovate pyriform”’ (Bent). 

Date. 

June 5 (Rowan). 
», 2 (Henderson). 

“May 8 to July 24” (Bent). 

», 1-16 (Bent). 

L. g. scolopaczus appears to breed later, June 6—July 5. 

MEASUREMENTS AND WEIGHTS OF Mr. H. Massry’s CLutTrcH 
OF Four Eaas OF LIMNODROMUS GRISEUS SCOLOPACEUS. 

Wezghis. Measurements. 
mg. mm. 
Average, 4 eggs........00. 852 | Average, 4eggs .. 39:8 28-9 
BNO SUNG te gai arenas aug weno 844.|| NOM n.. -uh onl.» seus 39 x 29 
che 2 Ae sa eae nice ae 812 By REG Sn ae 40 x 28-2 
Bees ene aE oo Yoatra yi 872 AA 3 Bi Re ae en 39-2 x 29-4 
Oh Ee SR ee Oe ee are 879 Bn ene Me an ee 41 x 29 

General Remarks. 

A great amount of scepticism has always surrounded the 
eggs taken by Walter Raine in northern Alberta in 1906. 

Apparently these eggs are now accepted as authentic by 
Rowan and Bent. One can quite understand the sceptics 
when the similarity in appearance of the eggs of Capella g. 
delicata are considered; perhaps quite a different egg was 
expected from Limnodromus griseus scolopaceus, and even 
L. g. hendersonv. 

It will be seen from the clutch of L. g. henderson: eggs 
exhibited that all four eggs show a different ground-colour. 
With the very limited material for comparison it would at 
present be impossible to say if this characteristic is typical 
or constant. 

The nest was the usual depression, lined with grass and 
leaves, in the centre of a clump of low shrub, on the dry edge 
of watery muskeg; a foot below the nest was solid ice. 
Incubation commenced. 


93 [Vol. liii. 

Dr. G. CarMICHAEL Low said that he was very much_ 
interested, in Mr. Bunyard’s exhibition of the eggs of Rowan’s 
newly described race of Dowitcher, Limnodromus griseus 
hendersont. He said that when he was at Edmonton, Canada, 
in 1930 Professor Rowan had shown him all his Dowitcher 
skins and had explained the different points in differentiating 
the new race. There certainly seemed to be evidence for 
separating the bird, but Bent (‘ Life History of North American 
Shore Birds,’ i. 1927, p. 107), who had had considerable 
correspondence with Professor Rowan about the breeding 
Dowitchers of Alberta, thought as they were strictly inter- 
mediate they should not be named. Rowan replies to this 
in his paper in the ‘Auk’ (loc. cit.), and says: “‘ Strictly inter- 
mediate they certainly are not, but even if they were, logical 
pursuit of the argument would entail the elimination of scores 
of accepted subspecies.’ It would be interesting when more 
eggs of all the races are obtained to see if these differ from 
each other in any marked respect. 

The Rev. F. C. R. JouRDAIN said that Limnodromus griseus 
hendersoni had not yet been recognized by the A. O. U. 
In the new A. O. U. Check List the breeding range of L. g. 
griseus is given as from Central Alberta to the west side 
of Hudson Bay. The measurements for the twelve eggs 
of L. g. griseus in the ‘ Practical Handbook of British Birds,’ 
ii. p. 603, were taken from EK. W. Nelson. 

Professor OscaR NEUMANN, of Berlin, sent the following 
descriptions of three new geographical races of the White- 
eyebrowed Guan, Penelope superciliaris :— 

Penelope superciliaris pseudonyma, subsp. nov. 

Description —This race differs from all other geographical 
races of Penelope superciliaris by having either (in most cases) 
no superciliary stripe at all, or only a more or less indicated 
thin greyish-white line behind the eye. The general colour 
in this race is darker than in P. s. superciliaris Temminck. 
The well-marked edges of the secondaries, the rump, and 
upper tail-coverts are dark maroon. 


Vol. liii.] 94 

Distribution.—Right bank of the middle and lower Amazonas, 
and banks of its southern tributaries, from the Rio Madeira 
to Para. 

Type —9 adult, Rio de Cumana, January 12, 1929. 
Collected by H. Lako. In the collection of Mr. H. B. Conover, 
Chicago. 

Remarks.—Seven specimens examined. 

Penelope superciliaris argyromitra, subsp. nov. 

Description.—While in P. s. pseudonyma there is little or no 
superciliary stripe, this race has a very broad and well-marked 
light grey superciliary stripe, sometimes slightly washed with 
brown. The two superciliary stripes, are joined by a broad 
frontal bar of the same colour, so as to give the head of this 
race a strong similarity to that of P. jacucaca, P. argyrotis, etc. 

The general colour of the whole bird is lighter, the neck, 
throat, and upper breast tinged with grey. Rump, upper 
tail-coverts, and belly lighter rufous, the edges of the second- 
aries lighter than in P. s. superciliaris and P. s. pseudonyma, 
sometimes light hazel or light ochraceous. 

Distribution —From Central Goyaz, eastwards to at least 
Bagagem in Minas Geraes, intergrading with P. s. super- 
ciliaris near the Rio Doce. 

Type.—®, Veadeiros, north-west of Forte, Central Goyaz, 
December 2, 1929. Collected by J. Blaser. In my collection. 

Remarks.—Four typical specimens examined. 

Penelope superciliaris ochromitra, subsp. nov. 

Description.—In every respect similar to P. s. argyromitra, 
but the superciliary stripes and the broad frontal bar not 
silvery grey, but entirely ochraceous. 

Distribution.—Only known from Piauhy. 

Type.—Lake of Missao near Paragua, Piauhy, May 26, 
1903. Collected by O. Reiser. In the Vienna Museum. 

Remarks.—Three typical specimens examined. 

I have refrained from giving measurements of wing and tail 
in each case, as these are almost the same in the three races 
described above, as in P. s. superciliaris Temminck. 

Measurements —Wing, g2 ad. 240-265 mm.; tail 290- 
330 mm. 


95 [Vol. liii. 

Further Remarks—These descriptions are a preliminary 
result of a careful examination of thirty-one specimens of 
Penelope superciliaris. I hope soon to give a more exhaustive 
paper, in which I shall show that the type of P. superciliaris 
almost certainly did not come from Para, as erroneously 
stated by Temminck, but is probably a specimen collected 
by Gomez in Bahia for Count Hoffmannsegg, which is preserved 
in the Berlin Museum (cf. Stresemann, Journ. f. Ornith. 
1992, p. 499). Dr. van Oort tells me that Temminck’s type 
is not in the Leyden Museum. 

Sieber, who is quoted by Temminck as the collector of the 
typical specimen, has not collected this species at all as far 
as can be traced in the old Catalogues of the Berlin Museum. 

Mr. J. DELAcourR sent the following note :— 

In the Bulletin, li. 1931, p. 56, Dr. E. Hartert and 
Monsieur L. Lavauden have described as a new race, Nesillas 
typica monticola, from one female obtained near the top 
of Mt. Tsaratanana (2750 metres) in Madagascar. According 
to the description, the only striking character of this bird was 
the length of the tarsus (36 mm.). In my revision of the genus 
Nesillas (‘ L’Oiseau,’ 1931, p. 478) and in my list of the Birds 
of Madagascar (ibid. 1932, p. 85) I could not give a definite 
opinion on this form, as the type, a unique specimen, had not 
been available for examination. Now that Monsieur Lavauden 
has kindly presented his rarer Madagascar specimens to the 
Paris Museum, I have been able to examine it. The measure- 
ment of the tarsus given in the Bull. B. O. C. (loc. cit.) is 
evidently a misprint or a slip of the pen, as the bird has 
a tarsus of 26 mm. instead of 36 mm., and therefore its 
measurements are just within the average of many specimens 
of NV. t. ellasia and N. t. typica, which also match it in every 
other way. Therefore, in my opinion, NV. t. monticola must 
be considered a synonym of WN. ¢. ellisii, which has been found 
also in numbers on Mt. Tsaratanana, near Andapa, at an 
elevation of 1800 m. 

I may add that the differences between JN. t. typica and 
N. t. ellist are so very slight that they might not even be 
worthy of recognition, although northern birds on an average 
are perhaps a little more yellowish than those from the centre 
and the south-east. 


Vol. liii.] 96 

Professor OscAR NEUMANN communicated the following 
note :— 

‘“When recording the geographical races of Charadrius 
marginatus (Bull. B. O. C. li. 1932, pp. 10-11) and describing 
Ch. m. hespertus and Ch. m. russatus, which latter name had 
to be changed to Ch. m. nigirius (Bull. B.O.C. li. 1932, 
pp. 75-76), Mr. G. L. Bates has not referred to Mgialitis 
mechowi described by Cabanis (Journ. f. Ornith, 1884, p. 437, 
and figured loc. cit. 1885, pl. vi. fig. 2a & 6). 

“T am afraid that unless evidence is shown that the birds 
from western Upper Guinea differ from those from Lower 
Guinea one of these races must become a mere synonym 
of Charadrius alexandrinus mech owt Cabanis, from the Quango 
River, North Angola. I have failed to find any differences 
when comparing Cabanis’ three typical specimens, 1 4, 
2 99, with 1 ¢ from Stanley Pool, Congo, 1 ¢ and 1 2 from 
Bipinde and Bibundi, Cameroon, and 1 3 from Loko, on the 
Benue. 

«As all these specimens have been collected inland on the 
banks of larger or smaller rivers it is more probable for 
ecological reasons that Ch. a. nigirius is more similar to and 
probably identical with Ch. a. mechowr. 

‘‘T have shown in a paper (Nov. Zool. xxxv. 1929, pp. 212- 
216) that all these races ought to be treated as subspecies 
of Charadrius alexandrinus, because the gap which seemed 
to separate the Palearctic, Indo-Australian, and American 
races of the Kentish Plover from the races of the African 
White-fronted Sand-Plover is perfectly overbridged by the 
race which breeds on the coast of South Somaliland, which 
for this reason I have named Charadrius alexandrinus pons. 

“T may add that at least one specimen of Ch. a. pons 
is in the British Museum, a specimen which was collected 
by Capt. A. E. Hamerton near Obbia on January 15, 1903.” 

Mr. D. W. MussELWwuirte and the Rev. F. C. R. JouRDAIN 
sent some remarks on the Willow-Tit dealing specially with 
Mr. P. F. Bunyard’s exhibition and statements (antea, pp. 76- 
77). These arrived too late for insertion in the ‘ Bulletin.’ The 


97 [Vol. liii. 

Rey. F. C. R. Jourdain points out that many ornithologists — 
have observed the Willow-Tits excavating their own nesting 
cavities. 

Mr. Musselwhite upholds his contention that the Marsh-Tit, 
Parus palustris dresseri, usually lays 6,7, or 8 eggs (antea, p. 38). 
He says that this is corroborated in reliable works and by 
many competent observers, and that therefore Mr. Bunyard’s — 
statement (antea, p. 77) is incorrect. 

Discussion on this subject is now closed. 

Mr. A. F. GrirritH writes, referring to his remarks at 
last month’s meeting (antea, p. 78) with reference to the late 
Mr. J. Whitaker’s collection, that the son of the latter has 
now revoked the sale of the collection to him, finding that 
the local museum at Mansfield is prepared, to keep it as a great 
local collection. 

He thanks heartily those members who had expressed 
their willingness to help in the purchase. 

Mr. H. F. WITHERBY writes :— 

“T think Mr. T. H. McKittrick Junr. should be given the 
ercdit in the ‘ Bulletin’ for having raised the point that 
Mr. A. F. Griffith’s Cuckoo had been wrongly identified, 
as it was through him that the bird was submitted to the 
British Museum to be compared.”’ 

Mr. B. G. Harrison also writes pointing out that Mr. P. F. 
Bunyard, at the meeting at which Mr. A. F. Griffith exhibited 
the Cuckoo, had considered the bird a Black-billed and not a 
Yollow-billed Cuckoo. 

Corrections. 

Mr. D. A. BANNERMAN said that he wished to correct 
a mistake which he had made in the last number of the 
‘ Bulletin’ (Bull. B. O. C. li. 1932, p. 72). He had proposed 
a new genus T'etragonopyga for the Little African Swift. 
It had since been pointed out to him that Mr. Austin Roberts 


Vol. liii.] 98 

had already proposed a genus, Colletoptera, for Cypselus 
afinis Gray (Ann. Transvaal Mus. viii. 1922, p. 217). 
Mr. Bannerman said he much regretted having overlooked 
this genus, which was due to the fact that Mr. Roberts had 
listed it under the unfamiliar family name Macropterygide, 
which he himself had never before seen used for the Swifts. 
He was obliged to Dr. C. B. Ticehurst and to Baron Snouc- 
kaert van Schauburg for having drawn his attention to 
Mr. Roberts’ genus, which, of course, has precedence by a 
number of years. 

For Mr. A. M. Griffith, antea, p. 77, read Mr. A. F. Griffith. 

For American Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus a. americanus), 
antea, p. 77, Black-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus erythropthalmus) 
should, be substituted. Vide pp. 88-90 of this number. 

NOTICES, 

The next Meeting of the Club will be held on Wednesday, 
February 8, 1933, at PAGANI’S RESTAURANT, 42-48 Great 
Portland Street, W.1. The Dinner at 7 p.m. 

Members intending to dine must inform the Hon. Secretary, 
Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed, 51 Onslow Gardens, London, 
S.W. 7. 

Members who wish to make any communication at the 
next Meeting of the Club must give notice to the Editor, 
Dr. G. Carmichael Low, 86 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, W. 1, 
as soon as possible. The titles of their contributions will then 
appear on the Agenda published before each Meeting. All 
MSS. for publication in the ‘ Bulletin’ must be given to the 
Editor before or at the Meeting. 


99 [Vol. liii. 

SPECIAL NOTICE. 

The attention of Members of the Club is specially drawn 
to the fact that the Annual Dinner of the British Ornitho- 
logists’ Union, which is held in conjunction with the Monthly 
Meeting of the British Ornithologists’ Club, is to be held this 
year at the Knightsbridge Hotel, Knightsbridge, S.W.1, on 
Wednesday, March 8, 1933, at 6.45 for 7 p.m., and not at 
Pagani’s Restaurant, as usual. The Meeting will be devoted 
principally to lantern-slides, and the Hon. Secretary will be 
pleased to hear from any Member who has slides to exhibit, 
so that the necessary arrangements may be made. 

GENERAL INDEX. 
Volume III. 

This is now ready, and can be obtained from the publishers, 
Messrs. H. F. & G. Witherby, 326 High Holborn, W.C. 1, at the 
price of £1 1s. Od. 

Agenda 
(for February Meeting). 

1. Mr. B. G. Harrison will read a paper entitled ‘“‘ A few 
Remarks on the Factors governing the Development 
of Parasitic Habits in Passerine Birds (Troupials and 
Weavers), and in particular of American Cowbirds.”’ 

2. Mr. T. H. Harrisson will give a short lecture on an Expe- 
dition to British North Borneo, illustrated with slides and 
other exhibits. 

3. Mr. P. F. Bunyard will exhibit a clutch of Ruddy Sheld 
Duck’s eggs, with nest, feathers, and down, and also 
eggs of Steller’s Hider. 


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~ BULLETIN 

OF THE 

BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB. 

No. CCCLXVI. 

Tse three-hundred-and-sixty-first Meeting of the Club was 
held at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W. 1, 
on Wednesday, February 8, 1933. 

Chairman : Mr. D. A. BANNERMAN, 

Members present :—W. B. ALEXANDER; E. C. Sruarr 
Pax: Ff. J. F. BARRINGTON; Sir J. Back BRADFORD ; 
PE. eins Hon. G. L. Ciena H P.O. Cina - 
Maj.-Gen. Sir P. Ze Cox. “BH. Tiwaaey A. H. Evans; 
A. Ezra; Miss J. M. Meare W. E. Ciaear: Miss E. M. 
GopmMan ; Capt. C. H. B. Gee Col. A. E. Hamerron ; 
B. G. esc: nl ec Hideurasen R. E. Heat; Dr. K. 
JORDAN; Rev. F. CG. R. JOURDATE - N. B. eee 3 
Miss E. P. Leacu; Dr. G. Sy eae Low (Lditor) ; 
Dr. N. S. Lucas; Rear-Admiral H. Lynes; T. H. Mc- 
KirTrick, jun.; ©. W. Mackworrs-Prarp (Hon. Sec. & 
Treas.) ; Dr. P. H. Manson- Baur; G. M. Maruews; C. Oxp- 
HAM; C. B. Ricketr; W. L. SCLATER ; Lee SCONE ; 
D. Seta-Smitu ; B. W. een Miss E. L. Turner; H. F. 
WITHERBY yes -Chairman) ; C. G. M. DE Worms. 

Guest of the Club :—Dr. Finn SALoMONSEN. 

Guests :—Sir CHARLES BELCHER; A, B. DONALDSON ; 
Mrs. Mackwortu- Pram: P. E. C; Manson-Bawn Mrs. et 

PEARSON; Miss P. ——— Mrs. W. L. Sctearn:- J. 
VINCENT, 

[ February 22, 1983. | a VOL. LIII, 


Vol. liii.] 102 

The CHArRMAN, Mr. D. A. Bannerman, introduced Dr. Finn 
Salomonsen, the Guest of the Club for the evening, and said :— 

It is my privilege to welcome here to-night as the Guest 
of the Club an ornithologist from Denmark—Dr. Finn 
Salomonsen. His name will be familiar to many of you, 
for he has contributed more than one important paper to ‘The 
Ibis.’ It was he who wrote about two years ago on the 
geographical varieties of the Snow-Bunting,, while last 
year, you will remember, he described three new races 
of the Guillemot in the January ‘Ibis.’ He is now engaged 
in studying the Paradise Flycatchers at the Natural History 
Museum, and has handed me a short paper for publication 
in the ‘ Bulletin.’ 

Although Dr. Salomonsen writes English well, he tells me 
that he does not speak it sufficiently well to address you 
himself. 

It is always a pleasure to welcome to this Club our co- 
workers from overseas, and I can assure our guest, in the 
name of all of you, that we are delighted to have him with 
us to-night. 

Mr. B. G. Harrison read a paper entitled “A few Remarks 
on the Factors governing the Development of Parasitic 
Habits in Passerine Birds (Troupials and Weavers), and 
in particular of American Cowbirds.”’ He said :— 

I am showing to-night a small exhibit of the eggs of the 
Shiny Cowbird of South America (Molothrus bonariensis), 
which may be of interest to any members who are not familiar 
with this bird. As I think the habits of Cowbirds in general 
throw some light on the factors governing the development 
of parasitism in birds, it has occurred to me that a few remarks 
on this subject might also be made at the same time. 

One can understand the gradual development of the para- 
sitic habit when once a species has commenced to break 
away from its original traditions, but what are the factors 
which cause this breakaway to commence? Many theories 
have been advanced, some of the best known being the 
following :— 


103 [Vol. liii. 

(a) The occurrence of polyandry amongst the species. 

(6) A decrease in the territorial instinct, which in turn 
may reduce the spirit of nest-protection. 

(c) The suggestive stimulus received by the ovaries 
of parasitic birds, due to the birds’ observation 
of the nest-building or eggs of other species. 

(dq) An interruption in the time-sequence between the 
nest-building instinct and the laying instinct. 

As we are all aware, true parasitisim occurs amongst 
relatively few groups of birds. There are the Tree-Cuckoos 
of the Old World, the Honey-guides, which occur principally 
in Africa, and, amongst passerine birds, certain of the Weavers 
and the American Cowbirds, with the last of which may be 
included the Rice-Grackle. 

There are five well-known species of Cowbird on the American 
Continent :—Molothrus ater, the North American Cowbird ; 
Tangavius cneus, the Red-eyed Cowbird of Mexico and 
Panama; Agelaioides badius, the Bay-winged Cowbird, 
and Molothrus rufoaxillaris, the Screaming Cowbird, both 
occurring in the Argentine, Uruguay, and Southern Brazil ; 
and Molothrus bonariensis, the Shiny Cowbird, which, in various 
forms, occurs from Northern Colombia down to Northern 
Patagonia. 

If we examine the habits of these five species we find they 
each exhibit definite stages in the evolution of parasitism. 
The Bay-winged Cowbird (Agelaioides badius), although 
I believe it occasionally builds its own nest, is generally 
parasitic upon the nest of some other species, but invariably 
broods its own eggs. 

The Screaming Cowbird (Molothrus rufoaxillaris) victimises 
the Bay-winged Cowbird and, apparently, no other bird, 
and it is interesting to note that, although there is no resem- 
blance between the adults, both the eggs and the young of 
the two species very closely resemble each other. 

The Red-eyed Cowbird (Z'angavius eneus) of Central 
America seems to be parasitic on a limited number of Orioles 
(Hang-nests), with a slowly extending range to certain other 
species. 


Vol. liii.] 104 

The Shiny Cowbird (Molothrus bonariensis) is parasitic 
on almost every bird of suitable size and habits, and has 
victimised at least 100 species, and this list is probably very 
incomplete. It is, moreover, very wasteful in its egg-laying 
habits, frequently leaving eggs on the ground and laying 
several eggs in one nest, often, indeed, in nests which have 
already been deserted. 

The North American Cowbird (Molothrus ater), which covers 
almost the whole of temperate North America, is also parasitic 
on an equal number of hosts. It, however, usually lays 
only one egg in a nest, seeming to select its sites with con- 
siderable care, and is not wasteful of its eggs. 

It will thus be seen that these five species show five distinct 
stages in the evolution of the parasitic habit, commencing 
with the Bay-winged Cowbird and finishing with the North 
American Cowbird. | 

Dr. Friedmann, in his Monograph on the Cowbirds, to which 
I am indebted for a considerable amount of information, 
points out that, judged by either the development of their 
songs, by the type of coloration, or by their geographical 
distribution, each of these three standards of classification 
tends to show that the Bay-winged Cowbird is the most 
primitive of the five, and that the other four species have 
evolved from it in the sequence which I have already named. 
If this argument can be accepted, it would confirm two 
points. First, that parasitism in passerine birds is in process 
of evolution rather than of disappearance, a fact about which 
I think there is very little dispute; and secondly, as both 
the Bay-winged and Screaming Cowbirds appear to be mono- 
gamous, that polygamy, or polyandry, is an effect of, rather 
than a cause of, parasitism. 

The theory that parasitism is caused by a reduction of the 
territorial instinct seems to be partly based on the fact 
that the Bay-winged Cowbird, instead of staking out its 
territory first and then taking possession of the nest, appears 
to take possession of the nest and increases its territory 
from that centre. In other words, it is reversing the usual 
operation. At the same time, it does not necessarily follow 
that this habit in itself would decrease the protective instinct 


105 [Vol. liii. 

in regard to the nest, which, after all, is the important con- 
sideration. It must also be remembered that certain passerine 
birds, such as Rooks, Fieldfares, and Martins, which are 
gregarious during the nesting season, do not show any ten- 
dency towards parasitism, although in the case of these birds 
they may only be exchanging the individual territorial 
instinct for a collective territorial instinct. 

On the other hand, parasitism occurs amongst certain 
of the Ploceide, which, as a family, is definitely gregarious, 
this habit reaching its culmination in the collective nests 
of the Sociable and Red-billed Black Weavers. 

In reference to the theory that the observation of the 
nest-building of other birds stimulates the ovaries of Cowbirds 
and Cuckoos, and that this is a cause of the parasitic habit, 
it seems a little difficult to understand why, if they originally 
built nests themselves, they should ultimately find a greater 
stimulus in the nest-building of other birds, and to me 
this does not seem a very satisfactory explanation. Yet 
there are numerous species which occasionally lay their 
eggs in the nests of other birds, and this may be the dawa 
of the parasitic urge. 

- We all know of many instances of large clutches which 
in some cases may be, and in others certainly are, due to more 
than one female. 

If it is possible to explain the development of parasitism 
by any one theory, the most probable would seem to be the 
interruption of the nest-building and egg-laying cycles. 
In other words, the desire for laying becomes paramount 
before the completion of the nest. In this connection it is 
rather a significant fact that the parasitic habit in passerine 
birds seems to occur only amongst the Icteride and the 
Ploceide, the two families where nest-building reaches its 
highest development, and it may well be that the time required 
for an elaborate nest which demanded a very long period 
for its completion might ultimately cause a disruption of the 
normal time-sequence of building and laying. 

This disruption would certainly create a greater urge 
in individual birds to find another nest than would occur 
if the instinct to build an elaborate nest had been lost gradually. 


Vol. liii.] 106 

Another explanation may be that, if the territorial instinct 
becomes subordinated to elaborate nest-building, the protective 
instinct may gradually disappear, and so ultimately the 
desire to possess eggs and young. 

Amongst primitive birds, before the nest-building instinct 
had developed and a hole or a sheltered depression on the 
ground was all that was necessary for the deposition of its 
eggs, it is easy to understand how a lack of suitable sites 
might frequently involve the use of the same hole or depression 
by more than one bird at the same time. 

It is rather remarkable that on the rare occasions when 
the Bay-winged Cowbird builds its nest it constructs an open 
one, but the nests of other birds which it takes possession 
of are almost invariably covered, and have a small entrance- 
hole, and it has been pointed out by certain observers that 
the Shiny Cowbird, when looking for a site to deposit its eggs, 
frequently betrays considerable interest in covered nests 
or in holes in walls or trees, although it usually deposits 
its eggs in an open nest. Are these facts caused by. the 
recurrence of the instinct of some primitive hole-nesting 
ancestor, and is this simple instinct the true cause of the 
evolution of a habit which has reached so high a state 
of development in the Cowbirds and Cuckoos ? 

In this small exhibit the difference between the eggs of 
the Cowbird and those of its fosterers is very marked, and 
it makes one wonder to what extent the latter is enabled 
to distinguish the parasitic eggs and to what extent it is _ 
indifferent to them. In the case of a fosterer, such as the 
Oven-Bird, one can understand the dark interior of the 
nest preventing the difference between the two types of eggs 
appearing very conspicuous, but in a large, open nest like 
that of Mimus modulator, where the fosterer is a much 
larger bird than the Cowbird, the case is very remarkable. 

In many of the more populated districts in the Argentine 
and Uruguay the number of Cowbirds is very great indeed, 
and almost every small nest. that is not well concealed has 
its quota of parasitic eggs. Indeed, so numerous are these 
eggs that the Shiny Cowbird must interfere considerably 
with the development of many species in these particular 


107 [Vol. liii. 

‘areas, and birds that readily deserted on any interference 
by a Cowbird may easily have been exterminated from these 
localities. 

My exhibit consists of the contents of four nests taken 
in South-eastern Brazil and eight nests taken in Uruguay. 

The Brazilian birds belong to the subspecies I. b. melanogyna, 
and although the birds are almost indistinguishable in the 
field from M. 6. bonariensis, in the few nests which I have 
had the opportunity of examining the green type of egg 
seems far more prevalent than the white or the erythristic 
type. With the Uruguayan eggs the reverse is the case. 

Amongst the Uruguayan specimens are two with a pale 
blue ground colour, and I believe this type has never been 
reported before. Both eggs were found in nests of the 
Oven-Bird (Furnarius rufus). There is also an egg with 
three of the Red Thorn-Bird (Phacellodomus ruber), which, 
I understand, has not been previously recorded as a fosterer. 
This bird builds a nest of thorns with an entrance-passage 
to an inner chamber which may present some difficulty to 
the Cowbird. It will be noticed that in this instance the 
Cowbird’s egg is pure white, and very similar to that of 
its host. 

Mr. T. H. HARRISSON gave a preliminary account (illustrated 
by lantern-slides and exhibits) of his recent work in Central 
Borneo. 

The Oxford University Sarawak Expedition, 1932 (which 
was made possible by grants from the Sarawak Government, 
British Museum, Royal Geographical Society, Percy Sladen 
Trust, Royal Society, Oxford University, Sir Jeremiah 
Colman, Bt., Colonel John Buchan, M.P., Lord Howard de 
Walden, and others), spent the period July to December 
mainly in the Mount Dulit (Baram) area. C. H. Hartley 
and myself were the ornithologists. Our primary objects 
were a detailed study of ecology, numbers, food, breeding- 
seasons, and tree-top activities (from tree-top platforms), 
at river-level, and a systematic study of zonation on the 
mountains, especially at and above 3000 feet, where a special 


Vol. liii.] 108 

fauna and flora appear. We also made intensive observations 
on Spider-hunters, Broadbills, and caves where birds nest. 
In addition, we collected rather over 1000 bird-skins. We 
have been home only about a fortnight, so that a rough 
general sketch may be excused. Ishall simply try to produce 
a really tropical luxuriance of confusion in everyone’s mind ; 
biological problems in the rain-forest are, perhaps, more 
difficult than anywhere else; which, no doubt, explains the 
present state of knowledge on such problems. 

1. Work in the Lowlands. 

For the first month we devoted ourselves to a close study 
of the different habitats at river-level—paddi-clearing, house 
secondary, fresh and old secondary, virgin forest, wild rubber, 
reed-beds and river-banks. We found only three species 
distributed throughout all these habitats—the beautiful 
Nyctiornis amicta *, a Spider-hunter (Arachnothera longirostra), 
the common omen bird of Borneo, and a small Broadbill 
(Hurylavmus ochromalus). None of these is common in every 
habitat, and each has peculiar food-habits which favour it 
against competitors. A Cuckoo, a Flycatcher, two Babblers, 
and two Spider-hunters are the only other species which occur 
in even a majority of habitats. Within the primary (virgin) 
forest there are four tiers of life—canopy, sub-canopy, inter- 
mediate, and ground. But no tier except “ground” is a 
separate unit ; as the sun rises the canopy birds move down 
to the sub-canopy, and some canopy birds may, in the heat 
of the day, feed off the ground. There is a daily cycle in 
level change ; towards sunset birds again move into the tree- 
tops, which have been almost or entirely deserted in the fore- 
noon. Therefore a species can be assigned to one or more 
tiers by its maximum wpward range only. Some ground- 
species, such as certain Babblers and Broadbills, are also inter- 
mediate and move up to 40 feet, while certain species which 
are characteristic of ground-levels and of low secondary 
jungle—e. g., the Spider-hunter (Arachnothera longirostra), 
the Tailor-Bird (Orthotomus cineraceus), and the Crested- 

* Binomials are used here for convenience. 


109 [Vol. liii. 

Shrike (Platylophus)—regularly move up to the canopy at 
certain hours. The whole thing almost, but not quite, 
cancels out into a general mix-up. There is certainly none 
of the distinct zonation found in some rain-forests, and we 
cannot even be certain that a bird nests in its type-habitat— 
for example, Hornbills, which might be called super-canopy 
birds, must nest well below the sub-canopy, because they 
nest in holes in tree-trunks. 

There are a good many species which are confined to virgin 
forest, but very few confined to secondary growths ; Pycno- 
notus analis, Copsychus musicus (The “Straits Robin’’), 
and certain Munias are, perhaps, the only ones. Primary 
forest was, of course, the original jungle, but the native 
system of agriculture has been so long operated that one 
might expect more secondary exclusive species: the issue 
is complicated by the fact that a paddi-clearing is soon 
abandoned and a new forest area felled, so that there is no 
habitat stability—a clearing will have become low secondary 
jungle in five years. 

With the above exceptions the only species with a locally 
exclusive distribution are those connected with water. The 
almost unexploited aquatic habitat has led certain forest 
species, such as the songster T'rachycomus zeylanicus, the 
Broadbill Hurylaimus javanicus, Setaria cinereum, and. the 
Brahminy Kite (Haliasiur indus), to become closely associated 
with rivers; while (to recomplicate everything) most of 
the Kingfishers feed largely or wholly on Orthoptera, beetles, 
and. other insects, often taken within primary jungle adjacent 
to the rivers. There were no nesting Herons, Rails or Ducks 
in our area, but these groups also have semi-terrestrial feeding- 
habits. The Darter (Anhinga melanogaster) and the Common 
Sandpiper (Z'ringa hypoleucos) are the only true aquatic species. 

The most common bird-food (one thousand stomachs 
examined) were Orthoptera, especially grasshoppers; some 
species were exclusively berry-feeders above 4000 feet, and 
exclusively insect-feeders below 4000 feet. The two commonest 
Mountain-Babblers, Hrpornis brunnescens and Sitaphidia 
everettt, which both belong to the same subfamily, had 
identical habits and distribution ; but the former fed on soft- 

ad 


Vol. liii.] 110 

bodied Diptera, perlids, and spiders, a diet shared by Flower- 
peckers and Spider-hunters, the latter on small green berries— 
remarkable food for such a species. These two were thus 
perfectly adjusted, and each was able to be a dominant 
in the same environment without affecting the other. 

A similar adjustment was found in the two rare Ground- 
Partridges, both caught in the same snare-line at 3800 feet. 
Heematortyx sanguiniceps was exclusively a_berry-feeder, 
except for a pair taken at 2500 feet (where the other species 
did not occur) which had, in addition to berries, taken a few 
weevils and termites. Stomachs of Caloperdix borneensis 
contained large numbers of ants and termites (adults and ova) 
and a few longicorn beetles. The more specialized food- 
habits of Caloperdiz may explain why Hematortyx outnumbered 
it by six to one. Pyrotrogon duvaucelii was a specialized 
feeder which favoured green Orthoptera to the exclusion 
of almost everything else ; other Trogons were more liberal, 
but P. duvaucelit was, nevertheless, much the commonest and 
most widely distributed. 

The gonads of a thousand birds were also examined. Most 
species had finished breeding a few weeks before our arrival 
(July 31), and high mountain species had finished several 
weeks before lowland ones—probably in mid-June. But 
some species had individuals in full breeding condition 
throughout our stay, notably Spider-hunters, Flowerpeckers 
and Broadbills. Though the rainy season (starting about 
November) is not so well marked in Borneo as in other tropical 
countries, it clearly influences the breeding season. Territory, 
except in Spider-hunters and Trogons (which latter seem to 
have a rigid and constant territorial system), was almost 
non-existent during the period under notice. Yet mixed 
flocks, which are so characteristic of tropical rain-forest, 
were equally inconspicuous, and were confined to a few Babbler 
species between 3000 and 4000 feet. 

2. Work on the Mountains. 

Bornean mountains above 3000 feet have a peculiar fauna 
and flora, with many species not found elsewhere. White- 
head’s collections from Kinabalu in British North Borneo 
first drew attention, forty years ago, to this fact. Sharpe’s 


111 [Vol. liii. 

reports on his collections, and the many and striking novelties 
described, stimulated Everett, Hose, Cox, and others to collect 
on other mountains. Hose, with his immense energy, was 
particularly successful; he visited Dulit in 1892, and sent 
native collectors in 1893 and 1894. He obtained ten new 
birds—Caloperdix borneensis, Rhizothera dulitensis, Calypto- 
mena hosii, Pyrotrogon vidua, Pyrotrogon dulitensis, Scops 
brookei, Batrachostomus harterti, Batrachostomus mixtus, Oriolus 
hosii, and Chlorocharis emelie—some of which were still 
known from one specimen only until our visit. He also 
got many others previously known from Kinabalu only. 

In recent years Mjoberg has made valuable collections 
on Mts. Poi and Penrissen in south Sarawak, and Murud in 
north Sarawak ; while Pendelbury and Chasen made important 
collections on Kinabalu in 1929. We have had the advantage 
of examining these collections (in the Kuching and Singapore 
Museums), as well as the older material in the British Museum, 
so that we are in a strong position to study mountain systema- 
tics. Previous workers have been held up for lack of com- 
parative series. Three species have already been divided 
into different races on different mountains—Arboricola 
hyperythra (Partridge), Dendrobiastes hyperythra (Flycatcher), 
and Chlorocharis emilice (White-eye) ; also a few months ago 
Hachisuka named a Rhinomyias from Dulit as distinct from 
the Kinabalu form. We expect to name several other new 
forms in this ‘ Bulletin’ within a few months, and we 
postpone discussion until that time. Racial distinctions 
are of value in this case because they provide a key to age, 
interchange, previous connections, and altitudinal effects 
of the various peaks. 

Why is there a special fauna and flora above 3000 feet ? 

It is an important question. Sharpe stressed Himalayan 
affinities (which were only to be expected) and submersion 
of the island to a 3000 feet level; but Sharpe was little con- 
cerned with theory. Stapf, the first botanist to explore 
Kinabalu, went rather fully into the matter from his own 
point of view, stressing the points that Borneo was an old 
archipelago in Tertiary times, and that Kinabalu is not only 
old land, but old highland; he also emphasizes the part 


Vol. liii.] 112 

played by erosion (and consequent segregation from other 
highlands) in forming a special flora. Pendlebury and Chasen 
apparently agree with Robinson and Kloss, who conclude 
from the distinct genera and species found that Kinabalu 
(Borneo) was cut off from the rest of the Indo-Malayan 
land-mass long before Java, Sumatra, etc. Banks emphasizes 
a sinking to 3000 feet, the continuity of mountain ranges, 
and the older fauna of northern compared with southern 
Borneo. When considered side by side, the theories put 
forward by these writers seem actually to explain very 
little, and in some points are definitely unsound. 

W. Campbell Smith, of the Mineralogical Department, 
British Museum (Natural History), has very kindly made 
some researches into the geological literature on my behalf, 
and he finds that there is no good evidence for a deep sinking, 
that the upper Kapuas basin area (Miller Mts., etc.) is at least 
as old as any other part of Borneo, that there was a canting 
over to the north in early Quaternary uplift (Banks postulates 
the opposite phenomenon to explain the fauna), and so on. 

I can think of an objection and an alternative explanation 
for each theory that I have seen in print. The most important 
specializing factor is generally overlooked, the present 
neglected for the past: this factor is climate. The mean 
temperature at river-level during our stay was about 10° F. 
higher than at 4000 feet. It was definitely cold (to 59° F.) 
at night, and often in the day at 4000 feet, and even at 2500 
feet. The daily range of temperature at 4000 feet was much 
greater than at river-level. Ice has been recorded from 
Kinabalu summits; Whitehead records the day and night 
temperature-range at 7750 feet during February and March 
as 60° to 70° and 42° to 52° respectively. Cloud-level, with 
its effects on humidity, light qualities, etc., is very important. 
On Dulit we determined the mean cloud-line from 2900 feet 
(in the early morning) upwards, according to temperature 
and time of day. On Kinabalu the cloud-line lies betweon 
5000 and 8000 feet. The clouds afiect humidity, directly 
affecting the flora, which in turn affects invertebrate life, 
and thus all bird-life, which is, of course, affected at the same 
time directly by the climatic conditions, so that a double 


113 [Vol. liii 

influence towards specialization is operating. Humidity at 
4000 feet fluctuates more violently, and possibly falls rather 
lower during droughts. 

These climatic influences are automatic, and they exercise 
a very great influence on bird-life. Birds living in such 
conditions must tend to develop along different lines from those 
below; they must have tended to do so in the remote past, 
and they must still be doing so now. 

An evolution towards new mountain forms is progressing 
even now, independent of isolation. 

Sinking, segregation, and climate must all be taken into 
account : they are inextricably woven. It is not yet possible 
to pick out each separate thread, but we hope to attempt 
it in a detailed study of mountain fauna to be undertaken 
in the next few years. I am going with Dr. John Baker 
to the New Hebrides in July, partly in order to study the 
meuntain-tops there. Here I would stress the point that 
geological explanations can be, and often are, manufactured 
to order by biologists without any geological data to support 
them; but before the past is investigated the present must 
be examined very carefully indeed. 

We distinguished five avifaunal zones :— 

(1) Moss forest, above 3900 feet. Twenty-three mountain 
species, seven of them not found in Zone 2 orelsewhere. Five 
lowland species were recorded, two of which were common— 
Chrysophlegma humet (Woodpecker) and Arachnothera everetti 
(Spider-hunter). It may be possible to separate some forms 
which occur low and high into distinct races. The extra- » 
ordinary character of the moss forest is well illustrated in 
several of my lantern-slides 

(2) Moss transitional, 3700-3900 feet, on the sandy slow- 
gradient north side of the Dulit range. Several species are 
locally confined to this special habitat—Pyrotrogon whiteheadi, 
Calyptomena whiteheadi, Allocotops calvus, and Oriolus hosii. 

(3) High forest, 3000-3900 feet, on the steep gradient, south 
side. About 20 mountain, 10 submontane-lowland (e. g., 
Macropygia ruficeps and Eucichla schwaneri), and 24 lowland 
species (including 3 Woodpeckers, 1 Cuckoo, 1 Barbet, 2 Broad- 
bills, 1 Trogon, 1 Bee-eater, 2 Bulbuls, 2 Babblers, 1 Thrush, 


Vol. liii.] 114 

2 Flowerpeckers, 3 Spider-hunters, and several Hornbills). 
The mountain forms, though outnumbered by species, were 
dominant in numbers. 

(4) Lowlands, below 3000 feet, with about 200 more or less 
common forms. Mountain species very seldom occur below 
3000 feet, except in Zone 5 as below. 

(5) Koyan moss forest*, at 2500 feet, in the very humid 
hollow formed by the Koyan River’s headwaters on the north 
side of the range. Here mountain and lowland forms were 
evenly mixed; several species typical of the moss forest 
(Zone 1) were found here, and not in the intervening area 
(2600 upwards). 

A full account of zonation with reference to all plant and 
animal groups will be given in due course. 

On Kinabalu 5000 feet is the lowest level at which moss 
forest is found (usually 6000 feet, corresponding roughly with 
cloudline) and the whole flora and fauna is shifted upwards 
as compared with Dulit ; occasional lowland birds occur up 
to 5500 feet. 

A few other points. We were able to get series of special 
species represented by one or two specimens only in the 
British Museum and elsewhere, including Hematortyx san- 
guiniceps, Caloperdix borneensis, Calyptomena whiteheadi, 
Pyrotrogon whiteheadi, Otocompsa montis, Buchanga stigmatops, 
Cissa jefferyt, Arachnothera julie, Hnicurus borneensis, and 
Chlamydochera jefferyt, the last two previously known only 
from Kinabalu. Several Frogmouths were obtained at high 
altitudes, and we hope to revise the unsatisfactory position 
of this group in the near future. Special collections of Ceyz, 
Cyornis, and the Hornbill (Anthracoceros malayanus) were made, 
as their systematics are very unsatisfactory. The Baram 
district is intermediate between North and South Borneo 
as regards species divisible within the island: most divisible 
species were represented by the southern race, but a few, 
such as Orthotomus artrogularis (a Tailor-bird) were represented. 
by the North Borneo form. 

* (2) and (4) are similar to the type of forest on sand in South- 
east Borneo, described as ‘* heidewald ’”’ (heath-forest) by Winkler. 


115 [Vol. liii. 

_ November was spent in geographical exploration and travel 
in units of one or two persons ; subsidiary collections, totalling 
200 bird-skins, were thus made on Mount Kaluling (5500 
feet) and Mount Mulu (7950 feet) (both climbed for the first 
time, and the latter probably the highést mountain in Sarawak), 
and on the Belaga and Rejang Rivers, ‘‘ Hose’s Lake,”’ and 
the Baram River. These should provide some interesting data. 

My remarks to-night are tentative and preliminary ; within 
the next few months we intend to prepare papers on the 
various ornithological results which will, 1 hope, appear 
in ‘ The Ibis,’ ‘Journal of Animal Ecology,’ and elsewhere. | 
I am grateful to C. H. Hartley, N. B. Kinnear, P. W. Richards 
and Miss Lawson for assistance in preparing this account. 

Some References. 

E. Banxs.—The Distribution of Mammals and Birds in Sarawak and 
Adjacent Parts of Borneo. In forthcoming Proc. Zool. Soc. 
1933. 

F. N. Cuasen and C. Bopen Kioss.—On a Collection of Birds from 
the Lowlands and Islands of North Borneo. Bull. Raffles 
Mus. iv. 1930, pp. 1-112. 

CHARLES Hosr.—On the Avifauna of Mount Dulit and the Baram 
District. Ibis, 1893, pp. 381-424. 

J. C. Moutton.—An Account of Various Expeditions to Mt. Kinabalu, 
British North Borneo. Sarawak Mus. Journ. ii. 1915, pp. 137- 
176. | 

H. M. PENDLEBURY and F. N. CHasen.—A Zoological Expedition 
to Mount Kinabalu, British North Borneo (1929). Journ. 
F.M.S. Mus. xvi. 1932, pp. 1-38. 

H. C. Roxpinson and C. BoprEN Kuoss.—Results of an Expedition 
to Korinchi Peak, Sumatra.—II. Birds. Journ. F.M.S. Mus. viii. 
1918, pp. 83-99. 

R. BowpDLeR SHARPE.—Numerous reports on Borneo mountain col- 

lections in ‘ The Ibis’ and Pree. Zool. Soc., 1877 onwards. 
. Stapr.—On the Flora of Mount Kinabalu in North Borneo. Trans. 
Linn. Soc., Botany, 2nd ser. iv. 1894, pp. 69-263. 

H. WinxieR.—Die Pflanzendecke Siidost Borneos. Engler’s Bot. 

Jahrb. Festband, 1914, pp. 188-208. 

© 

Mr. H. F. Wirnersy exhibited a melanic example of the 
Common Snipe (Capella gallinago), usually called Sabine’s 
Snipe. This bird, which was a female, had been sent to him 
in the flesh by Mr. E. Cadogan, who had shot it at Beaulieu, 


Vol. liii.] 116 

Hampshire, on January 19, 1933. Mr. Witherby described 
the bird as follows :— 

Forehead, crown, and nape black, without markings ; back 
of neck and upper mantle black, with some brown spots ; 
rest of upper-parts, wing-coverts, and inner secondaries black, 
with numerous wavy bars of pale brown and reddish-brown, 
but with no pale longitudinal lines as in a normal bird ; 
lores uniform greyish-black ; chin, centre of throat, and 
centre of belly uniform sooty brown; sides of neck, breast, 
and flank same, but closely barred pale brown ; whole under- 
wing, including axillaries, uniform brown-black. When the 
bird reached me the bill had the basal half brown and the 
tip black, and the tarsi and feet were dark brown. 

Wing 133, bill 67, tarsus 30 mm. 

Four specimens of this variety in the British Museum 
collection are decidedly more marked with rufous than the 
specimen now exhibited, which is exceptionally black. 

Mr. P. F. Bunyarp exhibited a clutch of eight eggs, together 
with the nest-feathers and down, of the Ruddy Sheld Duck 
(Casarca ferruginea) from the Caspian Sea, South Russia, 
taken by Datschenks on June 19, 1912, and also two plaques 
of nest-feathers and down. 

Mr. Bunyard said that, unfortunately, the eggs were of little 
value for weights, two only of the eight having been properly 
emptied. These weighed 7-555 and 7-515 mg. respectively, 
which comes near Rey’s average weight for thirteen eggs, 
viz., 7:°332 mg. 

Measurements.—Kight eggs; average 65:8x47:0 mm. ; 
the eggs showing the four extremes measure 67 47, 66-8 
49-3, 65 48, and 66x 46 mm. 

Mr. Bunyard found that the eggs were coated with a thin 
wax-like film similar to that found on the eggs of Eider-Ducks. 
Where this was missing, or had been removed, it was possible 
to examine the granulation, which is coarse and has deep 
pittings, as if the point of a pin had been inserted while the 
shell was soft. This is also characteristic of the eggs of the 
Common Sheld. Duck (Tadorna tadorna), which do not, however, 
appear to have the wax-like film. 


117 [Vol. liii. 

Mr. Bunyard described the nest-feathers as follows :— 

Terminal portion.—Orange-brown or true “ ginger,” paler 
towards the centrum. 

_ Basal or downy portion.—Pale brownish-white. 

Average length.—36 mm. 

Contour.—Similar to that of 7’. tadorna. 

The down, Mr. Bunyard. said, was several shades darker 
than the basal portion of the feathers, large, only very slightly 
tipped whitish, with large, almost pure white centrum. The 
down of the Common Sheld Duck (Tadorna tadorna) is not 
so large, the tips are pure white, considerably longer and more 
conspicuous, and the white centrum is far less extensive 
or almost absent. There is no possibility of confusing the 
feathers of the two species, which are distinctive. 

Mr. BunyarpD also exhibited a clutch of eight eggs of 
Steller’s Eider (Polysticta stelleri), collected by A. Lavitt 
for Captain L. R. Wolfe, U.S. Army, at Cape Halkett, a hundred 
miles east of Point Barrow, Alaska, on June 22, 1932. 

Mr. Bunyard reminded the members of the Club that he 
had also exhibited a clutch of seven eggs of Steller’s Eider, 
together with the down and nest-feathers, in 1916. He 
described the nest-feathers of 1932 as follows :— 

Terminal portion.—Sooty brown, distinctly barred; the 
self-coloured feathers are sooty black, slightly paler in centre, 
a third type of feather is paler and greyish-black. 

Basal or downy portion.—Greyish, sooty grey or greyish- 
white. 

Length.—30-35 mm. 

Contour.—Long and narrow, well rounded at terminals. 

- The down in bulk is sooty black, showing inconspicuous 
white centres. When disintegrated and mounted it is 
whitish immediately round the calamus, and the radii are 
very short. 

Weights of eggs —TIwenty-two eggs (Bunyard); average 
4-623 mg., max. 5-290, min. 4-072 mg. 

Measurements.—Twenty-two eggs (Bunyard) ; average 59-9 x 
41-4 mm. ; the eggs showing the four extremes measure 63-3 
42, 57:5 41:3, 58-5 x 40-4, and 61-4 43 mm. 


Vol. liii.] 118 

There is no possibility of confusing the eggs of Steller’s 
Hider (Polysticta stelleri) with those of the Common Eider 
(Somateria m. mollissima ), nor with those of the King Eider 
(Somateria spectabilis), as those of the first-mentioned are 
paler, much lighter in weight, and smaller on the average ; 
they have the characteristic wax-like film of S. mollissima 

eggs. 

Capt. C. H. B. Grant and Mr. C. W. MackwortTu-PRAED 
forwarded the following description of a new Booby :— 

Sula nicolli, sp. nov. 
White-tailed Red-footed Booby. 

Description.—Similar in size to the adult Red-footed 
Booby, Sula sula sula (Linneus), from which it differs in 
having the head, neck, mantle, wings, breast, and abdomen 
ash-brown, with a slight gloss or sheen ; the head and neck 
have a golden tinge and the mantle and upper side of the 
wings are rather darker than the rest of the plumage ; primaries, 
secondaries, and primary coverts similar to S. s. sula ; rump, 
tail, vent, and thigh-feathers white. 

Soft parts :—lIris dark brown, bill lavender, base of both 
mandibles red, around eye bluish, sac jet-black, tarsi and 
toes cherry-red. 

Measurements.—Wing 380; tail 205; culmen 78; tarsus 
32 mm. 

Distribution.—Madagascar, Mauritius, Glorioso I. (breeding), 
Little Cayman I., West Indies (breeding), and Aliepata, 
Western Samoa (breeding). 

Type.—¢ adult, Glorioso I., North of Madagascar, Indian 
Ocean. Collected by M. J. Nicoll on March 10, 1906 (Brit. 
Mus. Reg. no. 1906.12.21.65). 

Remarks.—Named in honour of the late Mr. M. J. Nicoll. 

Twenty specimens examined, including 3 Jf and 3 2 breeding 
adults from Little Cayman I., West Indies. 

Maynard, in ‘ Contributions to Science,’ vol. i. 1889, p. 40, 
mentions this species under his description of Sula coryt 
(which is a synonym of S. s. sula) as the 2nd and 3rd immature 
dress, and states that the tail is wholly white ; on p. 56 of the 


119 (Vol. liii. 

same work he is of opinion that there are two adult plumages, 
one white (—S. s. sula) and one brown (=S. nicollt). 

M. J. Nicoll, Ibis, 1904, p. 588, discusses the two plumages, 
and in the same journal (1906, p. 690) he states that nearly the 
whole of the Gannets on Glorioso I. were in brown plumage, 
with white tails, vents, etc., and that, to the best of his belief, 
he did not see a single speckled Gannet (=immature 
of S. s. sula) on this island, but saw the speckled birds on 
Assumption and Aldabra. 

Alexander, in ‘ Birds of the Ocean,’ 1928, p. 284, mentions 
this bird as an intermediate stage, and that it breeds in this 
plumage. - 

There is no doubt that this bird is not an immature or 
intermediate plumage of the Red-footed Booby (S. s. sula), 
as the majority of the twenty specimens examined are fully 
adult, and six are marked by Nicoll as breeding, as is also 
an adult male from Aliepata, Western Samoa, collected 
by J. S. Armstrong on April 4, 1923 (Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1926. 
12.20:21). 

Moreover, all the immature specimens examined of 
S. s. sula which are assuming the adult white plumage are 
all showing white feathers on the whole of the body, neck, 
and head. This bird cannot be a colour-phase, as in all such 
cases the coloration is evenly distributed, and, therefore, 
in this Booby the rump, tail, and vent would also be ash-brown. 

A male collected by J. MacGillivray on Raine’s Island 
on May 29, 1844 (Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1845.7.14.2) is this new 
Booby, but has the under-parts rather paler, more pure 
ash-colour, and specimens from Navigator I. (Brit. Mus. 
Reg. no. 1847.8.20.12) and Henderson I. (Brit. Mus. Reg. 
no. 1913.3.4.14) also belong to this species, but the breast 
and abdomen are almost as white as the vent ; the back and 
wings are ash-brown. No doubt further material will show 
that these are subspecies of Sula nicollz. 

Dr. Finn SaLomonsEN forwarded the following remarks upon 
the Madagascar Paradise Flycatchers :— 
On examining the huge series of the Madagascar Paradise 


Vol. liii.] 120 

Flycatcher (T'chitrea mutata (Linneeus)) in the Collection of the 
recent Franco-Anglo-American Expedition to Madagascar, 
some interesting facts were discovered. The individual vari- 
ation of this bird is very great, and it is not only dimorphic, 
as are many other birds, but the males are tetramorphic, 

e., divided into four distinct phases, as first set out by 
Stresemann (J. f. Ornith. 1924, p. 93). There exist the 
following phases or mutants:—a, maroon; 0b, maroon 
with white streamers; c, white-backed; d, black-backed. 
It is noticeable, however, that all four forms do not occur 
in the whole island, a, 6, and d being confined to the eastern 
parts of the country, to the wood-land and the eastern slopes 
of the central high plateau. In the dry western regions 
only the phase ¢ occurs, together with some few individuals 
of 6 (only two of 23 b’s were western), but a and d are quite 
absent. In northernmost Madagascar, north of a _ line 
Andapa—Maromandia—Nossi-bé, ¢ and d meet and hybrids 
(c=d) are often collected. Also b is met with here, but 
a is restricted to the more southern parts of the east 
coast south of Maroantsetra. I may add that the white- 
backed c is also to be found on Mayotte, together with 
another phase resembling a, but with more white on 
the wing. We, therefore, have to divide the Madagascar 
Paradise Flycatchers into three subspecies, one form inhabiting 
Mayotte Island, and hitherto considered to be identical 
with the mainland form, another form inhabiting eastern 
Madagascar, and containing the male types a, b, and d, and 
a third western form with only c and a few 6. The question 
now is what to call the three subspecies and the four 
mutants a-d. This matter is extremely difficult, as the 
nomenclature is most confusing. 

Linneus gave (Syst. Nat. ed. xii. i. p. 325- 1766) Madagascar 
as the habitat for his Muscicapa mutata, referring only to 
Brisson, Ornith. ii. 1760, p. 424, t. 40, figs. 1, 2, 3. Brisson 
on this plate figured three species of birds, which he calls 
Muscicapa madagascariensis longicauda (descr. p. 424), Musci- 
capa madagascariensis albicilla longicauda (descr. p. 427), and 
Muscicapa madagascariensis varia longicauda (descr. p. 430), 
collected by Poivre and kept in the Reaumur Museum. From 


121 [Vol. liii. 

the descriptions and the figures it is evident that these three 
birds are nothing but the males a, 6b, and d, thus showing 
the composition of the population in the east, where Poivre 
certainly must have collected his specimens. Besides quoting 
Brisson, Linnzus described Muscicapa mutata as having 
“Corpus supra nigro-virescens,”’ &c., his name thus given 
to the form d. The designation M. mutata must of course 
stand for the eastern form. The first name of the phase a 
is given by P. L. S. Miller (Vollst. Natursyst., Suppl. u. 
Reg.-Band, 1776, p. 168), who calls it Muscicapa 
caudata, Cassin (Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 1864, p. 255) 
also refers it to mutato. Already in 1783 the same bird 
was again described by Boddaert (Table Planch. enlum., 
p. 15) under the name Muscicapa virescens, referring to 
Brisson, Ornith. 11. 1760, p. 420 (rect. 424), and pictured in 
d’Aubenton, Hist. Nat. Ois. 1778, pl. 248, fig. 1, both showing 
the phase a, and the name thus becomes a synonym of caudata 
Miller. Swainson (Nat. Hist. Birds West Africa, 1837, ii. 
p- 60) described Muscipeta rufa (without type-locality), 
but from his excellent description it evidently appears 
that it is given to the form a, and the same can be said of the 
Muscipeta holosericea, the “‘ Moucherolle chet-roux,” given 
the following year (1838) by Temminck (Tabl. méthod. 
p. 23) to “‘ Le Schet roux ”’ of Le Vaillant (Ois. Afr. 1799, pl. 147), 
which again is our bird a. There can be no doubt that the 
bird described by Hartlaub as T'chitrea speker (P.Z.S. 1865, 
p. 428) must be the phase a, although he states that it comes 
from “Afr. orient. interiore.”’ As Sharpe declares that 
the type came from Madagascar (cf. Milne-Edwards and 
A. Grandidier, Hist. Phys. &c. de Madagascar, xii. 1879, 
p. 389), and as Hartlaub’s description is very clear, I do 
not hesitate to call it a synonym of caudata Miller. 

For the mutant b only one description exists, and we must 
for this bird adopt the name Muscicapa gaimardi of Lesson 
(Traité d’Ornith. 1831, p. 386) ; but, unfortunately, he states 
that it comes from New Guinea, where no T'chitrea are found 
at all. However, I am sure it is an error, as the very detailed 
description evidently applies to this Madagascar Flycatcher. 


Vol. liii.] 122 

Milne-Edwards and A. Grandidier (loc. cit. p. 388) are of the 
same opinion. As before mentioned, the Linnean name 
Muscicapa mutata has to be the designation of the mutant d, and 
Swainson’s name Muscipeta bicolor (loc. cit. p. 60) is clearly 
a synonym of this. Regarding the fourth form, the white- 
backed mutant c, it was described by Lesson in 1847 (Descr. 
Mamm. et Ois. récemm. découv. p. 324) as T'chitrea pretiosa. 
As he says that “cet oiseau habite Vile de Mayotte et se 
trouve a Nossi-bé,” it becomes the name of the Mayotte 
subspecies. Also E. Newton (P.Z.S. 1877, p. 298) speaks 
about “ Tchitrea mutata of Madagascar and TZ’. pretiosa 
of Mayotte,” and Stresemann (loc. cit.) calls the white-backed 
bird on Mayotte pretiosa. In 1906 the Mayotte subspecies 
was described by Nicoll (Bull. B.O.C. xvi. 1906, p. 104) 
as Terpsiphone lindsayi, but without mentioning the differences 
from T'chitrea mutata, only comparing his type with the 
T'chitrea comorensis and T'chitrea vulpina, and, therefore, 
Sclater (Syst. Av. Atthiop. 1930, p. 436) and others regarded 
it as identical with mutata. The western form, of Madagascar, 
I propose to call T'chitrea m. singetra, after the native name 
of this bird. From the mainland forms the Mayotte sub- 
species can be distinguished by the greater amount of white 
on the wing, noticeable in both adult and juvenile plumages. 

Owing to the great individual and geographical variation 
of the Madagascar Flycatchers, there has always been great 
confusion, and no author (except Stresemann) has mentioned 
all the four existing forms. In 1860 Hartlaub (J. f. Ornith. 
1860, p. 99) separated holosericea (a), mutata (d), and pretiosa 
(c) as distinct species, but in 1865 (P. Z.S. p. 835) Newton 
supposed that they belonged to the same species, as aiso 
did Schlegel (Nederl. Tid. Dierk. 1865, p. 84). However, 
Stresemann first (loc. cit. 1924) separated the four forms 
and explained the differences between them in the right 
way as inheritable mutants. 

We can now divide the Madagascar Flycatchers as follows :-— 

1. TCHITREA MUTATA MUTATA (Linnezeus). 

Muscicapa mutata Linneus, Syst. Nat. ed. xii. i. p. 325. 
(1766—Madagascar. ) 


123 [Vol. liii 

a. CAUDATA (Miller). 

Muscicapa caudata P. L. 8. Miller, Vollst. Natursyst. 
Suppl. u. Reg.-Band, p. 168. (1776—Madagascar. ) 

Muscicapa virescens Boddaert, Table Planch. enlum., 
p. 15. (1783—Madagascar, ex Brisson.) 

Muscipeta rufa Swainson, Nat. Hist. Birds West. Africa, 
ii. p. 60. (1837—Africa.) 

Muscipeta holosericea Temminck, Tabl. méthod., p. 23. 
(1838—ex Levaillant.) 

Tchitrea spekei Hartlaub, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 
p. 428. (1865—East Africa, errore.) 

spekei-type, Stresemann, J. f. Ornith. 1924, p. 93. 

b. GAIMARDI (Lesson). 
Muscicapa gaimardt Lesson, Traité d’Ornith., p. 386. 
(1831—New Guinea, errore.) 
mutata-type, Stresemann, loc. cit. 

d. MUTATA (Linnzus). 
Muscicapa mutata Linneus, loc. cit. 
Muscipeta bicolor Swainson, Nat. Hist. Birds West. 
Africa, ii. p. 60. (1837—Africa.) 
bicolor-type, Stresemann, loc. cit. 
Hab. Eastern Madagascar. 

2. TCHITREA MUTATA PRETIOSA Lesson. 

Tchitrea pretiosa Lesson, Descr. Mamm. et Ois. récemm. 
découv., p. 324. (1847—Mayotte.) 

Terpsiphone lindsayt Nicoll, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, xvi. 
p. 104. (1906—Mayotte.) 

a. CAUDATA (Miller) (modified). 

¢, PRETIOSA Lesson. 
T chitrea pretiosa Lesson, loc. cit. 
pretiosa-type, Stresemann, loc. cit. (Mayotte.) 
Hab. Mayotte Is., Comores. On the other islands very 
different subspecies. 


Vol. liii.] 124 

3. Tehitrea mutata singetra, subsp. nov. 
Type in British Museum ; Soalala; 3 ad., May 31, 1929. 
6. GAIMARDI (Lesson). 

Cc. PRETIOSA Lesson. 
Hab. Western Madagascar. 

Mr. D,. A. BANNERMAN sent the description of a new race 
of the Double-toothed Barbet, which he proposed to name :— 

Pogonornis * bidentatus friedmanni, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Differs from Pogonornis bidentatus (the race 
which extends from Sierra Leone to Nigeria) in its larger 
size and in having a greater amount of crimson on the crown. 
From P. 6. equatorialis it may be distinguished by the wing- 
bar being entirely deep scarlet, whereas in e@quatorialis 
it is more rose-colour, the fringes being paler. 

Measurements.—Bill, ¢ 31-33, 9 28-31; wing, 5 104-109, 
© 102-108 ; tail, ¢ 75-82, 9 77-82 ; tarsus, ¢ 29, 2 26-28 mm. 
Three males, six females, measured. from Cameroon and Angola. 

Distribution.—Southern Cameroon and N. Angola. 

Type.—6 adult, Ndala Tando, North Angola; Dr. W. J. 
Ansorge coll. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1910.5.6.371. 

Remarks.—I have great pleasure in naming this Barbet 
in honour of Dr. Herbert Friedmann, of the United States 
National Museum, in recognition of his valuable work on 
African birds. 

Dr. JAMES M. Harrison writes :— 

I shall be glad if you will make a small correction in the 
next ‘ Bulletin.’ In the President’s Address (Bull. B. O. C. liii. 
1932, p. 53) it is stated that my paper on the Bulgarian trip 
has already been given in ‘ The Ibis.’ As a matter of fact 
the typescript has been in the hands of the Editor of that 
journal since the middle of last December, and I am told 
cannot appear until July 1933. In view of this long delay 
it seems desirable to correct the statement in the ‘ Bulletin.’ 

* In this genus, which displaces Pogonorhynchus van der Hoeven 
(vide Syst. Av. Aithiop. 1930, pp. 269 & 858), I group, on structural 
characters and colour-pattern, three species—dubius, rolleti, and biden- 
tatus—usually placed in three different genera. 


*125 [Vol. liii. 

NOTICES. 

The next Meeting of the Club will be held on Wednesday, 
Mareh 8, 1933, at the Knightsbridge Hotel, Knightsbridge, 
S.W.1. The Dinner at 7 p.m. Members are reminded that 
this dinner is held conjointly with the Annual Dinner of the 
B.0O. U., and that they are allowed to bring Lady Guests. 

The Meeting will be devoted to the exhibition of films and 
lantern-slides. 

Members of the B.O.C. intending to dine should inform the 
Hon. Secretary, Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed, 51 Onslow 
Gardens, London, S.W. 7, and not the Secretary of the Union. 
This notice is necessary in order that the seating may be 
arranged beforehand. Failure to do so may result in no seat 
being available. 

Agenda. 

1. Mr. Jack Vincent will exhibit slides illustrating a day in 
the life of a field-collector (from the Portuguese East 
African Expedition, 1931-1932). 

2. Mr. W. E. Higham will show a film of the Short-eared Owl. 

3. Mr. Anthony Buxton will show films illustrating the life 
of Marshland Birds. 


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BULLETIN 

OF THE 

BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB. 

No. CCCLXVII. 

Tue three-hundred-and-sixty-second Meeting of the Club was 
held at the Knightsbridge Hotel, Knightsbridge, S.W. 1, 
on Wednesday, March 8, 1933, in conjunction with the Annual 
Dinner of the British Ornithologists’ Union. 

Mr. H. F. WirHersy, the President of the B. O. U., took 
the Chair during the Dinner, and Mr. D. A. BANNERMAN, 
Chairman of the Club, during the subsequent proceedings. 

Members of the B.O.C. present :—Miss C. M. ACLAND ; 
W. B. ALEXANDER ; E. C. Stuart Baker; Miss P. Barcuay- 
SmitH ; F. J. F. Barrineton ; 8S. Boorman; H. B. Boorn : 
A. W. Boyp ; G. Brown ; A. Buxton; Hon. GL. CHARTERIS ; 
H. P. O. CLEAVE; Maj.-Gen. Sir P. Z. Cox; R. H. DEANE ; 
A. Ezra; Miss J. M. Ferrier; W. E. Guzac; A. G. GLent- 
STER; Miss EK. M. Gopman; Capt.C. H. B. Grant; Col. A. E. 
HAMERTON ; B. G. Harrison; Dr. J. M. Harrison eed stata a 
HeatH; R. F. Hore; Dr. K. Jorpan; Rev. F. C. RB. 
JOURDAIN; N. B. Kinnear; Miss E. P. Leacu; Dr. G. 
CarmicHaEL Low (Editor); Dr. N. 8. Lucas: Rear-Admiral 
H. Lynes; C. W. Mackwortu-Praep (Hon. Sec. & Treas.) ; 
Capt. W. E. F. Macmimman; J. H. MoNeme; G. M. 
Matuews ; Dr. W. N. May; Col. R. MEINERTZHAGEN : 
Mrs. D. MrcHotis ; Mrs. C. D. Murton; B. B. OSMASTON ; 
C. W.G. PauLson ; Capt. C. R. S. Prrman ; F.R. Ratcuirr ; 
W. L. Sctater; Major M. H. Smmonps; Major A. G. L 
SLADEN ; D. Seru-SmrruH; Col. R. SPARROW ; C. G. TaLpor- 
PonsonBy ; Dr. A. Lanpsporoucn THomson ; B. W. TUCKER ; 
Miss EK. L. TURNER; Capt. A. Urquuarr; H. WHISTLER ; 
K. E. Wisuart; H. F. Wirnerspy (Vice-Chairman) ; C. G. M. 
DE WoRMS. 


Vol. liii.] 128 

Members of the B.O. U. present :—Capt. R. S. P. Barus ; 
Brig.-Gen. R. M. BetHam; Mrs. N. D. Brinpitey; N. G. 
Brownrice ; Miss B. A. CARTER; Mrs. E. STAFFORD CHARLES ; 
R. CuHistett; H. A. Gispert; A. G. Haworts; 
Miss Hinpert-WarE; W. E. Hiauam; Prof. J. S. Huxury ; 
Miss E. M. Knopet; Mrs. W. L. Lemon; W. P. Lowe; 
Lt.-Col. W. A. Payn; H. J. R. Pease; H. W. RoBrInson ; 
Sir M. C. Seton; D. Apex SmitrH; I. M. THomson ; 
J. VINCENT ; Capt. L. R. Waup; 8S. L. WHyYMpER. 

Guests present :—Mrs. EK. D. Atkins ; 8. Austin ; Mrs. D. A. 
BANNERMAN ; Mrs. R.S. P. Bates; J. H. Bevan; A. Back ; 
C. V. Burne; E. W. H. Burne; Miss J. Cuay; R.A. H. 
CoomMBE; Lady Cox; G. A. CrowE; Miss M. GILBERT ; 
E. GLENISTER ; I. Guyn; Dame A. M. Gopman; Miss C. E. 
GopMAN; Miss M. B. Gopman; Mrs. C. H. B. Grant; 
A. H. Harkness; Miss B. Hetsom; Mrs. M. HicHam ; 
Miss Hinpyarp; P. A. D. Hoxttom; 4H. D. Home; 
Lady Maraaret Doveias Home ; Miss Lawson ; F. Lemon ; 
Miss C. E. LONGFIELD ; Mrs. G. CARMICHAEL Low ; Mrs. N.S. 
Lucas; Miss Lynes; Mrs. C. W. Mackwortu-PRAED ; 
Mrs. Macmintan; A. C. MatTrHEw; Miss S. May; M. 
MippLETON ; D. M. Murray-Rust; K. NeEwati; R. PEEL ; 
W.H. Prerrett; F. Pike; W.H. Potten ; Miss G. RHODEs ; 
A. N. Rucker; J. T. Russett; Dr. F. SaALomMonssn ; 
Mrs. W. L. Scuater; Mrs. A. G. L. Stapen; Mrs. OWEN 
SmitH; Miss B. THomson; Mrs. I. A. THomson; Mrs. 
LANDSBOROUGH THOMSON ; N. Tracy; Mrs. B. W. TucKER ; 
Mrs. UrquHarT; H. B. Usuer; Mrs. C. Uzirtii; J. P. 
WaLterRS ; Miss V. WITHERBY ; N. WYKES. 

Members of the B. O. C. 59; Members of the B. O. U. 24; 
Guests 61. Total 144—a figure well up to the average. 

As usual at the combined Meeting, the programme consisted 
of a series of lantern-slides and films of bird-life. 

Mr. W. E. HicHam opened the Meeting with a wonderful 
film illustrating the Short-eared Owl (Asio f. flammeus) at its 
nest. The bird fed its young chiefly on field-voles (Microtus 
agrestis), and, judging by the number brought in, it must be 
of the greatest value to agriculturalists and others in keeping 
down these vermin. 


129 [Vol. liii. 

Mr. Jack VINCENT exhibited a series of slides illustrating 
a day in the life of a field-collector from the Portuguese 
East African Expedition 1931-1932. Most of his journeying 
was done with a motor lorry, and the proper way to collect, 
skin, and keep records of specimens was clearly shown. 
Mr. Vincent rightly pointed out that all collectors going to 
a new area should first study its fauna carefully so as to know 
what species to look for specially, and thus to avoid killing 
common birds which are already well represented in Museums 
and are of little value. Quality, in short, should come before 
quantity. 

Mr. AnTtHoNy Buxton showed some splendid slides and 
films of various marshland birds photographed at Horsey, 
Norfolk. These included the Bearded Tit (Panurus biarmicus) ; 
the Bittern (Botaurus s. stellaris) at its nest, showing it feeding 
its young with eels, and also using its powder-puff, as des- 
cribed by Lord William Percy (Bull. B. O. C. li. 1932, pp. 136— 
138) ; a Redshank (T'ringa t. totanus) leading its young from 
the nest to a meadow; the Great Crested Grebe (Podiceps 
c. cristatus) at its nest; a Montagu’s Harrier (Circus pygargus) 
rearing five young ones; and a Marsh-Harrier (Circus @. 
eruginosus) rearing three. Young Waterhens formed the 
principal food for the brood of the latter. 

Mr. RaLeH CHISLETT showed a similar series of slides of 
the Bittern, Montagu’s Harrier, and the Marsh-Harrier, also 
taken at Horsey, and further, a beautiful slide of the Wood- 
Sandpiper (Z'ringa glareola) from Lapland. This showed the 
eggs and nest, with the bird in attendance. 

The standard of the exhibits was of a high class, and 
a most enjoyable evening was spent. 

Mr. Jack VINCENT forwarded descriptions of four new species 
and eighteen new subspecies of birds which he had collected 
during the recent Portuguese East African Expedition. 
He also contributed preliminary observations on some groups 

reviewed during the course of the work of identifying the 
collection :— 

Pachycoecyx validus canescens, subsp. nov. 
The only specimen secured of a very rare genus, differing 

a2 


Vol. liii.] 130 

at first glance from other known birds and races in being 
by no means blackish, but slate-grey on the upper parts. 
It is near to Pachycoccyx validus, and I propose to call it 
P. v. canescens. 

Description.—Differs from P. validus in being conspicuously 
greyer throughout, with entire upper side washed with slaty 
grey and not with sooty black, and with dark grey tail lacking 
the brownish tinge so evident in validus. The white spotting 
is everywhere more obvious; also the spots are larger, 
especially on the upper tail-coverts, but this may be due 
to the fact that the bird is in such beautifully fresh plumage. 
Iris dark sepia; eyelids aurora yellow. Bill: maxilla very 
dark sepia; lower mandible and behind the nostrils raw 
sienna. Feet pale cadmium orange. 

Type.—No. 1829, an adult ¢g, in non-breeding condition, 
shot near Nhauela, Portuguese East Africa, 15-25° S., 37-25° E., 
at 2750 ft. altitude, on July 13, 1932. Brit. Mus. Reg. 
no. 1933.3.1.20. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 360 ; wing 222 ; 
tail 180 ; culmen from base of skull 30; tarsus 24 mm. 

Indicator appelator, sp. nov. 

Two Honey-guides secured during the course of the expedi- 
tion are of very considerable interest, and there seems to be 
no other alternative than to describe them as ¢ and @ of 
a new species in that they are as unlike Indicator minor as 
they are unlike J. exilis. 

Description.—The manner in which it differs from I. minor 
is immediately apparent both in size and colour, for there 
is no tendency towards a greyer head—rather it is much 
darker and more olive than in any material of minor, and 
uniform with the remainder of the upper parts. In size, 
with an adult 3 wing of 78 mm. and an adult 2 wing of 72 mm., 
it is nearer the I. exilis group, from which it differs, however, 
in having the upper parts uniform and not heavily striated, 
and in the pallidity of the underparts. The bill is shorter 
and narrower than any minor—in fact, of similar length to 
exilis, but more swollen. 

Plumage Details—The entire upper side is dark olive, 


131 [Vol. li. 

strongly washed with a paler colour, olive-lake, which is more 
prominent on the rump and upper tail-coverts. The dark 
centres to the feathers are evident in striations on the forehead 
and crown, but do not extend on to the nape. Behind each 
nostril is a white loral spot, the two almost meeting at the base 
of the culmen-ridge. LHar-coverts greyish-olive, and a darker 
olive streak extends from the base of the lower mandible to 
the ear-coverts. Throat white, with faint greyish streaks, 
which become darker and more prominent on the dirty 
whitish breast. Chin, abdomen, flanks, and lower tail- 
coverts white. The tail-feathers have the usual pattern, 
the innermost pair being blackish-brown, the remainder 
white, with brown tips. Wing-feathers blackish-brown, 
with outer webs prominently margined with olive-yellow. 
Iris dark sepia. Bill blackish, with pale fleshy-blue-grey 
basal half to the lower mandible. Feet dark new-olive-green. 

Type—No. 825, an adult ¢ in non-breeding condition, 
shot near Zobué, on Portuguese East Africa—Nyasaland frontier, 
15-36° S., 34:27° E., at 2900 ft. altitude, on April 6, 1932, 
Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.19. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 145 ; wing 78 ; 
tail 53; culmen 10; tarsus 14 mm. 

Measurements of 2. Total length in flesh 141; wing 72; 
tail 45 ; culmen 9; tarsus 14 mm. 

Anthus richardi lichenya, subsp. nov. ; 
and. a review of the species in Portuguese East Africa and 
Nyasaland. 

Many have gone into the subject of the Pipits, and a great 
deal of work remains to be done, but my large series of twenty- 
eight birds shows some interesting facts which I shall state 
briefly. To begin with they are divisible into the following 
three groups in the countries concerned :— 

On the central plateau east and west of Southern Nyasaland, 
that is, from the Mlanje and Namuli Mountains on the one 
side and Angonia on the other, extending to the Zambezi 
Valley, the birds are rufescent, and should be classified 
as A. richardi raaltenii. In the littoral of Portuguese East 
Africa north of the Zambezi the birds are attributable to the 


Vol. liii.] 132 

subspecies A. r. lacuum; but birds from Mlanje Mountain are 
markedly different and, together with skins in the National 
Collection from the same locality, are immediately apparent 
as very much darker birds, for the differences are constant 
in all specimens from the mountains of Southern Nyasaland. 

The only dark bird from a lower altitude was taken near 
Chilwa, within a few miles of Mlanje, and as it is the only one 
taken during the winter months, it may be reasonably concluded 
that the birds wander down from the mountain-tops to some 
extent during the colder weather. Specimens from the 
Namuli massif to the east show some affinity with this new 
race, but approach nearer to lacuum. It is a resident breeding 
species in the type-locality. 

Description.—Similar to A. r. raaltenii and A. r. lacuum, but 
very much darker in every respect than either, with the upper 
parts more dusky, the feathers of the back having only very 
narrow paler margins to the dark sepia centres, and with 
a blackish-brown head-top showing only faint traces of the pale 
edges to the feathers. The underside shows the most prominent 
characteristic, as the abdomen has little or no trace of the 
reddish seen in other races, and the entire underparts are of 
a leaden hue which, if the time of year was consistent with 
such a possibility, gives the impression that the bird is dis- 
coloured by newly-burnt veld—in other words, it has the tinge 
of the London Sparrow. Iris dark sepia. Bill dark sepia, 
with yellow ochre basal two-thirds to the lower mandible. 
Feet pallid sunburnt flesh, more brownish on the toes. Young 
birds of the race show profuse striation on sides of throat 
and on the upper breast, a distinctly yellowish abdomen, 
and the rounded feathers of the upper parts have conspicuous 
yellowish margins, giving a generally spotted appearance. 

Distribution.—Apparently confined to the mountains of 
Southern Nyasaland—Mlanje and the nearby Zomba and 
Mlosa. 

Type.—No. 76, an adult 9 collected by myself:on Mlanje Mt., 
Nyasaland, at 6500 ft., on December 27, 1931, with sexual 
organs in winter condition. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.16. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 170 ; wing 80 ; 
tail 53; culmen from base of skull 17; tarsus 27 mm. 


133 [Vol. liii. 

Phyllastrephus orostruthus, sp. nov. 

This bird is quite unlike anything occurring in the National 
Collection and anything hitherto described; but it is evidently 
one of the Phyllastrephus group, and possesses the characteristic- 
ally reddish tail of that genus. 

Description.—Upper parts dark brownish-olive, with the 
head-top darker and conspicuously washed with sepia. Upper 
tail-coverts dark cinnamon-brown. Tail-feathers dusky 
liver-chestnut, merging to dark cinnamon-brown at the 
outer edges of the feathers. Har-coverts brownish-olive, only 
slightly paler than the head-top. Lores dusky greyish-brown. 
A faintly paler superciliary streak extends from above the 
eye to the side of the neck. Chin and throat whitish, with 
faint yellowish centres to some of the feathers and speckled 
with faint greyish-brown at the sides of the chin. Breast 
and abdomen very pale straw-yellow, with the upper breast 
profusely discoloured with dark olive-green dapplings. Sides 
of breast and flanks dark olive-green, faintly streaked with 
yellowish-white. Wing-feathers dusky brown, with entire 
outer webs dark cinnamon-brown, only slightly paler than the 
edges to the tail-feathers. Lower wing-coverts dusky greyish- 
brown. Iris sepia. Bill black. Feet ash-grey. 

Type.—No. 2052, an adult ¢ shot by myself on Namuli Mt., 
Portuguese East Africa, 15-21° S., 37:04° E., at 4800 ft. 
altitude, on August 8, 1932. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.5. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 186; wing 
82:5; tail 69:5; culmen from base of skull 21; bill from 
gape 23, from nostril 12 ; tarsus 27-5 mm. | 

Phyllastrephus flavostriatus litoralis, subsp. nov. 

Birds which I obtained in the coastal belt of Portuguese 
East Africa near Mozambique were at a very much lower 
altitude than has been hitherto recorded for the species. 
They are clearly separable from either the typical race or 
P. f. tenuirostris. 

Description.—Similar to P. f. flavostriatus and P. f. tenui- 
rostris, but the upper parts are neither so dark nor so brown as 
other birds taken at fairly low altitudes in Zululand, and are 
much paler and more brownish than the series of birds from 


( 

Vol. liii.] 134 

Nyasaland and the Namuli Mountains of Portuguese East 
Africa. Head-top a paler grey than either. The most con- 
spicuous difference is seen in the underparts, which are lighter 
in general and, when examined in detail, especially in the white 
abdomen. The white is extended on to the flanks, where the 
suffusion of olivaceous grey so clearly marked in the other two 
races is almost absent. The longitudinal streaks, also, are of 
a brighter lemon-yellow, and there is no grey on the upper 
breast. These differences are defined equally in both sexes. 
Iris burnt umber. Bill black. Feet bluish-slate-grey. 

Distribution—Apparently confined to the coastal lowland 
forest of Mozambique Colony, north of the Zambezi. 

Type.—No. 1370, an adult g, in non-breeding condition, 
shot near Netia, Mozambique Province, Portuguese East 
Africa, 14:44° S., 40-04° E., at 600 ft. altitude, on June 1, 1932. 
Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.2. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 232 ; wing 99 ; 
tail 95 ; culmen from base of skull 25-5; tarsus 23 mm. 

Phyliastrephus alfredi itoculo, subsp. nov. ; 
and P. alfredi renewed as a distinct species. 

Specimens of this brown-headed bird, hitherto considered 
a race of Phyllastrephus flavostriatus, collected in the same 
locality as P. f. litoralis, the new coastal race of flavostriatus 
here described, prove that alfredi must be a distinct species. 
In fact my new material from Portuguese East Africa is of 
interest in showing that these two species, known from many 
mountain forests, have each a coastal race found in northern 
Mozambique, in each case distinguishable by their paler 
coloration. 

Description.—Similar to P. alfredi, but head-top paler brown 
and more olivaceous, uniform with rest of upper parts. Tail 
redder or more cinnamon-brown. Underparts absolutely 
pallid when compared with alfredi ; the throat white, bordered 
by prominent greyish-brown malar streaks ; rest of underparts 
creamy white, on which the pale yellow streaks are scarcely 
visible, only slightly darker and more yellowish on the lower 
tail-coverts. The sides of the breast and flanks are darker and 
lightly washed with brownish-olive. The differences are 


135 [Vol. liii, 

similar in both sexes. Iris naples’ yellow. Bill black, with 
paler streak along the cutting-edges. Feet pale fleshy mineral 
grey. Immature birds may be distinguished by the colour 
of the iris, which is mineral grey. 

Distribution.—Apparently confined to coastal leaden 
forest of Mozambique Colony, north of Zambezi. 

Type.—No. 1376, an adult 3, in non-breeding condition, 
shot near Netia, Mozambique Province, Portuguese Kast Africa, 
14-44° §., 40-04° E., at 600 ft. altitude, on June 2, 1932. 
Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.1. 

Co-type.—No. 1374, adult 2, shot simultaneously with the 
type. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 231 ; wing 96 ; 
tail 93; culmen from base of skull 24; tarsus 22-5 mm. 

Measurements of Co-type.—Total length in flesh 201 ; wing 84 ; 
tail 85 ; culmen from base of skull 21-5; tarsus 22 mm. 

Hyliota australis inornata, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Resembles H. a. australis, but has the under- 
parts paler, more whitish, and with less of the buffish wash, 
and the upper parts show a tendency towards sooty black 
rather than dark umber-brown ; but the chief characteristic, 
constant in the series, is found in the tail-feathers. The 
two outermost pairs of rectrices in the typical australis are 
black, with only a faint trace of white on the outer margins 
of the feathers; but in this new race the outermost pair of 
rectrices are white, and only black at the extreme tips and 
bases to the feathers; the next pair are black, with white 
basal two-thirds to the outer webs, and there is a white 
margin to the outer webs of the next two pairs. Iris dark 
sepia. Bull black, with basal two-thirds of the lower mandible 
pale blue-grey. Feet dark slate. The increased white in 
the tail is evident in both sexes. 

T'ype.—No. 759, an adult ¢ shot by myself near Zobué, 
Tete Province, Portuguese East Africa, 15-47° S., 34:19° E., 
at 2200 ft. altitude, on April 1, 1932. Sexual organs in winter 
condition. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.3. 

Co-type.—No. 760, an adult 9 shot side by side, and apparent 
pair, with the type. 

an 


Vol. liii.] 136 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 130 ; wing 72 ; 
tail 46 ; culmen from base of skull 14; tarsus 18 mm. 

Measurements of Co-type.—Total length in flesh 126; wing 
67-5 ; tail 40 ; culmen from base of skull 14; tarsus 18 mm. 

Remarks.—Three of the series were shot on the Nyasaland 
side of the frontier of Portuguese East Africa, some 12 miles 
from the others and the type, and constitute the first record 
of the species for Nyasaland. In all seven adults were 
obtained. | 

Seicercus ruficapilla quelimanensis, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Resembles S. r. ruficapilla and S. r. johnstoni, 
but has the yellow of the throat appreciably paler than either, 
more restricted than ruficapilla and less restricted than 
johnstoni, extending slightly on to the chest and culminating 
in a very distinctive V-shaped apex. The centre of the 
abdomen is pure white, absolutely lacking any wash of the 
yellowish evident in all other races; the white is restricted 
also to the abdomen, and separated from the yellow throat 
by the broad grey band of the upper breast. The crown 
is intermediate in hue between the dark mustard shade of the 
typical race and the much darker sienna-brown of S.r. johnstoni. 

An even more conspicuous characteristic is the slate-grey 
back and rump, lacking any trace of the darker brownish 
or greenish wash ; in fact the brown of the head-top, in the 
case of the Portuguese East African birds, culminates in an 
abrupt and clearly defined line on the nape, and does not 
merge into the grey of the back as is shown in all the recorded 
races. The wing and tail edging is also of a much brighter 
green. Iris dark sepia. Maxilla dark sepia ; lower mandible 
yellow-ochre. Feet yellowish-blue-grey. Soles raw umber. 

Type.—No. 1912, an adult ¢ shot on Namuli Mt., Quelimane 
Province, Portuguese East Africa, 15-21°S., 37:04° E., at 
5600 ft. altitude, on July 25, 1932. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 
1933.3.1.14. 

Co-type.—No. 1913, an adult 9 shot side by side, and apparent 
pair, with the type. Sexual organs of both birds near winter 
condition. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 119 ; wing 58 ; 
tail 44 ; culmen 9; tarsus 20 mm. 


137 [ Vol. liii. 

Measurements of Co-type——Total length in flesh 111 ; 
wing 52; tail 40; culmen 9; tarsus 20 mm. 

Remarks.—This is yet another new race from the principal 
massif of northern Portuguese East Africa. The differences 
given in the above description are very marked, and are 
constant in the four adults secured, all from Namuli Mountain, 
and the remaining two from altitudes of 4600 and 5800 ft. 

Erythrocercus livingstonei monapo, subsp. nov. 

Having obtained an excellent series of nineteen specimens 
of this bird, which has been hitherto considered rare, and which 
I collected in many widely separated localities in Portuguese 
East Africa and Nyasaland, I have been able to review the 
two species H. livingstone: and H. thomsoni, and have proved 
that the latter is no longer a distinct species, but only a race 
of the Zambezi bird L. lwvingstonei; for, by collecting nine 
birds of thomsoni, represented in the National Collection 
by only two specimens from the Rovuma, I was able to extend 
its range southwards to the Lurio River ; shortly after this, 
and a little further to the south, in the lower valley of the 
Monapo River, I secured birds of an intermediate race showing 
the grey head of the Zambezi lwwingstonei, but with some 
of the yellow throat and the heavily spotted tail of thomsoni. 
Further specimens of the true livingstonei were later secured 
in the Zambezi Valley. 

Description.—Generally resembles ££. livingstonei and 
E. thomsoni, but cannot be confused with the latter by reason 
of its greyish head-top, defined from the greenish back, and 
by its whitish throat, not so clearly white as in livingstonei, 
but rather with the chin white and the throat washed with 
yellowish. It is immediately separable in turn from living- 
stonei not only from the throat, but more clearly from the 
_tail-spots, which are as large, dark, and conspicuous as in 
thomsoni. The bare parts are similar—irides dark sepia. 
Bill white, with pale permanent brown culmen. Tarsi roman 
sepia. Toes raw umber. 

Distribution of the three races is as follows :— 

E. livingstonet livingstonet.—The lower valleys of the 
Zambezi and Shiré Rivers. 

E. livingstonet monapo.—The lower valley of the Monapo 
River near Mozambique. 


Vol. liii.] 138 

E. livingstoner thomsoni.—The Rovuma River valley in 
Tanganyika Territory, extending down through the coastal 
lowland of Mozambique Colony as far as the Lurio River. 

Type.—No. 1231, an adult g near non-breeding condition, © 
shot near Iamorrimo, Mozambique Province, Portuguese 
East Africa, 14:55° S., 40-:25° E., at 400 ft. altitude, on 
May 25, 1932. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.15. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 116 ; wing 49 ; 
tail 46 ; culmen from base of skull 11-5; tarsus 17 mm. 

Alethe choloensis namuli, subsp. nov. 

_ Two specimens secured of a new race of a species only known 
from Cholo Mountain, in Southern Nyasaland, both adult males 
in non-breeding condition, and shot in close company. 
Stomach-contents—driver-ants and small beetles. Specimens 
of the typical race were obtained also, and the new race is 
named as above in order to perpetuate my exploration of the 
Namuli Mountains, where many rare birds were obtained. 

Description.—Resembles A. c. choloensis very closely, but 
has a conspicuous difference in the increased paleness of the 
underparts. The clear white throat is similarly defined 
from the dirty white upper breast, but the entire abdomen 
is clear white, and the dirty or greyish coloration is confined 
to the flanks. Another character, which I take as being 
a good one, is found in the lesser amount of white on the 
outer web of the outermost rectrices. Irides sepia. Bill 
black. Feet ashen pallid flesh. 

Distribution.—Apparently confined to the Namuli massif. 

Type.—No. 1906, an adult g from Namuli Mountain, 
Quelimane Province, Portuguese East Africa, 15-21°S., 
37:04° E., shot by myself, at 5600 ft. altitude, on July 25, 1932. 
Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.3. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 193 ; wing 100 ; 
tail 69 ; culmen from base of skull 20; tarsus 31 mm. 

Alethe anomala gurue, subsp. nov. 

Like the Alethe choloensis described, another example of 
differing races of a species occurring on “ island ” mountains— 
a counterpart of the conditions existing in northern Tanganyika 
Territory. 


139 [Vol. liii. 

It is obvious that such localized forms should possess names 
of geographical significance, and Gurué is the name of the 
Portuguese Administrative Post at the base of Namuli Mt. 

Five specimens were secured, 3 gg, 1 9, and 1 immature 9, 
all in non-breeding condition. 

Description.—Resembles A. a. anomala, especially as to the 
upper parts, but darker on the head-top and on the upper side 
as a whole. The back of the typical race is as described in 
‘The Ibis,’ 1893—uniform brown, with a distinctly rufous 
shade. This is lacking in the Portuguese birds, which possess 
a distinct dark greenish shade. The darker coloration is 
reflected in the less rufescent tail and the more blackish 
primary wing-feathers. Irides dark sepia. Bill black. Feet 
greyish permanent brown. 

Distribution.—Apparently confined to the Namuli Mts. 

Type.—No. 1940, an adult 3, shot by myself on Namuli Mt., 
15-21°S., 37:04° E., Quelimane Province, Portuguese East 
Africa, at 5600 ft. altitude, on July 28, 1932. Organs in 
non-breeding condition. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.4. 

_ iy Co-type —No. 1939. Paired with type and an adult 9. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 167; wing 
77-5; tail 59; culmen from base of skull 18; tarsus 30 mm. 

Measurements of Co-type.—Total length in flesh 163 ; wing 
75:5 ; tail 57 ; culmen from base of skull 18 ; tarsus 29 mm. 

A Review of the East African Races of 
HELIOLAIS ERYTHROPTERA. 

A good series of the species which I collected at various 
localities throughout northern Portuguese East Africa showed 
that none of my birds was attributable to the race H. e. kirbyi, 
and I was led to make further investigations, with the following 
results :— 

The type of rhodoptera, described by Shelley in ‘ The Ibis,’ 
1880, p. 3338, is in the British Museum, and on comparing 
it with Haagner’s description of kirbyi, from the Quelimane 
Province of Portuguese East Africa, I am forced to conclude 
that rhodoptera was not considered when kirbyi was described. 
Further comparisons of both with my specimens, also from 
the Quelimane Province of Portuguese East Africa, show that 
kirbyt must be a synonym. 

~ 

ail 


Vol. liii.] 140 

As for van Someren’s kavirondensis, described in Nov. Zool. 
xxix. p. 218, I can only add that, in the absence of any birds 
from his type-locality, the description he gives is applicable 
in every respect to any East African bird, whether from 
Tanganyika or Southern Rhodesia, which are all “ quite 
different from typical H. erythroptera’”’ of the Gold Coast, 
and also have the “ bill brown, not black.’ Bill coloration 
is not a determining factor, as there seems to be considerable 
seasonal change in its intensity. 

Therefore I consider that the following races should be 
recognized :— 

H. erythroptera erythroptera.—Gold Coast to N. Nigeria and 
Togoland. 

H. erythroptera jodoptera.—Cameroon highlands east along 
Uele to Bahr el Ghazal. 

H. erythroptera major.—S.W. Abyssinia. 

H. erythroptera rhodoptera.—EKastern tropical Africa from 
south-east of Lake Victoria, through Tanganyika, to Nyasaland, 
the Zambezi Valley, Mashonaland, and the Gaza district of 
southern Mozambique. 

Alongside the last-named, the new species next described 
is found in the littoral of northern Mozambique. 

Heliolais castanopsis, sp. nov. 

Nine specimens were obtained, all consistently unlike the 
grey-headed H. erythroptera rhodoptera, which is found to the 
south, to the west, and to the north of them, and the dis- 
similarity is so great that I propose to create a new species, 
as above. 

Description.—Differs from H. erythroptera rhodoptera in the 
entire absence of any greyish coloration in the uniformity 
of the upper parts, which are of a strange reddish-brown hue, 
between auburn and chestnut, which merges to true chestnut- 
brown on the upper tail-coverts. In general coloration it 
resembles the Abyssinian H. erythroptera major, but is unlike 
that bird in having a deep suffusion of cinnamon on the abdo- 
men and flanks and pale grey lores. Also differs in other 
respects, such as having a bill of 18 mm. against 21 mm. — Iris 
dark mars yellow. Bill ashen whitish, with pale roman sepia 


141 [Vol. liii. 

culmen and terminal half to lower mandible. Feet yellowish 
or roman ochre. 

Type.—No. 1734, an adult g shot by myself at the mouth 
of the Lurio River, Portuguese East Africa, 13-30° S., 40-30° E., 
at sea-level, on June 29, 1932. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.9. 
Sexual organs down to winter condition, but adults still 
accompanied by immature birds. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 149 ; wing 54 ; 
tail 67 ; culmen from base of skull 18; tarsus 2] mm. 

Apalis melanocephala tenebricosa, subsp. nov. 

Thirteen specimens, all in breeding condition, of this very 
distinct race were obtained from the “island” mountain 
of Namuli, in northern Portuguese East Africa. 

Description.—Resembles A. m. melanocephala of Tanganyika, 
but differs in the very much more saturated coloration of the 
upper parts, which, instead of ash-grey, are jet-black and 
uniform throughout. The females are similar to melanocephala, 
thus there is a conspicuous difference between the sexes in 
this race. The entire underparts are also more dusky, and 
have a sooty wash. Iris dark mars orange. Bill black. 
Feet brown ochre. | 

Type.—No. 2051, an adult 3 shot by myself on Namuli Mt., 
Quelimane Province, Portuguese East Africa, 15-21°S., 
37:04° E., at 4800 ft., on August 8, 1932. Testes in full 
breeding condition. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.10. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 157; wing 
52; tail 77; culmen from base of skull 13; tarsus 18 mm. 

Remarks.—These birds were confined to mountain forest, 
and I could not trace them below 4600 ft. altitude, whereas 
the typical race has been obtained down as far as 1150 ft. 

Apalis melanocephala fuliginosa, subsp. nov. 

Yet another “island”? mountain race of this attractive 
little forest Warbler. 

Description.—Generally resembles A. m. melanocephala 
and the other new race tenebricosa. . It is dusky on the under- 
parts in a similar manner to the latter, but differs from both 
on the upper parts. The head-top and hind neck are as black 


Vol. liii.] | 142 

as the entire back of A. m. tenebricosa, and sharply defined 
from the grey back. Iris dark mars orange. Bill black. 
Feet pale burnt umber. 

Type.—No. 2135, an adult ¢ shot by myself, together 
with another male with which it was fighting, on Cholo Mt., 
Nyasaland, 16-02°S., 35-03° E., at 4200 ft. altitude, on 
September 2, 1932. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.11. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 150 ; wing 51 ; 
tail 69 ; culmen from base of skull 14; tarsus 18 mm. 

Remarks.—All the specimens were obtained in September, 
and had sexual organs not yet in breeding condition, although 
the birds appeared to be pairing at the time. 

Apalis lynesi, sp. nov. 

I am unable to find any birds which may be said to approach 
this obviously new Apalis, but there are two species with which 
it might be briefly compared, namely, A. binotata and 
A. jackson. It is only like binotata of Ruwenzori in having 
the black of the throat continued on to the chest, for the 
abdomen is deep yellow instead of white, and the head-top 
is blue-grey instead of umber-brown. It is like jacksoni 
of Elgon as to the colour of the upper side only, for the black 
of the throat is extended further on to the chest than in that 
species, and the moustache stripes and the white in tail 
and wings are absent. I propose to call this bird Apalis 
lynesi, as a compliment to Rear-Admiral Lynes, C.B., but for 
whose kind introduction to the British Museum authorities 
the Portuguese East African de a would not have been 
carried out by myself. 

Description.—Forehead, crown, ear-coverts, hind-head, nape, 
and mantle bluish-slate-grey. Remainder of upper parts 
olive-green. ‘Tail-feathers slate-grey with blackish centres, 
the outermost pair with entire terminal half white, and the 
next pair showing some white on terminal one-third of inner 
web. Lores, chin, throat, and chest black, not ending in 
a distinct line, but speckled with olive-green and yellow at the 
base, fusing irregularly with the primrose-yellow of the breast 
and abdomen. Sides of breast, flanks, and lower tail-coverts 
yellowish-olive-green. Under wing-coverts lead-grey, tipped 


143 (Vol. liii. 

darker, and with a faint wash of yellow. Primaries and 
wing-coverts blackish, with narrow margins of olive-green 
to the outer webs of the feathers. Iris pale permanent 
yellow. Bill black. Feet brown ochre. Many specimens 
show traces of the slate-grey head-colouring in the black 
of the throat, and some have the black chin and throat almost 
surrounded by a ring of slate-grey ; this is undoubtedly a sign 
of immaturity. 

Type.—No. 2025, an adult 3 shot in the forest on Namuli Mt., 
Quelimane Province, Portuguese Hast Africa, 15-21° S., 
37:04° K., at 5000 ft. altitude, on August 5, 1932. Testes 
starting up to breed. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.12. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 138 ; wing 54 ; 
tail 53; culmen 12:5; tarsus 19-5 mm. 

Co-type—No. 2024, adult 2 shot simultaneously, and 
apparent pair, with type. 

Measurements of Co-type.—Total length in flesh 124; wing 
51; tail 45; culmen 12-5; tarsus 19-5 mm. 

I was able to secure a series of eleven specimens between 
altitudes of 4500 ft. and 6200 ft., mostly with sexual organs 
in non-breeding condition. Stomach contents: ants and 
small Coleoptera. 

Average measurements of $¢.—Total length in flesh 132 ; 
wing 53+1; tail 51+2; culmen 13; tarsus 19-5 mm. 

Average measurements of °9.—Total length in flesh 129 ; 
wing 51-1; tail 47+2; culmen 13; tarsus 19-5 mm. 

Ptyonoprogne rufigula fusciventris, subsp. nov. 

Birds from northern Portuguese East Africa and Nyasaland 
are clearly separable from the typical P. rufigula, although 
just as much smaller than the southern species, P. fuligula. 

Description.—Resembles P. r. rufigula, but a shade darker 
than any of that race on the upper side. The most conspicuous 
dissimilarity, however, is seen on the underparts, which lack 
all the warm colouring, in that the tawny buff of the chin and 
throat ceases on the lower throat, leaving the entire breast 
and abdomen sooty brown. Rear-Admiral Lynes has very 
kindly compared his own series from Tanganyika Territory 
with my birds, and finds that they are similarly See att to 
this new race. 


Vol. liii.] 144 

Type.—No. 2015, an adult g, in full breeding condition, 
shot by myself on Namuli Mt., Quelimane Province, Colony of 
Mozambique, 15-:21° S., 37:04° E., at 6200 ft. altitude, 
on August 4, 1932. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.21. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 134; wing 
112; tail 45; culmen from base of skull 11 ; tarsus 10 mm. 

CINNYRIS NEERGARDI 
(an abolished species renewed). 

The bird in the National Collection collected by Capt. C. H. B. 
Grant at Coguno, in southern Portuguese East Africa, and des- 
cribed by him (Bull. B. O. C. xxi. 1908, p. 93), is stated in 
W. L. Sclater’s “Systema Avium Atthiopicarum’ as being 
C. shelleyi neergardi; but it cannot be a race of shelleyi, 
as it has conspicuous yellow pectoral tufts. The typical 
shelleyi has been known hitherto only from the type; but 
I have brought back a long series of the species from the 
colony of Mozambique, and it proves that the pectoral tufts 
never occur. Then again, the specimens of neergardi have 
a very small bill when compared with shelleyi, and seem to 
be nearest to C. reichenowr ; but they differ in turn from that 
species in having the distinctive blackish-brown abdomen. 

We cannot have a race of reichenowi so far to the south of 
any known representative of that species, for it would leave 
out the whole of East Africa, and I found no evidence of 
a bird approaching retchenowt in northern Mozambique. 
I would venture to suggest, therefore, that neergardi should 
remain a distinct species, as originally described. 

CINNYRIS CHALYBEUS. 
Review of species as affecting Portuguese East Africa, with 
description of three new subspecies. 

The long series of C. chalybeus collected in northern Mozam- 
bique, and from three distinctly separable localities, raises 
some points of interest, the full discussion of which must 
necessarily entail a considerable amount of detail. Turning 
first of all to one Tanganyika race, it is found that C. manoensis 
was described according to size, and Reichenow (Ornith. 
Monatsber. xv. 1907, p. 200) says :—* Like chalybeus, but wing 
and bill larger, W. 60, B. 22.”" On mere measurement it would 


145 [Vol. lit. 

seem to be a race of doubtful identity, as Rhodesian birds of 
C. c. subalaris were in accordance with the dimensions given. 
But it does not appear to concern the Portuguese East African 
birds, and will have to stand until further material is forth- 
coming from the type-locality. | 

Dealing next with the other Tanganyika race, C. gertrudis, 
and the more western, C. ludovicensis, it is obvious that both 
may be left as they stand, and do not affect my Portuguese 
East African birds, of which sixteen males average, wing 
60-64 ; bill 21-22 mm., for gertrudis has a much smaller wing 
and bill—wing 53; bill 17 mm.—and ludovicensis has a wing 
similar to subalaris, but again a smaller bill—wing 60-62; 
bill 17-18 mm. 

Now, turning to the race C.. c. subalaris, it is found that the 
southern Rhodesian and southern Mozambique birds, with 
wing 61-64 and bill 21 mm., coincide with my birds north of 
the Zambezi; but they, in turn, are consistently different from 
the South African birds nearer to the type-locality in Pondo- 
land, which have a much smaller wing of 55-56 mm. It is 
obvious, therefore, that subalaris, as it stands at present, 
must be subdivided. 

Finding that a definition of the races by measurement 
leads to no conclusive result, the question of colour is considered. 
A long series of subalaris in the British Museum Collection 
was compared with the birds of northern Mozambique, and it 
was found that they are immediately separable, as regards 
the coloration of the abdomen, into four distinct groups. 
The differences are very clearly apparent and ‘constant 
throughout each series, only those birds at the extremes of the 
distributions of the four “ water-tight compartments ”’ showing 
some evidence of intergradation. 

To summarize my investigations I shall enumerate the races 
in turn, briefly stating the respective characteristics and 
distribution. 

1. CINNYRIS CHALYBEUS SUBALARIS. 

Has a large culmen and a small wing. Average measure- 
ments: wing 55-56; bill 21 mm. Pondoland, Natal, and 
Zululand, merging into 2. in Transvaal. 


Vol. liii.] 146 

2. Cinnyris chalybeus bractiatus, subsp. nov. 

Has a large culmen and a. large wing. Average measure- 
ments ; wing 61-64; bill 21mm. This has become distinctly 
paler on the abdomen than subalaris. 

Description.—Differs from subalaris in the very much paler 
and greyish abdomen. 

Distribution.—Mashonaland and the Gaza district of southern 
Portuguese East Africa. 

Type.—An adult $ collected by Sowerby at Fort Chiquaqua, 
Mashonaland, on August 30, 1877. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 
1898.5.2.32. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in skin 133; wing 
64-5; tail 43-5; bill, exposed culmen, 21; tarsus 17 mm. 

3. Cinnyris chalybeus zonarius, subsp. nov. 

Similar to bractiatus in measurements. Average of my 
six adult males : wing 61-64 ; bill 21-21:5 mm., but absolutely 
different in the coloration of the underparts, having the 
abdomen much paler greyish-white, conspicuously washed 
with yellowish-olive. 

Distribution.—Portuguese Angonia and the Kirk Mts., 
west of Southern Nyasaland. . 

Type.—An adult ¢ in partial breeding condition shot by 
myself near Zobué, Portuguese Hast African—Nyasaland 
frontier, 15-36° S., 34:27° E., at 2900 ft. altitude, on April 10, 
1932. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.7. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 133 ; wing 62 ; 
tail 43 ; bill 21; tarsus 17-5 mm. 

4. Cinnyris chalybeus namwera, subsp. nov. 

Similar to bractiatus and zonarius in measurement. Average 
of my ten adult males: wing 60-64; bill 21-22 mm., but 
distinct again in colour, being still paler grey on the abdomen, 
almost white, with no trace of the yellowish wash. 

Distribution —The highlands east of Lake Nyasa and 
Southern Nyasaland. } 

Type-—An adult g in non-breeding condition, shot ne 
myself on Mangoche Mt., Nyasaland, 14-22°S., 35-32° E., 
at 3700 ft. altitude, on May 6, 1932. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 
1933.3.1.8. 


147 (Vol. lili. 

Measurements of T'ype.—Total length in flesh 132 ; wing 65 ; 
tail 45; bill 21; tarsus 17-5 mm. 

Ploceus aureoflavus pallidiceps, subsp. nov. 

This bird is quite unlike P. subawreus, which is found some 
considerable distance to the south, in its brighter coloration, 
generally smaller size, and somewhat differently shaped bill. 
It is evident that it is a southern representative of P. a. aureo- 
flavus of Zanzibar, although I do not altogether dismiss the 
possibility of its being proved later that the bird may show 
some intergradation between the two species P. subaureus 
and P. aureoflavus. [See also Smith, Ill. Zool. S. Afr., Aves, 
text to plate 30, 1839.] 

Description.—Generally resembles P. aureoflavus, but adult 
males differ in the complete absence of any of the saffron 
coloration so characteristic of the forehead and throat in the 
typical race. The chin and throat of this new bird are uniform 
with the pale canary-yellow underparts, and there is more 
evidence of greenish on the back ; also it is considerably larger. 
Iris orange-vermilion. Bill black. Feet roman ochre. 

Type.—No. 307, an adult ¢ in full breeding condition 
from a nesting colony of about twenty pairs at Mocuba, 
Quelimane Province, Portuguese East Africa, 16-52°S., 
36:56° E., at 700 ft. altitude, on February 1, 1932. Brit. 
Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.17. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 148 ; wing 75 ; 
tail 43 ; culmen 18; tarsus 21 mm. 

Remarks.—Although this bird was common in the type- 
locality, I did not realize its significance, and only two speci- _ 
mens were secured. Further north, however, as far as the 
Lurio River mouth, three more males and one female were 
secured. I have classified all these birds as similar, and 
make the male in breeding plumage the type. I do not 
think that the Lurio birds, although so much further to the 
north, are separable on such scanty material, more especially 
as they were taken in mid-winter, and the fact that they 
are more greenish on the back than the type is no doubt 
due to a seasonal change, in that the birds are in fresh plumage. 
Also the upper parts of the type show some signs of wear. 


Vol. liii.] 148 

It is interesting to note that the bill in winter is no longer 
black, but is whitish-brown, with a darker culmen. 

Amadina fasciata albitorquata, subsp. nov. 

The specimen secured constitutes the first record of the 
species for Nyasaland, and is not attributable to any other 
southern African race. 

Description.—Differs from A. f. fasciata or A. f. alexanderi 
in three marked respects—(1) in having a distinct white 
band below the scarlet of the throat extended round behind 
the ear-coverts, although not on to the hind-neck; (2) in 
the markedly smaller bill; and (3) in the almost entire 
absence, or only the barest indication, of a brown abdominal 
patch. The only bird in the National Collection possessing 
this deficiency is the southernmost recorded bird of alexanderi 
from Dar-es-Salaam ; but this bird, although differing from 
others of the race in that respect, is akin to the others, and 
differs materially from my bird in the differently shaped bill. 

Differs from A. meridionalis in the paler back, which is 
almost lacking in black cross-bands, in the under tail-coverts, 
which are also paler and buffish-cream, and in the unmarked 
creamy white abdomen. lIrides dark raw umber. Bill pale 
bluish-grey, with darker slate-grey culmen. Feet whitish- 
brown. 

Type—No. 970, an adult g shot at Fort Johnston, 
Nyasaland, at the south end of Lake Nyasa, at 1700 ft. 
altitude, on May 1, 1932, with testes well started up to breed. 
~ Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.18. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 125 ; wing 62 ; 
tail 33; bill from base of culmen 11; tarsus 13-5 mm. 

Cryptospiza reichenowi sanguinolenta, subsp. nov. 

Five specimens of this species were collected in Southern 
Nyasaland and the nearby mountains of Portuguese Hast 
Africa, and they have been compared with twelve C. r. ocularis 
from Ruwenzori, four C. r. reichenowi from West Africa, and 
nine birds from Tanganyika. Although the first two groups 
stand, the remaining fourteen birds are entirely different. 

The Tanganyika birds appear inseparable from mine, 


149 [Vol. liii. 

although there is a slight general difference which may be 
proved of more importance by further material ; nevertheless, 
the dissimilarity between them and the two known races 
is only too obvious. 

Description (compared with C. r. reichenowi and C. r. ocu- 
laris)—Shows a greenish-grey underside, paler and greyish- 
olive on chin, little contrast in the throat and abdomen, and 
only slightly darker on the lower tail-coverts ; whereas ocularis 
has the underside of a general buffy olive, with the chin and 
throat paler than, but more like, reichenowi, which has the 
entire underparts brownish-olive, especially dark on the 
abdomen and more buffish on chin and throat. In short, 
reichenowt is a dark brownish-breasted bird, ocularis buffish, 
and sanguinolenta greyish-green. 

Distributions.— 

C. r. recchenowit.—Mountains of Fernando Po and Cameroon. 

C. r. ocularis.—Ruwenzori Mts. 

C. r. sanguinolenta.—Mountains of Tanganyika Territory 
and Portuguese Hast Africa north of the Zambezi, also 
Mlanje Mts. of Nyasaland. 

The two specimens from Mlanje Mt. constitute the first 
record of the species for Nyasaland. 

Type.—No. 129, an adult ¢ shot by myself on Mlanje Mt., 
Southern Nyasaland, at 6300 ft. altitude, on January 3, 1932, 
in partial breeding condition. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.6. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 120 ; wing 53 ; 
tail 40; culmen 11; tarsus 18 mm. 

Co-type.—No. 128, an adult 9, paired with the type. 

Measurements of Co-type.—Total length in flesh 121; 
wing 53; tail 37; culmen 11; tarsus 18. 

Mr. Jack VINCENT also forwarded the following remarks on 

LYBIUS ZOMBZ ; 
an interesting example of a recent change in the coloration of 
an East African species. 

During the course of the recent Portuguese East African 
Expedition I collected a series of nineteen examples of Lybius 
zombe, and comparison with existing specimens in the National 
Collection revealed some interesting theoretical possibilities. 


Vol. liii.] 150 

The original specimens, with which this comparison has been 
made, consist of eighteen adult birds collected by Sharpe, 
Whyte, and Kirk in Nyasaland at varying dates from about 
1870 to 1902. Nine of these skins from the type-locality, 
Zomba in Nyasaland, have the feathers of the chin, throat, 
and forehead of a pale pinkish colour, and they are of normal 
structure ; seven skins have similar feathering, but are whitish, 
only tinged with pink ; whilst the remaining two have entirely 
white feathers, which appear shorter and more spiny. All 
my birds are similar to these last two, but closer inspection 
of the apparently smaller feathers gives one the impression 
of wear. The possibility of their being worn, however, 
is inconsistent with the generally fresh plumage of many 
specimens, and, although the birds were collected at varying 
dates throughout the year, this “worn” character of the 
throat-feathers remains consistent. Dr. P. R. Lowe has been 
kind enough to examine both types of feathers under the 
microscope and, although the subject has not been yet fully 
investigated, it does not appear as though there is any 
structural change, although the entire series shows that the 
barbules are “worn” or lacking from the terminal portion 
of the barbs of the feathers. It is fairly obvious that some 
very interesting change is taking place, and one which is 
reflected in the coloration. 

The species is surrounded in its range by the red-throated 
Lybius torquatus, and when the last specimens were collected, 
thirty to forty years ago, we see that the larger proportion 
of Southern Nyasaland birds seemed to show some of the 
character of torqguatus in their pinkish throat-coloration. But 
this seems to be entirely absent now, as my birds, many 
from the type-locality, are colourless as to the white feathering 
of the head and neck. It is interesting to note that F. Strese- 
mann and H. Grote, on p. 374 of the Report on the International 
Ornithological Congress at Copenhagen, 1926, mention this 
species, and suggest that the darker headed birds would 
predominate, and it seems as though this is precisely what 
has occurred within the short space of three or four decades. 

I found the species to be extremely common at a spot 
within 20 miles of Zomba, and saw many scores of the birds 

29 


151 [Vol. liii. 

during the course of my stay ; I was invariably able to watch 
them at close quarters, and can confidently assert that I saw 
no single individual showing any trace of the pinkish coloration. 
Two races of the species have been recognized—typical zombe, 
characterized by the throat-feathers being pinkish, and 
albigularis, distinguished by their being entirely white. But 
it seems evident that two races cannot stand any longer, 
as the pink form has been obviously dominated throughout 
the entire distribution of the species. Therefore I have 
classified all my specimens merely as Lybius zombe, and the 
present relationship between this species and the red-headed 
Lybius torquatus remains to be determined by someone cleverer 
than myself, whose interest may be aroused by my pre- 
liminary observations. 

Col. R. MEINERTZHAGEN sent the following descriptions of 
two new forms of Ammomanes deserti from the Ahaggar 
Plateau, Central Sahara :— 

Ammomanes deserti bensoni, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Males, in nearly every case, darker than 
the females, thereby differing from all known forms of this 
species. The male is much darker than any other African 
form, approaching the dark A. d. anne from the Arabian 
Desert. The female is paler than the male and pinker, 
approaching A. d. janeti from lower elevations in the Ahaggar 
Plateau. 

Measurements.—Bill as large as in A. d. mya. Wings 
varying from 97 mm. in females to 107 mm.inmales. Eighteen 
examined. . 

Distribution.—Higher elevations in the Ahaggar Plateau, 
and seldom found off the black, desert-varnished, pebbly 
_ desert between 6500 and 7900 feet. 

Type.—In the Tring Collection at Tring. 4, Tamsnigat, 
6800 feet, Ahaggar Plateau, Sahara, 25. ii. 31. 

Ammomanes deserti janeti, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Both sexes alike, and resembling the female of 
A. d. bensoni. Bill as large as in A. d. mya, but the plumage 


Vol. liii.] 152 

is not so pink, either above or below. Generally a darker 
bird than mya above, and stands intermediate between it and 
A. d. bensoni. 

Measurements.—Wings varying from 96 mm. in females 
to 106 mm. in males. Seventeen examined. 

Distribution.—At lower elevations (2500 to 5200 feet) 
in the Ahaggar Plateau; collected at Tamanrasset, Arak, 
and In Eker. 

Type.—tIn the Tring Collection at Tring. 9, Oued Taman- 
rasset, 5200 feet, Ahaggar Plateau, Sahara, 23. ii. 31. 

Remarks.—Neither of these forms has anything to do with 
A. d. geyri or A. d. payni, both of which are much pinker. 
Ahaggar Plateau birds show scarcely a trace of pink tinge. 

Mr. Davip BANNERMAN sent the following communication 
in regard to the Hairy-breasted Toothbills ame in 
West Africa :— 

The group of Barbets which are listed in the ‘Systema 
Avium Atthiopicarum ’ (1924, p. 274, and Appendix, p. 859) 
under the specific name T'richolema hirsutum have engaged 
the attention of various ornithologists from time to time. 
I reviewed the group myself in Rev. Zool. Africaine, xii. 4, 1924, 
pp. 482-486, wherein I corrected a former review which I had 
contributed to the latter journal when writing on the birds of 
Southern Nigeria. In both reviews I treated all the forms 
chapini, ansorgit, hybridum, flavipunctata, and angolense as 
subspecies of T'richolema hirsutum hirsutum. This arrange- 
ment was adhered to by Mr. W. L. Sclater in the ‘Systema 
Avium Atthiopicarum.’ When writing on these birds again, 
for the third volume of my ‘ Birds of Tropical West Africa,’ 
I had occasion to consult the latest review, including a Key 
to the races of Tricholema hirsutum, given by Mr. G. L. Bates 
in ‘ The Ibis,’ 1931, pp. 268-269. As I find myself in dis- 
agreement with Mr. Bates, I wish to take this opportunity 
of stating on what grounds I am opposed to his conclusions. 

In the first place Mr. Bates states in his Key that in 
T. h. hirsutum the throat is black in the male, mottled or 
streaked in the female. In my opinion the outstanding 


153 [Vol. liii, 

difference between the male and female of 7’. hirsutum is that 
the spots on the upper surface and the margins of the secon- 
daries and primary coverts are golden-yellow instead of pale 
greenish lemon-yellow. This is a perfectly constant character 
which can be seen throughout all the forms hitherto included 
as races of 7’. hirsutum. The birds which Mr. Bates believed 
to be females are, in my opinion, examples of the race which 
I named chapini, with streaked whitish throats. There was 
every excuse for believing these birds to belong to the same 
species as the black-throated examples of hirsutum, as they 
were shot in the same area; in fact I had myself made the 
error in 1924 of considering them immature birds. Mr. Bates 
overlooked one very important point, however, the obvious 
difference in the colour of the spots of the males and the 
females, as pointed out above. As these birds occur side by 
side, we must now treat T'richolema hirsutum, the only black- 
throated bird, as a species without any subspecies, and unite 
all the streaky-throated races—flavipunctata, chapini, ansorgii, 
and angolense—as subspecies of the first-named form, i. e., 
Tricholema flavipunctata of Verreaux (1855). Neumann’s 
hybridum is so obviously a hybrid occurring in the Niger 
Delta, where the ranges of flavipunctata and chapini meet, 
that I consider it cannot be given the status of a subspecies, 
and therefore discard the name. 

One other point I would mention. Under his notes (loc. cit. 
p. 268) on 7’. flavipunctata Mr. Bates states that there is no 
difference between the sexes which can be seen easily. The 
fact that in the male the spots are pale lemon-yellow and in the 
female are golden, and obviously always larger, is a very 
important sexual distinction which, as I have already stated, 
is carried right through the group, and is even apparent in the 
curious race angolense. 

During my examination of these birds I have had the 
great advantage of Capt. C. H. B. Grant’s assistance, and we 
have come to the opinions expressed above jointly. With 
these amendments I hold to the review of these forms given 
by myself in 1924, both concerning the distinctions in sex and 
the range of the species and races. 


Vol. liii.] 154 

Mr. GrecorRY M. Maruews sent the following description 
of a new genus of Fork-tailed Storm-Petrel :— 

Tethysia, gen. nov. 

Description.—Tarsus longer. than the middle toe and claw. 
Tail not forked for more than about 12 mm. 

Type.—Procellaria tethys Bonaparte, Compt. Rend. xxxviii. 
1854, p. 662, et auct. 

Remarks.—This new genus, in the proportion of tarsus to 
middle toe and claw, fits in the key with Halocyptena and 
Thalassidroma, and does not belong to Oceanodroma and 
Cymochorea. 

CORRECTION. 
Capt. C. H. B. Grant sent the following correction :— 
In the ‘ Bulletin’ (antea, li. 1931, p. 127, line 30) “ On the 
Kondoa to Iodma main road ”’ should read “‘ On the Kondoa 
to Dodoma main road.” 


155 (Vol. liii. 

NOTICES. 

The next Meeting of the Club will be held on Wednesday, 
April 12, 1933, at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland 
Street, W.1. The Dinner at 7 p.m. 

Members intending to dine are requested to inform the 
Hon. Secretary, Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed, 51 Onslow 
Gardens, London, S.W. 7. 

Members who wish to make any communication at the 
next Meeting of the Club must give notice to the Editor, 
Dr. G. Carmichael Low, 86 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, W. 1, 
as soon as possible. The titles of their contributions will then 
appear on the Agenda published before each Meeting. All 
MSS. for publication in the ‘ Bulletin’ must be given to the 
Editor before or at the Meeting. 

Agenda. 

1. Mr. Jack Vincent will read a paper on an Expedition to 
Portuguese East Africa in 1931-1932, and will exhibit 
slides and a series of rare and new birds collected there. 

2. Dr. G. Carmichael Low will show :— 

(a) A series of skins of Redshanks and Dunlins, in winter 
plumage, from Stromness, Orkney Islands, and will 
make some remarks upon the races occurring there. 

(b) A series of skins of the Dowitcher, received from 
Professor Rowan, of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 


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BULLETIN 

OF THE 

BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB. 

No. CCCLXVIII. 

THE three-hundred-and-sixty-third Meeting of the Club was 
held at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W. 1, 
on Wednesday, April 12, 1933. 

Chairman: Mr. W. L. ScuatTER. 

Members present :—Capt. B. AcwortH; E. C. Sruarr 
Baker ; F. J. F. Barrinaton ; 8S. BoorMAN ; P. F. BUNYARD ; 
Hon. G. L. Cuarteris ; W. E. Guzae : Capt. C. H. B. Grant; 
Col. A. E. Hamerton ; Dr. J. M. Harrison ; Dr. K. Jorpan ; 
Rev. F. C. R. Jourparn ; Dr. G. CarmicnarL Low (Lditor) ; 
T. H. McKirrricr, jun.; C. W. Mackwortu-PRaEp (Hon. 
Sec. & Treas.); . Lt.-Col. H.. A. F. MaaratH; Dr. P. H. 
Manson-Baur; G. M. Matuews; Dr. W. N. May ; Mrs. D. 
MicHotits; C. OLpHamM; C. B. RIcKETT; D. SETH-SMITH ; 
Major M. H. Stwonps; Marquess of Tavistock; Dr. A, 
LANDSBOROUGH THOMSON ; Miss E. L. TuRNER. 

Guests :—J. E. Hunter; G. N. May; A. MicHoxts ; 
Dr. Porter Puinires; Mrs. W. L. SCLATER; Dr. D. W. 
SETH-SmituH ; E. G. Smmonps ; G. WEBSTER. 

Mr. Jack VINCENT gave a lecture, illustrated with lantern- 
slides, on his journeys during the course of the recent British 
Museum Expedition to Portuguese East Africa, etc. He 
sent the following account of this for publication :— 

I do not propose to submit a detailed description of my 
wanderings and experiences whilst engaged upon the Portu- 
guese Kast African Expedition as fully as it was given in 
my lecture. The reason for this is that the story of the journey 
as a whole is intended to form part of the introduction to my 

[May 5, 1933, ] a VOL. LIIt, 


Vol. liii.] 158 

paper which will be published in ‘ The Ibis,’ and which will 
be in the nature of a complete list of the birds of northern 
Mozambique, with field-observations attached. It was not 
considered desirable for the, itinerary to be duplicated in the 
‘ Bulletin ’ of the B. O.C., and here, as in the lecture itself, 
time and space do not permit me to describe the birds 
themselves. 

To give a brief summary of the lecture, it was explained 
that the Colony of Mozambique was one of the few corners 
of Southern Africa remaining somewhat of a terra incognita 
to the naturalist, and I was fortunate enough to be asked 
to make the exploration when, in the summer of 1931, it was 
made possible for the British Museum to carry out a pre- 
liminary survey of that country. 

The object of the expedition was to map out the avifaunal 
distribution of the area, with the idea of finding some demarca- 
tion between southern and eastern African bird-forms, 
for which the Zambezi River has long been considered suffi- 
ciently accurate; also to find what distributional affinity 
was in existence between the high forested ‘“‘ island ”’ 
mountains. 

That a very great deal has been added to our knowledge 
of the habits and distribution of the birds of the area will 
be proved in the subsequent ‘Ibis’ paper, and that many 
forms new to science were obtained has been shown by the 
descriptions appearing in this and the previous number of 
the ‘ Bulletin.’ 

In view of the fact that a certain amount of collecting had 
been carried out in former years in the southern portion of 
the Colony, my investigations were devoted to that half of 
the territory to the north of the Zambezi. My endeavours 
were not confined to the mere amassing of birds’ skins, for 
just as much importance was attached to the study of the 
birds’ habits, and copious field-notes were made upon them. 

Journeying from England via Cape Town, the first call was 
made at Lourencgo Marques, for the purpose of paying my 
respects to the Portuguese Governor-General and in order 
to obtain the permits necessary for collecting in the country. 
From Beira a journey by the Trans-Zambezia Railway was 


159 [Vol. liii, 

made to Blantyre in Nyasaland, which had been decided 
upon as a base for operations, both because of its facilities 
for the dispatch of collections from time to time and its 
convenient position for journeys to be made in several direc- 
tions into Portuguese territory. The use of native porters 
on safari, by which method it was originally intended that the 
expedition should be carried out, was soon found to be 
impracticable, and the use of a motor-lorry was obtained. 
This ultimately proved to be the most satisfactory means 
of transportation, enabling a great deal more country to be 
investigated than would otherwise have been possible. The 
personnel of the expedition consisted of myself and_ five 
permanent native servants, all carried on a grossly overloaded 
Ford truck. 

The general idea was to collect north and south of the 
“island ’’ mountain chain running east by north from Mlanje, 
in Southern Nyasaland, with its centre on about latitude 
15°S., which was at first thought, and later proved, to be the 
demarcation sought for. 

After an exploration of the high plateaux at 6300 ft. on the 
10,000 ft. Mlanje Mountain, where some additions were made 
to the observations of Sir Charles Belcher in 1925, the first 
trip into Portuguese territory was in the province of Queli- 
mane, south-eastwards to Mocuba and north to the base of 
the Namuli Mountains, this occupying the months of January 
and February. The heavy rainfall at this period proved 
very formidable ; nevertheless some interesting birds were 
secured, notably the rare Cinnyris shelleyt, Anomalospiza 
imberbis, the new race Ploceus aureoflavus pallidiceps, and the 
new Cisticola described on a later page. 

Many species of big game were very common on this trip, 
as indeed they were throughout the greater portion of 
Mozambique Colony, and I have made some remarks concerning 
the extraordinary prevalence of man-eating lions. Some 
customs of interest found among the natives of the districts 
traversed have also been noted. 

The second portion of the expedition was carried out in the 
Tete Province of Portuguese East Africa, west of Southern 

Nyasaland, in order to discover what distributional affinity 
a2 


Vol. liii.] 160 

was in existence between the birds east and west of the 
Shiré River valley, which marks this section of the Great Rift. 

A journey to Dedza was first made, and some collecting 
was carried out on Dedza Mountain at 7000 ft. Thence 
the Portuguese frontier was crossed, and camps were held 
in the open country of the Angoni highlands, a district unique 
in the central plateau of Portuguese East Africa, which is 
otherwise clothed in a monotony of Brachystegia woodland 
or open forest. In these plains examples of Paludipasser 
near locustella were obtained, belonging to a genus which 
no doubt is incorrectly named, since, in the field, the bird 
proves itself to be a true Ortygospiza. From this open country 
the journey was continued down to the Zambezi River at 
Tete, and at one pcint on this route a good series of Ploceus 
olivaceiceps was secured, a Weaver which has not been recorded 
since the original type was collected towards the end of the 
last century. The roads on this section were unutterably 
bad, and the gradients on many hills were so steep as to often 
necessitate a complete unloading of the lorry. Camps in the 
low country of the Zambezi in the Tete area provided some 
of the hottest weather experienced during the year, and some 
unusually severe tsetse-fly belts were met with before a return 
to Blantyre was made along the route of the main Salisbury— 
Nyasaland road. At Zobué, on the Kirk Mountains, and close 
to the British frontier, a profitable camp produced the new 
species of Honey-Guide (Indicator appelator) and two newraces, 
one of Hyliota australis and the other of FPringillaria capensis, 
a Bunting hitherto known only from the Union of South 
Africa. The latter was described by Dr. P. R. Lowe, who was 
kind enough to name it after me (Bull. B.O.C. li. 1932, 
pp. 144-145). 

Leaving Blantyre for the third time, a certain amount of 
collecting was carried out at Lake Chilwa, at Fort Johnston, 
and on Mangoche Mountain before commencing an extended 
journey into the enormous stretch of little-known country 
between Lake Nyasa and the coast. Camps were held at 
various points, such as Lake Amaramba, Maléma, and 
Ribaue and, late in May, Mossuril was reached, on the main- 
land opposite the island capital of Mozambique. There 


161 [Vol. lui. 

important desiderata were obtained in the form of Cvsticola 
chimana in winter plumage, these birds being found in the 
short thorn-scrub and stunted baobab country of the coastal 
belt, and, before proceeding northwards, a visit was paid 
to the Governor of the Province, on the island which lies 
some seven miles off the shore. } 

The next halting-place was in the coastal jungle near Netia, 
where series of many rare and unknown birds were obtained, 
including the new races of Phyllastrephus flavostriatus and 
Erythrocercus livingstoner. The biggest drawback at this 
point was the water-supply, for, although it had been a serious 
question at many other camps, here we were unable to find 
streams which were not unpleasantly brackish. 

Having completed a representation of the birds of this 
area, we continued northwards to the Lurio River at Namapa, 
where something in the nature of a “‘reign of terror’’ was 
being experienced by the inhabitants from the depredations 
of man-eating lions, and again a valuable collection of many 
new birds was made, including a long series of each of the new 
Fringillaria and. Cisticola secured, earlier in the year in the 
country to the southward. 

There was no possible means of crossing the Lurio River 
hereabouts, but the configuration of the country between 
this point and the Tanganyika border proved that it was 
unnecessary for us to proceed further to the north. 

Another long camp was made, in a locality teeming with 
game, near the mouth of the River Lurio, where the new 
species Heliolais castanopsis was obtained, before returning 
along the coast over some very inferior tracks, where the 
lorry more than once met with a considerable amount of grief 
in traversing flimsily-built bridges. 

From the vicinity of Mozambique once more we turned 
westwards towards the Namuli massif, having determined 
upon a detailed exploration of those mountains, whose main 
peak forms the highest mountain in the Colony. During 
my talk on “‘A Day in the Life of a Field-collector”’ last month, 
at the Combined Dinner of the B.O.C. and the B. O. U., 
I described our most unpleasant night of adventure with lions, 
which took place on this journey from the coast to Namuli. 


Vol. liii.] 162 

For the assault on the mountain, whither no roads led, the 
lorry was abandoned, and I was absent for a month with some 
forty native porters on safari. The exploration was of 
particular interest in that the mountains of the Namuli 
massif had never been previously photographed, and. there is 
only one record of their having been investigated by a European, 
when Mr. Last visited East Africa in 1886. Many observa- 
tions which I made there were of some geographical importance, 
and a full account of this section of the Expedition was 
given in a paper which was read before the Royal Geographical 
Society in February, and subsequently printed in the 
‘Journal’ of that Society, wherein the natives and. their 
customs, as well as the geography of the mountains, were 
described in detail. 

As far as birds were concerned, the Namuli Mountains 
proved to be of the utmost value, and new species and. sub- 
species recently described show the importance of the collec- 
tions made there. Some small mammals new to science 
were also obtained, and data which will be published in 
‘The Ibis’ will throw further light upon the interesting 
forms peculiar to the high rain forest of this “‘island ” 
mountain, which, like those on Mlanje, are cut off from other 
mountain races by the intervening savannah country, which 
is quite unsuited to the movement of true forest-haunting birds. 

From Namuli we returned in September once more to Nyasa- 
land, from where the large collection was shipped to England, 
and. I set off on the concluding stages of the expedition. These 
consisted of a visit to the Nyasaland ‘‘ 'Tangadzi Reserve ”’ 
in the lower Shiré valley, where excessive heat and. difficulty 
in obtaining food and water were again experienced. This 
was followed by a camp of an entirely different character 
in the rain and cold at 4000 ft. on Cholo Mountain in Southern 
Nyasaland, where, among other birds, are numbered. series 
of a new race of Apalis melanocephala, of Chlorophoneus 
nigrifrons (the first definite record of this handsome Bush- 
Shrike for Nyasaland), of the superb Oriolus chlorocephalus 
(hitherto considered rare), and of the almost unknown Alethe 
choloensis. From Cholo we journeyed out to the Portuguese 
border in the Mlanje division, near the south-eastern corner 


163 [Vol. liii. 

of Lake Shirwa, where, in spite of the fact that the country 
was burnt to a cinder by the passage of grass-fires, we obtained 
some interesting birds such as the new Swift, described 
in this ‘ Bulletin, and the Lybius zombe Barbets, whose 
recent change in coloration was described last month. 

Finally, I would mention the praiseworthy performance 
of the lorry, which carried us some 4000 miles without a punc- 
ture or any mechanical defect whatsoever, thus enabling 
me to complete a most successful review of the avifauna 
of Portuguese Kast Africa, and to secure a collection of some 
2200 bird-skins, with full data and field-notes, about 100 spirit- 
specimens of birds, 50 odd mammals, and eggs, plants, insects, 
and. other miscellaneous oddments. 

In conclusion, a tribute must be made here, although I intend 
to enlarge upon it in my paper, to all government officials and 
others, both Portuguese and British, from whom I received 
the utmost kindness and assistance; also last, but not least, 
to Ali, my principal native assistant and right-hand man, 
who accompanied Rear-Admiral Lynes and myself on the 
“ Cisticola tour’’ of 1930-31, and by his trustworthiness 
and energy proved the finest of companions throughout 
the Portuguese East African Expedition. 

Dr. G. CARMICHAEL Low exhibited a series of skins of 
Redshank (T'ringa totanus totanus) and Dunlin (Calidris alpina 
alpina), from the Orkney Islands, in winter plumage. These 
specimens had been sent to him by Mr. W. Towers, Honorary 
Secretary of the Orkney Natural History Society, Stromness, 
and. were obtained there on January 27 and February 23, 1933. 

The skins, though not sufficiently numerous to justify 
any definite conclusions, were of interest in affording some 
evidence as to which races of Redshank and Dunlin inhabited 
these islands in winter. 

Measurements of the series of Redshank showed. that these 
came well into the limits of T'ringa t. totanus, and were not the 
Iceland race 7’. t. robusta, first described by Schidler in 1919 *. 
The latter differed from the typical race 7’. t. totanus in its 

* Dansk Ornith. Foren. Tids. xiii. 1919, p. 211, and vide, also, 
A. C. Jackson, ‘ British Birds,’ xiv. 1921, pp. 280-281. 


Vol. liii.] 164 

summer coloration, but could not be so easily distinguished in 
winter, unless by its larger size, its greater length of wing 
(170 mm.), and stouter and longer bill, but overlapping occurred. 

Dr. Salomonsen, who knew the Iceland Redshank well, 
and to whom the skins were shown, corroborated the view 
that they were not that subspecies. 

Measurements of Orkney Redshanks (in millimetres). 

Sex. Wing. Tail. Culmen. seein Tarsus. 
feathers. 
\ a 
lx é 161 68 51 41 46 
2, g 161 66 53 44 45 
3. Q 146 64 51 42 43 
4. 2 155 68 50 42 46 

As regards the Dunlins, the measurements came more 
into the category of Calidris alpina alpina than of C. a. schinzia, 
and they evidently belonged to the former rather than to 
the latter race. A winter specimen from Suffolk was shown 
for comparison. 

Measurements of Orkney Dunlins (in millimetres). 

; Bill from 

Sex Wing. Tail. fonts Tarsus. 
L. 3 115 59 31 24 
ja 3 112 57 34 24 
3. g 117 57 36 25 
4. g 118 60 34 22 
5. Q 115 51 38 24 
6. g 113 57 32 23 
7. & 112 53 35 23 

(Suffolk bird.) 

8. 2 115 58 37 24-5 

Dr. Low also showed the skin of a Purple Sandpiper (Calidris 
maritima maridima) which had. been sent with the above. He 
said. he could find very few references to the occurrence of this 
species in Orkney in winter, and, therefore, recorded the fact. 

Dr. CARMICHAEL Low further exhibited a series of skins of the 
race of Dowitcher or Red-breasted Snipe, recently described by 
Professor Rowan as Limnodromus griseus hendersoni*. These 

* * Auk,’ xlix. 1932, pp. 14-35, pls. ii. & iii. 


165 [Vol. iii. 

consisted of 2¢¢ and 1 @ in full summer plumage, with 
a specimen of Limnodromus griseus scolopaceus (called by 
Professor Rowan Limnodromus scolopaceus) for comparison. 
Dr. Low said that members of the Club would remember 
that Mr. P. F. Bunyard exhibited a clutch of four eggs of the 
new race, taken on June 5, 1931, at the January meeting of 
the Club (antea, pp. 90-92). Subsequently he (Dr. Low) had 
written to Professor Rowan, asking if he could send him some 
skins, and the above exhibit was the result. 

Those specially interested in the subject should consult 
the original paper in the ‘Auk’ (loc. cit.), but, to put the 
matter briefly, there was no difficulty in distinguishing the 
new race from the Long-billed Dowitcher or western form, 
L.g. scolopaceus. This, as previously stated, Professor Rowan 
believed to be sufficiently different to be granted specific rank, 
though in this all might notagree with him. The differentiation 
from L. g. griseus was, also, according to him, comparatively 
simple, L. g. hendersonc being a long-winged, short-billed, 
and pale-backed inland race. The most striking point of 
difference between the two was in the colour of their summer 
plumage, the former being dark, or even approaching black, 
on the back, while the latter was pale. The breasts also 
differed. In L. g. griseus the reddish colour was virtually 
confined to the throat and breast, the belly being white. 
The spots were also more crowded on the lower throat and 
breast, while in L. g. hendersoni these were generally compara- 
tively scanty and not concentrated on the throat, and in 
well-marked, skins could be seen sparsely distributed all over 
the breast and. belly. 

An examination of the skins of L. g. griseus in the British 
Museum bore this out, and showed. the distinction very clearly 
when a series were laid out together and compared with the 
‘new race. 

If the criteria that held good for the differentiation of 
a subspecies in England and Europe were applied here (for 
example, the separation of the northern and southern Dunlin, 
Calidris a. alpina and C. a. schinzw, by a difference of summer 
plumage only, or other similar examples of colour variation), 
then Professor Rowan’s race was a good one, and should stand. 
It was certainly not an intermediate form between L. g. griseus 


Vol. liii.] 166 

and L.g. scolopaceus, as Bent had suggested. Dr. P. R. Lowe, 
who also examined the skins, agreed in this. 

Measurements of three specimens of Limnodromus griseus 
hendersoni (in millimetres). 

Sex. Wing. Tail. Culmen. Tarsus. 
ip 3} 139 64 58 34 
2, Jd 142 62 56 35 
3. 2 143 64 65 37 

At the request of Professor Rowan, the skins are now 
to be presented to the British Museum. 

Mr. P. F. Bunyarp exhibited seven plaques of mounted 
nest-feathers and down of the Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis), 
all collected in Spitsbergen, and made the following remarks :— 

The first properly authenticated nest-feathers and down 
of the Barnacle Goose, which I have had an opportunity of 
examining, were collected by the Oxford University Expedition 
to Spitsbergen in 1921. The following year Major W. M. 
Congreve and other collectors visited the same _ locality 
and collected further material. 

Plaque no. 1 contains nest-feathers and down collected by the 
Oxford University Expedition, for which I have to thank 
Mr. H. Massey. This material has now been amply verified 
by further material from no less than six nests. I have, there- 
fore, no hesitation in making these feathers the type, and 
describing them as follows :— 

Nest-feathers. 

Terminal portion pure white; basal or downy portion white, 
perceptibly tinged with grey. 

Length 38-45 mm. 

Contour long, narrow, well rounded at terminals to almost 
straight. 

Down. 

In bulk dark greyish. Almost pure white immediately 
round the calamus. Disintegrated and mounted, shows long, 
conspicuous white tips; the latter are characteristic, and 
appear to be constant ; not all the down shows them, 
however. 


167 : [Vol. liii. 

Plaque no. 1 is interesting. One of the feathers at the 
terminal end is distinctly grey, another is slightly peat- 
stained pale brownish. 

Plaque no. 2 contains small, though typical feathers ; 
the down is also very small for this species, and paler than any 
of the other specimens exhibited, possibly being from a small 
bird. | 

Plaques nos. 3 and 4 contain material mounted in 1922 
and 1923 ; the down has turned pale brownish with age, and 
the feathers have turned yellowish. 

Comparative. 

The nest-feathers of the Barnacle Goose are distinct from 
those of the Brent Goose (Branta 6b. bernicla); the latter are 
larger, and distinctly self-coloured pale brownish at the 
terminals, and the feathers with white terminals have the 
basal or downy portion tinged brown ; the white tips to the 
down are shorter and less conspicuous. 

I further exhibit five plaques of nest-feathers and down 
of the Brent Goose for comparison and, as the Pink-footed 
Goose (Anser brachyrhynchus) also breeds in Spitsbergen, 
I would add there is no possibility of confusing the nest- 
feathers and down of this bird with those of the Barnacle 
and Brent Geese. The nest-feathers of the Pink-footed 
Goose are much smaller, and the down is also smaller and 
paler in colour. 

As the weights of the eggs of the Barnacle Goose do not appear 
to have been given in English literature, I give the weights 
and measurements of Major Congreve’s clutch of five :— 

Weights. Measurements. 
mg. mm 

VER give so 3 eee sie's aia MOOS NO yl esa esas one's 74 X 52:5 
SUN Va rdhchalsieve's' << © 2s re 11-237 Riel! y ana tac a renee 78 X53°5 
TM Pe «a. si 206 ae aa. o eS 10-075 ia Nene a ce te dee 76 x50 
SASSER LP? ae 10-932 gl MASE Rea cane 2 16. O12 
EM OU ai aia?iio hap Ata. aiobe MOS", 5700s a aeemefadiens 78:4 x 52°5 
Average, five eggs...... 10-977 | Average, fiveeggs . 76:5 51-9 

My best thanks are due to Major Congreve, Dr. E. 8. Steward, 
and Mr. C. T. Dalgety for their valuable help in enabling me 
to make the foregoing descriptions and comparisons. 


Vol. liii.] 168 

The Rev. F. C. R. JouRDAIN made the following remarks 
with regard to the Great Skua (Stercorarius s. skua) in the 
Shetlands :— 

About twenty or thirty years ago the Great Skua was 
in a very precarious position in the Shetlands, and its numbers 
had been much reduced. Both birds and eggs were then 
protected by law, and their increase since that time has been 
phenomenal. At the present time there are at least 200 pairs 
in Hermaness, as well as others in different parts of Unst, 
also in Fetlar, Yell, and on Mainland, while there are also 
some hundreds of pairs on Foula. 

Under strict protection the bird has now become an absolute 
pest. In some districts Wild Duck have disappeared altogether, 
the Whimbrel has been reduced to two pairs, Domestic Ducks 
and even Geese have been destroyed, and there is some evidence 
that lambs have been killed. 

In consequence of this, efforts have been made for some 
years past to get protection rescinded, and at the February 
meeting of the County Council, when twenty-four were present, 
only two voted for the retention of the Order, and all protection 
has now been removed for the year 1933, except on Hermaness, 
where it remains in force. It seems a very unscientific 
method to protect a bird rigidly until it becomes such a menace 
that all restrictions are removed and the bird can be freely 
slaughtered and its eggs taken. Could not some system of 
permits be established by which the numbers of the bird 
could be kept within reasonable bounds? This belated 
reduction in numbers can do little to atone for the destruction 
of weaker species caused. by it during past years. 

Rear-Admiral Lynzs sent the following descriptions of 
three new subspecies of Cisticola*, the first two resulting 
from his Central African tour with Mr. Jack Vincent in 1930-31, 
and the other from his visit with Mr. Willoughby Lowe to 
Southern Tanganyika Territory in 1931-32. The descriptions 
are no more than is necessary to introduce the new forms 

* [The type in these descriptions, in accordance with Rear-Admiral 
Lynes’s wishes, is set in a similar manner to that of his Cisticola Review, 
and to his paper in the ‘ Bulletin,’ li. 1931, pp. 4-13.—Ep.] 


169 [Vol. liii. 

into classification. It is Admiral Lynes’s intention to record 
whatever else is known about the birds later, in an pa peng 
to his 1930 Cisticola Review. 

~ Cisticola galactotes luapula, subsp. nov. 

Type in the British Museum, reg. no. 1933.3.13.2,an adult 
female in Summer dress flushed from her nest of three 
eggs and collected by Rear-Admiral Lynes and Mr. Jack 
Vincent, 26 Nov. 1930, at the northern edge of Lake Bang- 
weolo, N.E. Rhodesia, 3800 ft.: wing 55; tail 46. The 
type is representative of a series of nineteen g, @ adults 
collected in N.E. Rhodesia just before and during the 
same breeding-season. 

For lack of material the Cisticola Review (see p. 400) 
left in doubt the position of the S.E. Congo aggregate of 
galactotes sp.; now it clearly must be separated from the 
typical South African galactotes. 

DESCRIPTION of the race. 

Size. Nearly as large as galactotes, G wing 62+2, tail 
S. 5142: Q wing 55+2. 

Coloration. Adults Summer. Above, the head-top plain 
to lightly mottled, with dark feather-centres, richer and 
redder than either the rust red-brown of suahelica or the 
subdued ochreous red-brown of galactotes, and the back 
with a very bold pattern of richer colours (¢.e. of greys 
with buff touches, and black) than either of those races ; 
tail-mirrors (in the male only) always present, though 
very variable, from moderate and grey to large and striking 
and pure white. 

The same small Summer sexual differences as are specific 
elsewhere. 

Mode of dress, seasonal. 

RANGE. The southeastern Congo. 

Cisticola robusta awemba, subsp. nov. 

Type in the British Museum, reg. no. 1933.3.13.1, an adult 
female in Summer dress flushed from her nest of two eggs 


Vol. liii.] 170 

and collected by Rear-Admiral Lynes and Mr. Jack Vincent, 
16 Nov. 1930, at Luwingu, Awemba Province of N.E. 
Rhodesia, 4600 ft. : wing 61; tail 45. 

The Type is representative of a series of eighteen ¢, 9 
adults collected in the Rhodesian Congo, part of N.E. 
Rhodesia, just before and during the same breeding-season. 

For lack of material the Cisticola Review (see p. 431) 
left in doubt the position of the “Southeastern race of 
robusta’? ; now it is clear. 

DESCRIPTION of the race. 

Size. As ambigua, i.e. larger than nuchalis*, its next- 
door neighbour to the northward ; g wing 71+2, tail S. 49+2: 
Q wing 60+2. 

Coloration. Adults Summer. More or less as in Cisticola 
Review, but as well described as identical with the smaller 
santae of the Cameroon highlands, except for the lower 
side being not very strongly suffused with rusty buff but 
only lightly, as in ambigua, etc. 

Mode of dress, seasonal, but apparently with the very 
irregular Spring moult characteristic of the typical, Abys- 
sinian, race. 

RANGE. The southeastern part of the Congo basin rim, 
fusing westwards by continuous specific distribution along 
the Congo-Zambesi waterparting with angolensis (birds 
from southwestern Katanga being awemba $ angolensis). 

Cisticola aberrans njombe, subsp. nov. _ 

Type in the British Museum, reg. no. 1933.3.13.4, an adult 
female in (first) Summer dress, flushed from her nest of 
three eggs and collected by Rear-Admiral Lynes and 
Mr. Willoughby Lowe, 13 Dec. 1931, nr. Njombe, 6500 ft., 
in the Ubena highlands of southern Tanganyika Territory : 
wing 50, tail 50 (new Summer). 

The Type is representative of a series of twenty-six 
gd, 2 adults collected in these and the adjoining (Uhehe) 
highlands during the same breeding-season. 

* Cisticola Review, Corrig., p. 423; for tail “‘60+2” read “5042.” 


x 

171 [Vol. liii. 

DESCRIPTION of the race. 

Size. The same as (the small) C. a. minor; .ad. g wing 
53+2; tail §.5143, W. 5643: 2 wing 49+2. 

Coloration. Adults Summer. Very distinct from ail 
the other races in the baek being heavily, instead of only 
faintly mottled, so that in this respect the bird is actually 
just like C. lais semifasciata, which lives on almost the same 
ground: tail always distinctly of spotted fan pattern, 
in the rule the black spots bold and sharp edged, much 
more constantly so than in the nyika race of aberrans and 
the semifasciata race of lais. 

Mode of dress, seasonal. 

The Spring (pre-nuptial) moult in first-year birds is almost typically 
Cisticoline, that is to say, complete, but exceptionally with a few of 
the juvenile rectrices retained; but in older birds it is very 
imperfect, in the rule not more than about half the head and body, 
and only the two central rectrices being renewed. There is, how- 
ever, much individual variation in this. Whatever new (Summer) 
features there are on the back are, as usual, a little more of 
mottled than striped pattern, and in the tail a little shorter than 
those they have replaced (cf. the irregularities in the southern forms). 

RANGE. The Ubena—Uhehe highlands of southern Tangan- 
yika Territory. 

Mr. Jack VINCENT forwarded descriptions of three more 
new birds, one species and two subspecies, named in the 
closing stages of the work of identifying the collection brought 
back from the Portuguese East African Expedition, which 
he undertook on behalf of the British Museum (Natural 
History) :— 

Micropus achimodzi, sp. nov. 

This bird is quite unlike anything hitherto recorded from 
eastern Africa and, although Swifts are not commonly 
collected, it is important, and should not be difficult, to secure 
further specimens of this interesting species, of which a number 
were seen and which must have been breeding near the type- 
locality. I am compelled to describe it as a distinct species, 


Vol. liii.] 172 

and there is only one other with which it may be compared, 
namely, Micropus wnicolor, which is a resident breeding species 
in the Canary Islands, Fernando Po, and Cape Verde group. 

Description.—Closely resembles M. wunicolor, especially 
M. u. poensis, but is, in some respects, slightly paler. The 
narrow pale margins to the feathers of the head-top and 
rump are a little more conspicuous, with the result that the 
sooty back shows more contrast with the rest of the upper 
parts. The back itself is paler in turn, as there are incipient 
pale margins to the feathers. Another dissimilarity is found 
in the wings, which have prominently pale tips to the greater 
and median wing-coverts. The most conspicuous characteristic 
of this new species, however, and that which leads me primarily 
to this separation, is seen in the length and deep swallow-like 
indentation of the tail, which has long, narrow, and sharply- 
pointed feathers. The last-named character is especially 
evident in the two outermost rectrices, which taper gradually 
from 8 mm. in width over the basal four-fifths of their length 
and taper sharply to 2 mm. in width over the terminal one- 
fifth (15 mm.). 

Distribution —Only known from this type-locality in 
Southern Nyasaland. 

Type.—No. 2164, an adult 3, shot by myself at Palombe, 
in the Mlanje district of Southern Nyasaland, 15-50°S., 
35-40° E., at 2300 ft. altitude, on September 6, 1932. Testes 
in full breeding condition. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.22. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 168; wing 
132-5; tail 75; depth of fork of tail 34:5; tip of outermost 
rectrices to tip of next 14; culmen from base of skull 10-5 ; 
tarsus 8 mm. 

Remarks.—Entries in my field note-books, when on the 
Lichenya Plateau of Mlanje Mountain in December 1931, 
show that I was continually seeing numbers of a small Swift 
flying at a great height in company with Micropus equatorialis. 

I have little doubt that they must have been representatives 
of this new species, and it is interesting to note an observation 
by Sir Charles Belcher in ‘ The Ibis,’ Oct. 1925, p. 800, wherein 
he speaks of having noticed similar birds at the same locality. 


173 (Vol. liii. 

The remarks of a Nyanja native of Nyasaland prompted me 
to use the specific name of achimodzi, which in the language 
of that country means ‘‘the first.”’ 

Cisticola [emini] lurio, subsp. nov. 

Some 260 specimens of Cisticole, with eleven species repre- 
sented, were collected by me in Portuguese Hast Africa 
a number which is commensurate with my very great interest 
in this genus resultant upon the ‘second Cisticola tour,” 
when I accompanied Rear-Admiral Lynes across Central and 
West Africa. All my specimens have been identified in 
collaboration with Admiral Lynes, and the conclusions and 
determinations, two examples of which are set down here, 
are those of mutual agreement. 

This new Cisticola, of which sixteen examples were obtained, 
proved, very difficult to place, but the evidence is so strong 
that we conclude it is a race of the rock-loving C. e. emini. 
A brief description is appended, together with the enumeration 
of the type and the addition of some average measurements. 
A mere detailed account of the plumage coloration, seasonal 
variations, and observations of interest from my field note- 
books will appear at a later date, together with further 
useful data gained from other Cisticole collected in Mozam- 
bique Colony, in the paper which I hope to be able to publish 
in ‘ The Ibis’ on the birds of Portuguese East Africa. 

Description.—For the purpose of this description my series 
has been compared. with the type of C. e. teitensis, which was 
generously lent by Dr. V.G. L.vanSomeren. Resemblesteitensis, 
is similar in size, and has the same wing-formula—4, 5, 6 P 
subequal and longest, 2 P less than 10 P. The new race 
is generally darker in coloration and is very distinctly marked, 
having the blacker pigment reflected in the dappling on the 
back and the freckling on sides of chin and throat. The 
pale eyebrow, although present, is much less distinct. The 
red of the head-top is considerably darker. The back is 
colder and more greyish in coloration and, whereas teitensis 
is only slightly dappled, this race is very distinctly mottled 
by the dark centres to the feathers, markings which are only 

b 


Vol. liii.] 174 

incipient in occasional examples of the plain-backed C. e. petro- 
phila. The underparts are a great deal less rufescent, in fact 
quite white when compared. with teitensis ; there is no red on 
the face, the ear-coverts are more greyish, and the rufous wash 
which is widely diffused on the breast and abdomen in tietensis 
is, in lurio, only faintly visible on sides of breast and flanks, 
and only apparent in any degree on the thighs and crissum. 

Distribution.—Only known from the rocky “island ’’ hills 
of Quelimane and Mozambique Provinces of northern Portu- 
guese East Africa, at Ile, Lua, Inauela, and Mirrote. 

Type.—No. 1557, an adult ¢ in non-breeding condition, 
shot by myself at Mirrote, Mozambique Province, Portuguese 
East Africa, 13-50°S., 39-35° E., at 1500 ft. altitude, on 
June 15, 1932. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.23. 

Co-type.—No. 1558, an adult 2 shot simultaneously, and 
apparent pair, with type. — 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in flesh 153 ; wing 62 ; 
tail 60 ; bill 13 (16 skull) ; tarsus 23 mm. 

Measurements of Co-type.—Total length in flesh 138 ; 
wing 51; tail 53; bill 12 (15 skull) ; tarsus 21 mm. 

Average measurements of 8 §g.—Wing 60+2; tail 60-38 ; 
bill 13 (16 skull) ; tarsus 23 mm. 

Average measurements of 4 99.—Wing 52+1; tail 52+1; 
_ bill 12 (15 skull) ; tarsus 21 mm. 

vy Cisticola chiniana mocuba, subsp. nov. 
(A change in nomenclature to replace C. ¢. procera.) 

A large and interesting series of C. chiniana was brought 
back from several different localities in northern Mozambique, 
including the type-locality of procera, numbering fifty-three 
specimens in all. 

This series will also be dealt with in the forthcoming paper 
in ‘ The Ibis,’ and the summer and winter dresses of the new 
race will be described, but it has proved conclusively that 
Tete is on the extreme boundary of the range of the new race, 
that the most convenient type-locality for the birds which 
range eastwards from Southern Nyasaland to the coast at 
Mozambique is Mocuba, and that birds from Tete are inter- 
mediate between this race and the sandy-coloured C. c. frater 


175 [Vol. liii. 

(frater>mocuba). It is obvious that for the race originally 
known as procera this new type will have to be registered, 
and the probability that this step would become ultimately 
necessary was foreshadowed by Rear-Admiral Lynes on 
p. 258 of the ‘ Cisticola Review,’ Ibis, Supp., October 1930. 

Type.—No. 275, an adult ¢ in full breeding condition, 
shot by myself 10 miles west of Mocuba, Quelimane Province, 
Portuguese Kast Africa, 16-46° S., 36-46° E., at 900 ft. altitude, 
on January 27, 1932. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.24. 

Co-type.—No. 276, an adult 9, with three eggs yolking 
in the ovary, paired with type. 

Measurements of T'ype.—Total length in flesh 146 ; wing 63 ; 
tail 52; bill 12 (16 skull); tarsus 23 mm. 

Measurements of Co-type.—Total length in flesh 132; 
wing 53; tail 42; bill 11 (15 skull) ; tarsus 22 mm. 

Mr. G. L. Batts sent the following descriptions of two 
new subspecies, together with some remarks about three 
other groups of African birds :— 

Cercomela melanura ultima, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Still browner than C. m. airensis (Darfur 
specimens compared), as that is browner than C. m. lypura 
from the borders of the Red Sea ; plumage in all parts with 
a warm rusty tinge; ear-coverts and top of head inclining 
to be darker brown than the back, etc. 

Measurements of eight specimens.—One male, wing 80, 
tail 60, bill 13-5, tarsus 22 mm. ; one, probably a male, wing 77, 
tail 58 mm. ; six females, wing 72-76, tail 54-57, bill 13-14-5, 
tarsus 21-5-22 mm. (Wing-measurements of Darfur speci- 
mens run about 2 mm. more.) 

Distribution.—I procured these specimens at the bluffs near 
Tillia wells, the bluffs of the Dallol Bosso near Filingé, 
and the bluffs of the Niger near Gao and Burrem. 

_ Type.—tn the British Museum, 2 adult, from the Niger 
‘ near Gao, August 4, 1932. Collected by G. L. Bates, no. 10778. 
Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1932.8.6.9. 

Remarks.—The races of Cercomelam. melanura, ranging along 

the southern borders of the desert from Arabia westward, 

h2 


Vol. liii.] 176 

become always browner to the west, greyer to the east. 
My specimens are from country farther west than the previously 
known range, and are the brownest. They should, however, 
have been compared with specimens from the typical locality, 
Air, and the hope of doing so caused me to defer the des- 
cription of them till now ; but that proved to be impossible. 
I have the assurance of Rear-Admiral Lynes that his Darfur 
specimens are like the typical ones. 

Thamnolza cinnamomeiventris cavernicola, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Like T. c. bambare, but the adult male with 
an extensive patch of pure white on the bend of the wing 
(as in 7. c. subrufipennis, and not in 7. c. bambare, which 
has but little white, and none of the feathers wholly white) ; 
and also more extensive and lighter rufous on the rump 
than in 7’. c. bambare. Female also with more rufous on the 
rump. 

Measurements.—Four males, wing 112-117, tail 102-105, 
bill 18-20, tarsus 30 mm.; five females, wing 104-109, tail 
93-98 mm. These dimensions are a little greater than in 7’. ¢. 
bambare. , 

Type.—tIn the British Museum, gadult; from Fiko, 30 miles 
east of Mopti, French Sudan, December 10, 1931. Collected 
by G. L. Bates, no. 11183. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1932.8.6.18. 

Distribution and Remarks.—These specimens are all from 
one locality, the cliffs at Fiko, only 300 miles north-east 
(i. e., down river) from Kulikoro, the locality for 7. c. bambare. 
Yet the difference is plain between birds from the two localities, 
and is confirmed by a fresh adult male specimen of bambare 
shot at Kulikoro last year, at the opposite time of year from the 
1928 specimens; for it is exactly like those, and unlike the 
Fiko ones of last year, which really more resemble subrufipennis 
of the Nile country. But this seeming sudden geographical 
variation may be explained by a closer study of the country. 
These two localities, Kulikoro and Fiko, though only 300 miles 
apart, may well be the adjacent ends of two extensive ranges, 
since the intervening country is all level, with no places 
suitable for these exclusively cliff-dwelling birds, while there 
are many cliffs along the upper Niger above Kulikoro and 


177 [Vol. liii. 

even the upper Senegal to the west, and another very rough 
and rocky region extending from Fiko eastward to the Hombori 
Mountains. 

Races of DIGRURUS ADSIMILIS. 

In the first place I wish to advocate the discontinuance 
of the name D. a. diwaricatus, as part of a general policy of 
lessening the cumbersomeness of endless subspecific names by 
declining to express in nomenclature mere slight differences in 
general size (not difference in proportions), so as not to have 
to use a third name always—merely to say, as in this case, 
that the South African birds average a very little larger. 

Next, I have to give my conclusion, after a fresh attack, on 
the problem of the subspecies D. a. atactus, found from Sierra 
Leone to the Gold Coast, which the original describer made a 
subspecies of Dicrurus m. modestus. Bannerman, in his review 
in ‘ The Ibis’ (1920, p. 444), transferred this to the adsimilis 
group, and I, in my ‘ Handbook,’ put it back in the modestus 
group. My conclusion now is that both views are undoubtedly 
right, and that when Gold Coast specimens of atactus are 
used, they are easily seen to resemble most the widely dis- 
tributed rain-forest form D. modestus coracinus, and, when 
Sierra Leone ones are used, they look a little more like 
D. adsimilis from the Gambia; yet the difference between 
Sierra Leone and Gold Coast birds is very slight. There is 
a very perfect gradation, with scarcely perceptible differences, 
between the Glossy-backed Drongo of the drier parts of Africa 
and the Velvet-mantled Drongo of the Main Forest, and this 
gradation is not seen in any part of the extensive range where 
these two forms are found almost meeting, except in the 
extreme west. This curious fact I think I can understand 
from my knowledge of the country in Cameroon and in Sierra 
Leone. The Drongo is strictly a bird of trees. The form 
inhabiting the dry countries finds abundant scattering trees 
in places in the Semi-arid Belt, where there are many more 
trees than in the high-grass country, my Savannah Belt, 
where the grass-fires keep the trees down. There is in 
Cameroon a space of high-grass country (with no Drongos) 
between the ranges of Dicrurus adsimilis of open country 


Vol. liii.] 178 

and D. modestus coracinus of the forest; they do not quite 
meet. In Sierra Leone, however, I found patches of forest, 
always well stocked with Drongos of the form atactus, scattered. 
all through the Savannah. 

I would unite the adsimilis and the modestus groups 
thus :— 
' Dicrurus adsimilis adsimilis, inhabiting trees in the drier 
(not desert) parts of the whole Ethiopian Region. 

D. adsimilis atactus, inhabiting small patches of forest from 
Sierra Leone to Gold Coast. 

D. adsimilis coracinus, inhabiting thé Rain Forest from 
Lagos to Uganda. 

D. adsimilts modestus, Principe Island. 

In the united group thus constituted, though there has been 
an immense change in development from a glossy to a velvety 
black plumage, there are still important characters—size, 
proportions, and shape of tail, light quill-lining (still seen, 
though obscured, in coracinus), and whitish feather-edges in 
the young—which this group has to distinguish it in all its 
forms from D. atripennis and D. sharper. 

The singular geographical course of its development may 
be seen on this map, indicated by dotted line with arrows :— 

Siem ri say 
Yieaios 1d 
Dicrurus adsimilis x 

--* 
- 

f Adsimilis..< chatceie )) 
W 
pate aN Capen an ea A Lt 
FREETOWN © Sct D COAST B 
7 Cs ia sioner = ei 
MiI/5 ene MAES 2 OD. oly... £ CAMEROON 

Org, Cinys 

HYPOCHERA CHALYBEATA and HyPpocHERA AMAUROPTERYX. 

One of the easiest and, as I believe, most reliable characters 
for distinguishing the species of this difficult genus has been, 
by some, left out of account ; for the faded-looking remiges 
and rectrices in some forms, contrasting with the deep black 


179 [Vol. liii. 

of the adjoining plumage, were regarded as being only old 
and faded feathers, whereas they are really always so, even 
when fresh and new, and form a colour-scheme in the otherwise 
perfectly uniform plumage. 

Of the four forms put by Sclater, in the ‘Systema Avium 
Aithiopicarum,’ in the group called chalybeata, two—chalybeata 
and neumanni—have all theremiges and rectrices black without 
much contrast, and two—amauropteryx and camerunensis— 
have all but the innermost remiges, and all the rectrices, 
brownish or faded-looking, even when new, and also con- 
spicuously white-edged, so that most of the wing is in contrast 
with the proximal part of it, and the tail is in contrast with 
its coverts. There seem to be no transition forms between 
these two groups of two forms each, and they should be 
regarded as two species, chalybeata and amauropteryx. So 
we have :— | 

Hypochera chalybeata chalybeata, ranging from Senegal and 
Portuguese Guinea east as far, at least, as the upper Niger 
at Mopti, where I got it recently. 

Hypochera chalybeata neumanm, ranging from the Niger 

at Gao, where I got it recently, eastward to Darfur. 
 _Hypochera amauropteryx amauropteryx, Nyasaland to South 
Africa. 

Hypochera amauropteryx camerunensis, range in the Savannah 
belt (farther south than chalybeata) from the Cameroon 
highlands eastward. 

The two species chalybeata and amauropteryx are dis- 
tinguished not only by the plumage, as described above, 
but by the kind of country which they inhabit. Both forms 
of chalybeata are birds of towns in the semi-arid belt, living 
with the common little Fire- Finch (Lagonosticta senegala), eating 
broken or small grains of millet, rice, etc., scattered by man. 
HI. a. camerunensis, and probably amauropteryx also, is a bird 
of wild grass-land. 

Northern Races of STEGANURA PARADISAA. 

More races of the Paradise Whydah can be recognized 
in West Africa than I have hitherto done. Though the few 


Vol. liii ] 180 

specimens representing two of them in the British Museum: 
would not by themselves be sufficient ground for making 
these races, yet they confirm, as far as they go, Grote’s races 
in his review (Ornith. Monatsber. 1923, p. 41), for which he 
must have depended on other material. The character of 
the dark colour of the nape-band only holds in a general way, 
all West African birds having it darker than Kast African ones. 
That of the dimensions and shape of the two long tail-feathers 
holds remarkably well, thus :— 

S. paradisea paradisea, of East Africa. Tail-feathers 
long and wide and tapering. 

S. paradisea orientalis*, of North-east Africa, and west to 
Lake Chad. Tail-feathers short and wide, not often much 
over 200 mm. long. 

S. paradisea aucupum, of Africa west of Lake Chad, near 
the same latitude, right to Cape Verde. (In this range the 
species 1s common.) Tail-feathers short and wide, as in 
orientalis, but not quite so wide, and sometimes a little longer. 
Five breeding male specimens collected recently on the upper 
Niger have tails 225-250 mm. long. Distinguished best 
from orientalis by the dark nape-band. 

S. paradisea togoensis, found in the strip of West Africa 
farther south than the range of aucupum, or the Savannah 
Belt (where the species is rare). ‘Tail-feathers long (to 
310 mm. and not over 25 mm. wide). Belonging to this are 
only one Sierra Leone and one Ivory Coast specimen, and 
an old mounted one, labelled “‘ R. Gambia,” in the British 
Museum. 

S. paradisea interjecta, found in the Savannah Belt from 
the Benue River eastward. ‘Tail-feathers both long and wide, 
over 25 mm. wide. Two breeding male specimens in the 
British Museum, one from Tibati in Cameroon, one from 
Benue Province. 

In general, in these five races, narrower tail-feathers, as 
well as darker nape-band, are found in the west, wider tail- 
feathers and lighter nape in the east; and shorter tails are 
found along the northern strip of the long east-and-west 

* The name nilotica in my ‘ Handbook’ is a synonym. 


181 [Vol. liii. 

range of the species, longer tails farther south, in better 
watered country. 

Mr. J. DeLacour sent the following description of a new 
subspecies of Weaver-Bird :— 

Euplectes axillaris batesi, subsp. nov. NY 

Description.—Nearest to Huplectes (Urobrachya) axillaris 

mechowt (Cabanis) from Northern Angola, but differs 

in the more reddish-orange colour of its lesser wing- 
coverts. 

Measurements.—Wing 86; tail 56; culmen 16; tarsus 
21 mm. 

Distribution.—River Niger, between Tillabery and Ansongo. 
July 25 to August 4, 1931. 

Type, 3g (eclipse), in the British Museum; River Niger, 
between Tillabery and Ansongo, July 30, 1931, no. 10736. 
Collected by Mr. G. L. Bates. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1932.8.6.8. 

Eight specimens examined :—2 g¢ (adults), wing 86, 87 ; 
3 od (juv.), wing 79, 82, 84; 3 99, wing 71, 72, 74 mm. 

Remarks.—The discovery of a Weaver-Bird of this species 
so far north in West Africa is remarkable. It was only 
found along the river, and in a restricted area. The nearest 
locality for a form of H. axillaris is Tang, in Northern Cameroon, 
where a few specimens were also collected by Mr. Bates 
in October 1921. The latter belong, apparently, to the form 
HE. a. mechowi, described from Northern Angola, and also 
found in Northern Rhodesia. 

One specimen from Melange, Angola, in the British Museum, 
has a wing of 90 and a culmen of 17 mm. The two males from 
Cameroon have a wing of 87, 86; culmen 19, 17 mm. Seven 
males from Rhodesia measure : wing 88, 94, 88,101, 97,92, and 
93; culmen 18, 18, 18, 19, 18, 18, 17 mm. 

Differences in dimensions, as well as in the deepness of the 
chestnut on the median and greater wing-coverts, seem to 
occur in LH. a. mechowi, but the series at hand does not permit 
further conclusion, and the distribution of this subspecies 
is not yet well known. 

cw 


Vol. liii.] 182 

Dr. Finn SALOMONSEN forwarded the following description 
of a new Sunbird :— 

Neodrepanis hypoxantha, sp. nov. 

Description.—Male: distinguished from Neodrepanis corus- 
cans Sharpe in having the under-parts bright shining canary- 
yellow. In the latter the borders of the featlfers are yellow, 
but the whole basal part is greyish-black, giving the under- 
parts an olive appearance mottled with greyish. In N. hypo- 
xantha the whole of the feathers are bright yellow. The - 
colours of the upper-parts are similar to N. coruscans. Bill 
and feet horn-brown, in NV. coruscans black. (Both examined. 
in dry skin only.) 

Female : shining yellow underneath, as in male, only 
slightly paler. In N. coruscans the under-parts are greyish- 
green, with yellowish flanks. Bill and feet brown, as in male 
(black in coruscans). 

Measurements and Structure.—Size of wing, tarsus, and tail 
as in coruscans, but bill much shorter and finer and not so 
curved. Exposed culmen 18-21 mm., against 24-27 mm. in 
coruscans (measured in a straight line). Unfortunately the tip 
of the bill in both specimens of hypoxantha is broken, but the 
smaller proportions are, any way, easily recognized. The 
emargination of the first primary is much more pronounced 
in hypoxantha than in coruscans, the tip being very narrow and 
measuring from the notch 7 mm.; in coruscans the incision 
is 3-5 mm. long. The emargination of the first primary 
in Neodrepanis is only to be found in the adult males. 

Distribution.—The forests east of Tananarive, in eastern 
Madagascar, apparently confined to this region. 

Type.—g adult; ‘‘ Kast of Antananarivo ’”’ (now Tanana- 
rive), July 1881 ; coll. Cowan. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1882.2.27.20. 

Remarks.—Only the two specimens, the male and female 
described above, are known. The male is adult and in winter 
plumage, but on the upper-parts some few feathers of the 
breeding dress have appeared ; also the males of NV. coruscans 
moult in July—August. The female (co-type) is probably adult 
too, but there is little, if any, difference between adult female 


183 [Vol. liii. 

and young birds in Neodrepanis. The new species must be 
a very rare bird, as only the two type-specimens are 
known. The great Expédition Franco-Anglo-Americaine, which 
has recently collected a large series of Neodrepanis coruscans 
on the entire east coast, from Vondrozo in the south to 
Andapa in the north, failed to meet with N. hypoxantha. 
When Sharpe (P.Z.S. 1875, p. 76) and Hartlaub (Vog. 
Madag. 1877, p. 94) remarked that the first primary in Neo- 
drepanis is rudimentary, as in other Nectariniide, the statement 
was incorrect, as pointed out by Milne-Edwards and Grandidier 
(Hist. Phys. &c. de Madag. xii. 1879, p. 288), but it is also 
incorrect when the latter authors say that the first primary 

Bill and tip of first primary of Neodrepanis coruscans (above) 
and N. hypoxantha (below). 

is absent in Neodrepanis, thus having only nine primaries. 
I have examined many skins, which all had ten primaries, and 
I have examined a specimen in spirits with Dr. P. R. Lowe— 
dissected by him—which obviously had ten primaries. In 
striking contrast, therefore, to all other genera of Sunbirds, 
the peculiar Neodrepanis has a long first primary, nearly 
reaching the tip of the wing, whereas in all other Nectariniidz 
it is minute. Also the strong emargination of the first 
primary is unique among Sunbirds. 

The figure shows the bill and the tip of the first primary 
in the two species of Neodrepanis. 


Vol. liii.] 184 

Dr. W. 8. StacHanow, of Moscow University, sent the 
following description of a new subspecies of Riparia :— 

Riparia rupestris centralasica, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Ditters from the typical form, &. r. rupestris, 
in the paler colouring—a sandy shade—of the head, back, 
wing-coverts, and specially of the tail-coverts, the upper 
of the latter being without any pale edges. The primaries 
are considerably greyer than those of R. r. rupestris, which 
are nearly black. 

From the Russian Turkestan form it differs again in the 
paler colour of the head, back, and wing-coverts, and in 
having no brown, which is a characteristic of the former. | 

Measurements.—Wing 129-143 mm., in comparison with 
the wing of Turkestan birds, which measure 132-135 mm., 
and with the typical form, which measures 118-136 mm. 

Distribution.—The mountain group of the Alashan, the 
Kast Nanshan, and the Russian range (Russky) in Eastern 
Turkestan. 

Type.—g adult; in Zool. Mus. Russ. Acad. Sci., May 5, 
1908 ; Yawata, Alashan, Central Asia. Collected by P. Kozlow. 

Measurements of Type.—Wing 129 ; tail 65 mm. 

Remarks.—105 specimens examined. 

Mr. Davip BANNERMAN sent the following description of 
a new race of Speckled Tinker-Bird from Angola, which he 
proposed to name :— 

Pogoniulus scolopaceus angolensis, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Difiers from all known races of Pogoniulus 
scolopaceus in having the tips to all the feathers of the upper- 
parts of a decidedly brighter and more greenish-yellow (not 
dull olive-yellow, as in aloysi, or golden yellow, as in the typical 
specimens). The yellow fringes are very pronounced on the 
lesser coverts and the whole of the crown. The under-parts 
are more uniform, the squamations being less pronounced 
than in P. s. flavisquamatus. 


185 (Vol. iii. 

Measurements.—The size appears to be large, a male having 
a wing of 58 and a female of 62 mm. 

Distribution.—Northern Angola. 

Type.— 3, Ndala Tando, N. Angola, October 10, 1908. 
Dr. W. J. Ansorge coll. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1910.5.6.395. 

Mr. G. M. Matuews sent the following description of a new 
subspecies of Shy Mollymawk :— 

Diomedella cauta peruvia, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Differs from D. c. cauta Gould in having the 
ceulminicorn almost touching the feathers of the forehead, 
and the latericorn dark. The cheeks, side of the neck, and 
mantle grey, not white. 

Type.—tIn the British Museum ; West Peru. Brit. Mus. Reg. 
no. 1913.11.10.15. 

Remarks.—This bird was considered by some workers to be 
plater Reichenow == bullerti; by others desolationis Sal- 
vadori, which is a chrysostoma bird. 

Capt. CLaupE H. B. Grant and Mr. C. W. Mackworta- 
PRAED sent the following four notes :— 

1. The Correct Type-locality of the Red-footed Booby, 
SULA SULA SULA (Linneus). 

Mathews, in his Bds. Australia, iv. 1915, p. 216, has desig- 
nated Ascension Island as the type-locality of the Red-footed 
Booby (Sula sula sula). This is followed by Sclater, Syst. 
Av. Aithiop. pt. i. 1924, p. 19, who, in a footnote, states that 
this Booby does not seem to have been noticed in Ascension 
since it was recorded by Osbeck, Voy. East Indies and Suratte 
(English translation), 1752, p. 89. Linnzus’s type-locality for 
his Pelecanus sula is ‘‘in Pelago Indico ”’ (Syst. Nat. ed. xii. i. 
1766, p. 218), which we are of opinion refers to Indian Seas, 
i. e., the seas of the West Indies. Linneus gives references in 
the following order :— 

1756. P. Brown, Nat. Hist. Jamaica, 1756, p. 481, who gives 
Islands of America as the locality, and in his work refers to 
Catesby, Hist. Carol. i. p. 87, pl. 87, and to Sloane, Nat. Hist. 
Jamaica, but gives no reference to the page or plate, 


Vol. liii.] 186 

1707. Sloane, Nat. Hist. Jamaica, ii. 1707, p. 322, pl. 271, 
fig. 2, who gives West Indies as locality. 

1713. Ray, 1713, p. 191, copies Sloane, and gives Islands of 
Caribbean Sea, Nieves, and Redondo Islands as the locality. 

1760. Brisson, Orn. vi. 1760, p. 495, gives coasts of Africa 
and America as the locality, and refers to Linnezus, ed. x. 
1758, Gen. 66, Sp. 5, and Sloane, Nat. Hist. Jamaica, 1707, 
p: 322, pl. 271, fie. 2. 

1731. Catesby, Hist. Carol. 1731, p. 87, pl. 87, gives Bahamas 
as the locality, and gives reference to Sloane. 

But it must be noted that all Linnzus’s references under his 
P. sula refer without exception to the Brown Booby, Sula 
leucogaster Boddaert, and, therefore, none of the localities 
given in those works can be used for the Red-footed Booby. 
Linneus, under his P. piscator (ed. xii. 1766, p. 217), gives 
references in the following order, to :— 

1759. Amoen. Acad. iv. 1759, p. 239, but no locality is given. 

1752. Osbeck, Voy. E. Ind. and Suratte (English transla- 
tion), i. 1752, p. 127, gives locality near Java, and in ii. p. 89, 
gives the locality as Ascension Island. 

1760. Brisson, vi. 1760, p. 501, who gives the locality as 
coasts of Africa and America. 

Under his P. fiber (ed. xii. 1766, p. 218) Linneus gives 
reterences to :-— 

1760. Brisson, vi. 1760, p. 499, pl. 43, fig. 1, who gives the 
locality as coasts of Africa and America. 

1707. Sloane, Hist. Nat. Jamaica, i. 1707, p. 31, pl. 6, fig. 1, 
who gives the first locality as Island of Barbados. 

1713. Ray, 1713, p. 191, no. 5, who copies Sloane, and 
gives locality as Islands of Nieves and Redondo. 

1725. Feuillée, Obs. Phys. 1725, p. 98, who gives the locality 
as Islands of America. 

Mathews founded his type-locality on vol. ii. p. 89 of Osbeck, 
whose description is undoubtedly that of the Red-footed 
Booby, but appears to have overlooked the references to 
Sloane given in Linneus’s Amoen. Acad. iv. 1759, p. 239. 
The first reference to Sloane in this work is under ‘“‘a,” but 
no page or plate is quoted, but under “‘6” he quotes p. 31, 
pl. 6, fig. 1. This figure is that of a young Red-footed Booby, 


187 Sei alae 

and is founded on the water-colour drawing in Drawings of 
Birds, Brit. Mus. Bibl. Sloan. 5265, plut. xliv.a. This 
excellent water-colour drawing, which is numbered No. 71, 
clearly shows a young Red-footed Booby, with reddish legs 
and feet, and hoary outer-webs to secondaries and greater 
wing-coverts, and has, in the artist’s handwriting : ‘“A sea fowl 
by the seamen called A Booby about the bigness of A Muscovy 
Duck. July the 4th, 1674. Running past the West Indian 
Islands.” On the same page of this album of original drawings 
is to be found drawing no. 72, which is an excellent water- 
colour of the Brown Booby by the same artist, and who has 
written below: “‘Another sort of sea fowl in the West Indies, 
July the 7th, 1674,” and Sloane has written on this drawing ; 
‘“‘Anseri Bassano congener fuscus avis.”’ 

‘We have to thank Mr. N. B. Kinnear for so kindly drawing 
our attention to this album of drawings. On p. 31 of Sloane’s 
work we read: ‘‘ We first met them when we approached the 
Island of Barbados, and had them afterwards in great numbers 
all along amongst the Caribe Isles, they are very numerous on 
Redondo a small island not far from Nieves, and there they 
breed.” There is little doubt that the later descriptions of the 
Red-footed Booby are founded on Sloane, though the earliest 
reference to this bird, that we can trace, is to be found in 
Dutertre, Hist. Gen. Ant. ii. 1667, p. 275, who records his 
‘“white as a swan” Booby from the Antilles. We are of 
opinion that strict priority demands that Linnzus’s Amoen. 
Acad. and the references therein must be considered before 
Osbeck’s work, and we therefore designate the type-locality of 
the Red-footed Booby ai sula sula) as Island of Barbados, 
West Indies. 

2. The subspecific Status of PELECANUS ROSEUS Gmelin, and 
the correct Type-locality of PELECANUS ONOCROTALUS 
Linneus. 

In the Syst. Av. Atthiop. pt. i. 1924, p. 23, Sclater has kept 
Pelecanus onocrotalus and Pelecanus roseus as species. Hartert 
(V6g. pal. Fauna, ii. 1920, pp. 1402 & 1404), Stuart Baker 
(Faun. Brit. India, Bds., ed. 2, vi. 1929, pp. 271-272), and 
Bannerman (Bds. Trop. West Africa, i. 1930, pp. 49-51) have 
made P. roseus a race of P. onocrotalus. As none of these 


Vol. liii.] 188 

authors agree definitely as to the status and range of these 
Pelicans, and as the material at our disposal does not help to 
clearly define their breeding and winter range, and as also 
there is a possibility that both breed in the same area, we 
have decided to treat them as separate species. 

We are of opinion that it will be found that the breeding range 
of P. onocrotalus is more to the north of that of P. roseus, but 
that the former migrates south in the northern winter season. 
There is no doubt that considerable confusion has occurred 
in the records of these Pelicans, as they are indistinguishable 
in the field. Domaniewski, Ann. Zool. Mus. vii. 1928, p. 69, 
whose table of measurements is interesting, quotes Menzbier 
(p. 71) for the difference in shape of the forehead, but does not 
say definitely that he rejects this character. This character is 
given by Ogilvie-Grant in Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus. xxvi. 1898, 
p. 464, and would appear to be the only character by which 
these two Pelicans can be distinguished one from the other, 
if they really are separable, and are not one and the same bird. 
It is to be remarked that, although the type-locality of P. roseus 
is Manila, Philippine Islands, no mention is made of it in either 
McGregor’s Man. Phil. Bds. 1909, or Hachisuka’s Bds. Phil. Is. 
1932. 

In making the above decision we have examined more 
closely the question of the type-locality of Pelecanus onocrotalus, 
which is given by Linneus, Syst. Nat. ed. x. 1758, p. 132, as 
Africa, Asia, b. in America. Most writers, including Hartert, 
Vog. pal. Fauna, ii. p. 1402, and Sclater, Syst. Av. Atthiop. i. 
1924, p. 23, give the type-locality as Africa, thus following 
priority in the order in which Linnzus designated his range of 
this bird. In ‘ The Ibis,’ 1915, p. 75, Claude Grant designated 
White Nile District, and this has been followed by some 
authors. 

Under Linnzus’s original description in the 10th ed. 1758, he 
gives references to, firstly, his own Syst. Nat. ed. ix. 1756, p. 23, 
where no locality or any references are given. His second 
reference is to Olearius, Gott. Kunst. Kamm. 1674, p. 21, pl. 13, 
fig. 1, and,on referring to this work, we find, on p. 21, not only 
a description of this Pelican, but the locality where he obtained 
it, as follows :—‘‘ Tabula. xiii. Num. 1. It is a head of a 
‘pouched goose,’ which we have shot on the shore of the 


189 Vol. iii. 

Caspian Sea, and they were found 50 to 100 together,” and 
further on states that this Pelican was known to Pliny and 
Aldrovandus as onocrotalus. It is possible that Linnzeus based. 
his Pelecanus onocrotalus on Olearius, and therefore the correct 
type-locality should be Caspian Sea, Russian Asia. Hartert, 
Vog. pal. Fauna, ii. 1920, p. 1403, gives this locality as one 
of its breeding haunts. 

3. On the Relationship, Status, and Range of EGRETTA 
GARZETTA, DEMIGRETTA GULARIS, D. SCHISTACEA, D. ASHA, 
and D. DIMORPHA, a new Subspecies, and the correct 
Type-locality of EGRETTA GARZETTA. 

The Little Egret and the white and coloured dimouative 
“Reef”? Herons have always presented a problem. It has 
always been considered that the ‘‘ Reef’’ Herons are quite 
distinct from the Little Egret, and have been placed in a sepa- 
rate genus, but considerable confusion has arisen in the past 
between D. gularis, schistacea, asha, and dimorpha, not only 
with the coloured phases, but with the white phase, and the 
latter has been confused with L. garzetta. The naming of the 
wholly white birds appeared to rest entirely on whether they 
_were found singly or in parties ; if singly, the bird must be 
a Demigretia, and if in parties it must be an Hgretia, or, where 
this was not known, it was named by merely comparing it with 
a white bird that had already been named by someone else, 
Egretta or Demigretta, whichever was on the label. 

In the Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus. xxvi. 1898, p. 114, Sharpe places 
Lepteroda: schistacea under Lepterodas gularis, and does not 
agree that the Red Sea bird is larger. Hartert, Vo6g. pal. 
Fauna, ii. 1920, p. 1243, is of opinion that D. schistacea is a 
race of gularis. Sclater, Syst. Av. Afthiop. i. 1924, pp. 26-27, 
has kept D. gularis, D. schistacea, and D. dimorpha as separate 
species. Vaughan, Ibis, 1929, p. 598, considers that the 
Madagascan and East African birds are all D. schistacea. 
Bannerman, Bds. Trop. West Africa, i. 1930, p. 70, has over- 
come the problem by stating that there is no white phase 
of D. gularis, but, unfortunately, overlooked a parti-coloured 
bird from Senegal in the British Museum collection (Brit. Mus. 
Reg. no. 1892.4.2.217). Delacour, Ibis, 1932, p. 288, over- 
comes the problem in an entirely different way, and states 
that HL. garzetta does not occur in Madagascar. 


Vol. liii.] 190 

It is thus difficult to find two authors who agree. There 
is clearly something wrong when no definite character exists 
between the white phase of the ‘‘ Reef’’ Herons and FH. gar- 
zetta, and there is no doubt that too much attention has been 
given to the coloured bird and too little attention paid to the 
white phase, that is to say, the coloured bird has been considered 
first. Vaughan, Ibis, 1929, p. 597, gets very near the truth 
when he says ‘“‘ to a pure white form which is very like the 
preceding species,” i. e., H. garzetta ; and Delacour gets nearer 
when he says, on p. 12, L’Ois. Rev. Frang. d’Orn. ii. no. 1, 19382, 
and Ibis, 1932, p. 288, ‘‘ the plumes are exactly the same as 
EL. garzetta, and the only difference between birds in the white 
phase and HZ. garzetta is that the Madagascan birds are larger.”’ 
M. Delacour has informed me that in Madagascar the white and 
the coloured birds are found together in the same flocks, both 
on the coast and inland, that their habits are those of H. gar- 
zetta, that they breed together in the same colonies, and that 
both white and coloured nestlings have been found in the same 
nest. This is definite proof that the Madagascan bird is not 
a ‘* Reef”? Heron. | 

Dr. P. R. Lowe, at our request, has very kindly examined 
the feathering of these birds, and the following are his 
ohservations :— 

‘*TIn an attempt to discover differentiating characters which 
might serve to substantiate the specific differences said to 
exist among certain Herons, I have—at Captain Claude 
Grant’s request—examined the plumage of some of these 
so-called species microscopically. I have paid particular 
attention to the Egret-like plumes of the dorsal region because, 
if diversity in structure does occur, it is more likely to occur 
in regions of the plumage where there is obvious specialization 
than elsewhere. 

‘With this object in view, I have compared as carefully 
as I could the structure and relative proportions of the barbs, 
barbules, and barbicels on the dorsal plumes of birds 
labelled :— 

‘““(1) Egretta garzetta (Kurope) and Demigretta dimorpha 
(Madagascar), these being wholly white ; 


191 [Vol. liii. 

“* (2) Demigretia gularis (West Africa) and Demigretta 

dimorpha (Madagascar), these being blue ; and 

‘* (3) Forms represented in (1) and (2) with one another ; 
‘‘and the only difference which I have been able to detect 
is that in the blue forms there is a very conspicuous amount 
of pigment which make the barbules a beautiful microscopical 
object, while in the white forms there is none. 

‘*TIn all other respects I find the structure and the Lebar 
proportions of the several parts of the barbs and barbules - 
indistinguishable.”’ 

In our opinion there is not the slightest doubt that all the 
African ‘“‘ Reef”? Herons, with the exception of schistacea 
(which we will deal with further on), are really H. garzetia, 
or subspecies of H. garzetta. We have examined and measured. 
every specimen in the British Museum collection and, after 
very careful consideration, we have come to the following 
conclusions as regards the range and races of Hgretta garzetta :— 

EGRETTA GARZETTA GARZETTA (Linnzus). The Little Egret. 

Ardea garzetta Linneus, Syst. Nat. ed. xii. i. 1766, p. 237: 
Malalbergo, N.E. Italy. 

Herodias procerula and Herodias cineracea Cabanis, in Van 
Decken’s Reis. Ost. Afr. 1869, pp. 48-49: East Africa, are 
synonyms. 

A wholly white bird, having five colour-phases in East Africa 
only and, perhaps, rarely in Europe, 7. e., a wholly white (the 
normal), a pale lavender-grey, a sooty grey, a dark slaty grey, 
and a blackish state, with every form of parti-coloration, 
especially between the wholly white, the pale lavender-grey, 
and the slaty grey. 

Range.—Southern Europe, east to Japan and the Philippines, 
northern, eastern, and southern Africa, Islands of Zanzibar and. 
Pemba. 

Measurements.— 
3. Q. 
NEES eA alta athe Cai el a's, 3. o0r0 « 273-289 mm. 257-281 mm. 
ROPMNIIIOH IL Mat easy ere Gee Seo dcie ne c's << 83— 92 ,, 8l— 87 ,, 
SETS gE at Se 101-110 ,, 97-105 ,, 
Depth of bill behind nasal orifice. . 13— 14 ,, 13— 14 

Twelve males and six females measured. 


Vol. liii.] 192 

Witherby, Handb. Brit. Bds. ii. 1921, p. 207, gives :— 

3. Q. 
LAL ES yee ee ee Ge Coes We grok 260—295 mm. 240-270 mm. 
RODIN ONT Oe cc. 0c GPE pytvet casas oto Se at 85-— 95 ,, 78— 90 ,, 
WArSUS sel fe on es Se Oe Se ee eee 100-110 ,, =a 

Two eastern races, H. g. nigripes, New Guinea, Moluccas to 
Java, and HL. g. immaculata, Papuan Islands and Australia, are 
recognized. 

EGRETTA GARZETTA GULARIS (Bosc). West African Little 
Kgret. 

Ardea gularis Bosc, Actes Soc. d’Hist. Nat. Paris, i. 1792, 
p. 4, pl. 2: Senegal River. 

A wholly white bird, similar to H. garzetta garzetta, but 
being on the average smaller,and having very similar colour- 
phases. 

Range.—Throughout West Africa, Islands of Annobon, 
Fernando Po, Principe, and Cape Verde. 

Measurements.— 
3. Ce 
VV aan os. Wee BY oo Blatter Sad a ebsae 259-278 mm. 246-265 mm. 
Ciaran Ota ire oes wae, win Seu abs Wr PO 84— 94 ,, 79— 86 ,, 
IDES UIE CaO: wastrBotsr oxic aanayateucs Vass saced 89-103 _,, 80-102 ,, 
Depth of bill behind nasal orifice. . 13— 14 ,, 13— 14 ,, 

Six males and six females measured. 

EGRETTA GARZETTA DIMORPHA Hartert. Madagascar Little 
Egret. 

Egretta dimorpha Hartert, Bull. B. O. C. xxxv. 1914, p. 14: 
West Madagascar. 

A wholly white bird, similar to H. garzetta garzetia, but being 
on the average larger, and having similar colour-phases. 

Range.—Madagascar, Tanganyika Territory  (Dar-es- 

Salaam). 
Measurements.— 
3. Q. 
it EOS Os Soa 3 290-304 mm. 263-290 mm. 
CUAIMCA 5, 20 tie cin dda o Pe 94— 98-5,, 86— 94 ,, 
MB PSUS wig oso Gadtatas Gvolic' che three eee 106-117 _,, 96-114 ,, 
Depth of bill behind nasal orifice. . 13— 15 ,, 13 PR a 

Nine males and ten females measured. 


193 [Vol. liii. 

The measurements of the above three forms include only 
the sexed specimens examined, as it is clear that there is 
a distinct difference in size between males and females, and 
it is, therefore, necessary to compare the sexes, and not an 
average of the measurements of a number of unsexed skins. 

Egretta garzetta assumptionis, subsp. nov. Assumption 
Island Little Egret. 

Description.—Very similar to EH. garzetta dimorpha Hartert, 
but having a longer bill, 92-105 mm. _ Bill black, as in the 
EH. g. garzetta group. Colour-phases pure white, through grey 
to dark slate-grey. Seasonal changes as inthe EL. g. garzetta 
group. 

Soft parts.—Bill black, or black with base of lower mandible 
yellow ; legs black, toes greenish-yellow. 

Measurements.—Wing 285 ; culmen 96 ; tarsus 103 mm. 

Distribution.—Assumption and Aldabra Islands, north of 
Madagascar. 

Type.—§ adult (in wholly white non-breeding dress). 
Assumption Island, north of Madagascar, Indian Ocean. 
- Collected by M. J. Nicoll (Earl of Crawford’s R.Y.S. ‘ Valhalla ’) 
on March 13, 1906. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1906.12.21.102. 

Nine specimens examined, including seven from Aldabra 
Island, only two male and one female of which are sexed. 

Measurements of these nine birds.— 

PAV atte eh Ate cs asseove ay'eiees 265-293 mm. 
(OUSIDE), ROT, Mian ec ene a 92-105 ,, 
PAESUS kA Sheth the ait ata ahhte cos 95-108 ,, 
Depth of bill behind nasal orifice .. 15- 16 ,, 
Under D. sacra, Nicoll (Ibis, 1906, p. 696) says of this bird on 
Assumption Island :—‘‘I saw several of these beautiful Reef- 

Herons. They were quite tame, but I do not know whether 
they breed there,” and on p. 704 :—‘‘ This Heron is extremely 
abundant on Aldabra, and is very tame. As these Herons are 
very partial to the shallow wells and pools of fresh water in the 
coral near the Settlement, all these reservoirs have to be 
covered with dead bushes to prevent the birds from fouling 
them.” 


Vol. liii.] 194 

In Madagascar we know that the white and coloured phases 
are found in the same flock and. have the same habits, and there 
is no doubt that typical #. g. garzetta is very partial to the 
seaboard, and is sometimes seen singly. 

Bannerman, Bds. Trop. West Africa, i. 1930, pp. 68 & 70, gives 
very similar habits for both the Little Egret and the “‘ Reef” 
Heron, and states that the latter nests in colonies, which is, of 
course, typical of the Little Egret. There is an extraordinary 
paucity of records from Africa of the habits of these Egrets. 

Perhaps we have here further examples of the theory 
expressed, by W. P. Pycraft, Hist. Bds. 1910, pp. 299-300, and 
that the coloured form of the Little Egret has died out all over 
its range, with the exception of East and West Africa and 
Madagascar, and, perhaps, very rarely occurring where only the 
wholly white bird now exists, if we accept the record of a blue- 
grey example having plumes of head lighter grey, white in tail 
and on head, bill black, shot by Mr. Hodek in Bulgaria on 
May 5, 1869 (Verh. Zool. Bot. Gesell. Wien, 1869, p. 47). 

Linneus, Syst. Nat. ed. xii. i. 1766, p. 237, gives the locality 
of his Ardea garzetta as ‘“‘in oriente.’’ Mathews, List. Bds 
Australia, 1913, p. 81, designates Europe, but no attempt 
appears to have been made to fix a more definite type-locality. 
The revision of the garzetia group which we have now made 
demands a more exact locality for HL. g. garzetia. 

Linnzeus gives the following references :— 

Brisson, Orn. v. 1760, p. 431, who gives locality as found on 
the sea-coast. 

Aldrovandus, Orn. ii. 1637, p. 389, pl. 391, whose descrip- 
tions and place-names appear very mixed. 

Willughby, Orn. 1676, p. 206, who gives Valley of Malal- 
bergo. See also Willughby, Orn. 1678, p. 280. 

Therefore, in order of priority we must designate the type- 
locality of Hgretta garzetta garzetta (Linnzus) as Malalbergo, 
R. Reno, south of Ferrara, N.E. Italy. 

Demigretta schistacea (Ehrenberg) is quite a distinct bird, 
and should never really have been confused with the birds that 
are now the Little Egret group, as it has a heavier bill, which 
is coloured yellow. Of this species, Demigretta asha Sykes, 
P. Z.S. 1832, p. 157: Dukhum, is a synonym, as specimens 


195 [Vol. lili. 

from the Red Sea agree perfectly with those from the Persian 
Gulf and India. Although this was pointed out by Reichenow, 
‘Vog. Afr. i. 1800-1, p. 387, no one appears to have noticed it, 
and we may remark that it was not until after we had come 
to this decision that we found Reichenow had, thirty years ago, 
made asha a synonym of schistacea. 

There is, therefore, only one species :— 

DEMIGRETTA SCHISTACEA (Ehrenberg). 

Ardea (Lepterodas) schistacea Ehrenberg, in Hemprich & 
Ehrenberg, Symb. Phys., Aves, fol. 1, pl. 6, 1823: El Tor, 
Sinai Peninsula, of which 

Ardea asha Sykes, P. Z.S. 1832, p. 157: Dukhum, is a 
synonym. 

Range.—Banks of the Nile, coasts of the Red Sea, Somaliland, 
Arabia, Persian Gulf, east to Ceylon, and the Laccadives. 

Measurements.— 

3. Q. 
Rett remark oe onl Sha bs at aw ghar oh 282-298 mm. 265-289 mm. 
CETL ET, EARS ete es te 94-103, 88— 98 _,, 
“LIES SRG tea 99-119 ,, 89-112 ,, 
Depth of bill behind nasal orifice.. 15-16 ,, 14-16 ,, 

Three males and five females from Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, 
and five males and four females from Persian Gulf measured. 
So far as we know, this bird is only found on the seaboard 
and up the Nile, and may, therefore, be called a ‘“‘ Reef’? Heron, 
but that it is solitary is extremely doubtful, as Stuart Baker, 
Fauna Brit. Ind., Bds., ed. 2, vi. 1929, p. 353, states that 
there is a large breeding colony in the centre of Karachi City. 
We are of opinion that the blue-grey example of L. g. gar- 
zetta recorded by A. L. Butler, Ibis, 1922, p. 220, is an example 
of Demigretta schistacea, as he gives the bill as being greenish- 
yellow and legs olive-green. The yellow bill is one of the 
characters of D. schistacea, as opposed to the black or dark bill 
of the garzetta group, and D. schistacea is found on the Nile. 
The unsexed specimen from Suakim (Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 
1893.9.20.30) agrees in measurements and colour-pattern with 
the figure of the coloured bird on pl. 6 in Ehrenberg, Symb. 


Vol. liii.] 196 

Phys., Aves, 1823. The measurements of this specimen are :— 
Wing 300; culmen 103; tarsus 121; depth of bill behind 
nasal orifice 16 mm. 

4. On the Races of Scopus u. umbretta Gmelin, and the correct 
Reference to the Type-locality. 

In ‘ The Ibis,’ 1931, p. 302, Bates has described a new race 
of this bird under the name Scopus wmbretta minor, and gives 
the range from Southern Nigeria to Sierra Leone, with wing- 
measurement from 250-266 mm., and is of opinion that the 
larger bird is the typical form and, as regards West Africa, 
gives the range from Northern Nigeria to Senegal, with wing- 
measurement from 280-322 mm., but did not, as would have 
appeared necessary, review the birds of the whole of Africa. 
He made no decision on the status of S. w. bannermani, but 
merely cast doubt on its validity. As a result we find that 
recent writers are not consistent; for instance, Delacour, 
L’Ois. Rev. Frang. d’Orn. ii. 1932, no. 1, p. 16, and Ibis, 1932, 
p. 289, uses S. u. bannermani, whereas Chapin, ‘“ Bds. Belg. 
Congo,” Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. Ixv. 1932, p. 449, uses 
S. u. umbretta. 

As this state of affairs is very unsatisfactory, we have 
examined, and measured all the birds in the British Museum 
collection and, after careful consideration, we have come 
to the conclusion that three races can be recognized, as 
follows :— 

ScoPUS UMBRETTA UMBRETTA Gmelin. 

Scopus umbretta Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. pt. 2, 1789, p. 618: 
Senegal. 

Size smaller. Wing 279-296 mm. 

Six specimens measured. 

Range.—Senegal, Gambia, and Portuguese Guinea. 

ScorpusS UMBRETTA BANNERMANI C. Grant. 

Scopus umbretta bannermani Claude Grant, Bull. B. O. C. 
xxxv. 1914, p. 27: Mt. Leganisho, Kenya Colony. 
Size large. Wing 297-334 mm. 


197 [Vol. liii. 

Seventy-three specimens measured, of which only four are 
under 300 mm., two being females, and one is unsexed. 

Range.—Interior of Sierra Leone to Northern Nigeria and the 
Cameroons, the Congo, Portuguese West Africa, the whole of 
South, East, and North-east Africa to Abyssinia and the Sudan, 
Madagascar, and Arabia. 

SCOPUS UMBRETTA MINOR Bates. 
Scopus umbretta minor Bates, Ibis, 1931, p. 302: Bonthe 
(Sherbro Is.), Sierra Leone. | 
Size small. Wing 246-266 mm, 
Three specimens measured. 
Range.—Coastal area of Sierra Leone to Southern Nigeria. 
We have studied the measurements given by Claude Grant, 
Ibis, 1915, p. 68; Reichenow, J. f. Ornith. 1921, p. 265; 
Bannerman, Rev. Zool. Afr. 1922, p. 179; Bates, Ibis, 1931, 
p. 301; and Chapin, ‘‘ Bds. Belg. Congo,” 1932, p. 449. 
Reichenow’s eleven birds from Togoland measured 295- 
315 mm., but he does not say whether they are inland or 
coastal birds. Fouta Djallon and Kati, quoted by Chapin, 
are both inland localities within the range of S. wu. bannermani. 
The measurements we have taken show clearly that the 
females are, on the average, smaller than the males in all three 
races. 
Sclater, Syst. Av. Althiop. i. 1924, p. 31, gives, “7. e., 
Senegal, ex Buffon, Pl. Enl. no. 796.” 
Gmelin gives references in the following order :— 
Brisson, Av. 5, p. 503, no. 1. 
Buffon, Hist. Nat. des Ois. vii. p. 440. 
Buffon, Pl. Enl. no. 796. 
Brown, Illustr. p. 90, t. 35. 
Latham, Syn. iii. i. p. 30, no. 1, t. 77, 
We are, therefore, of opinion that, in accordance with 
strict priority, the correct reference should be “‘7. ¢., Senegal, 
ex Brisson, Orn. v. 1760, p. 503.” 


Vol. liii.] 198 

British Trust for Ornithology. 

At a meeting of the British Trust for Ornithology held at 
the British Museum (Natural History) on Tuesday, April 11, 
1933, it was decided to launch a public appeal for funds. 

The aims of the Trust are to promote research in field- 
ornithology. Its chief aim, in the first instance, is to obtain 
funds for financing ‘‘ an Institute of Ornithology at Oxford ”’ 
which will act as a central organization and a clearing-house 
for special investigations on the numbers, distribution, move- 
ments, migration, and habits of birds. 

The minimum annual subscription for members of the Trust 
has been fixed at 10s. Od., but it is hoped that those who can 
afford it will subscribe a Guinea. Donations of £10 or over 
entitle the donor to life-membership. 

The following is the text of the appeal which is to be issued 
to the public :— 

AN INSTITUTE OF ORNITHOLOGY AT OXFORD. 

During the past few years developments in several branches 
of ornithology have become extraordinarily rapid. To 
mention only a few instances—the attack on the migration 
problem through large-scale marking of wild birds, through 
experiments on the effect of light, temperature, and other 
factors; the attack on distribution, through intensive work 
on the territory theory, through bird censuses, which sometimes 
involve more than a thousand observers, and through general 
ecological approaches; and the growing emphasis on the 
economic reactions of a bird-population—may illustrate the 
pace and scope of the advance. All these instances point 
to one evident conclusion—that the demands of contemporary 
research have in this field outstripped the training and organ- 
ization available for meeting them. 

In the United States a government-run Biological Survey 
supplies resources and direction ; here the field-worker has no 
such machinery, either official or unofficial, for reinforcing 
his individual efforts. The elementary co-operative services— 
a common library of books, MSS., and photographs, a clearing- 
house of information and contacts, a national field-centre 


199 [Vol. liii. 

which can collaborate with other national field-centres over- 
seas, a permanent experimental reserve for long-term research— 
still remain to be provided. 

At Oxford six years ago a series of researches was begun on 
the numbers, habits, and economic status of certain Midland 
species, and these researches have recently depended to 
a large extent on Government grants. Owing to the termina- 
tion of these grants at the end of September, the future of 
the work (papers on which have appeared, or are pending, 
in ‘ British Birds,’ the ‘ Journal of Ecology,’ the ‘ Journal of 
Animal Ecology,’ and the ‘Journal of Agriculture’) is im- 
perilled. After consultations between representative field- 
ornithologists, it has been decided to try to turn the emergency 
into an opportunity by establishing a British Trust for 
Ornithology to act as a permanent trustee and to raise through 
every possible channel funds to support an Institute of 
Ornithology at Oxford as a national centre. The Trust is 
seeking incorporation and has already been given or promised 
valuable assets in cash and in kind, including collections of 
MSS., whose permanent availability to research workers is 
of capital importance. 

The Trust is appealing for £8000 to carry it over the aext 
five years, until permanent endowments can be arranged. 
Payment of donations may be spread over the whole period, 
and those who may be in a position to contribute or to help 
in any other way are urged to get into touch with the acting 
Hon. Treasurer, B. W. Tucker, M.A., University Museum, 
Oxford, or the acting Hon. Secretary, E. M. Nicholson, 
58 Petty France, London, 8.W. 1, who will gladly give further 
information. 


Vol. liii.] 200 
NOTICES. 

The next Meeting of the Club will be held on Wednesday, 
May 10, 1938, at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland 
Street, W.1. The Dinner at 7 p.m. 

Members intending to dine are requested to inform the 
Hon. Secretary, Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed, 51 Onslow 
Gardens, London, S.W. 7. 

Members who wish to make any communication at the 
next Meeting of the Club must give notice to the Editor, 
Dr. G. Carmichael Low, 86 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, W. 1, 
as soon as possible. The titles of their contributions will then 
appear on the Agenda published before each Meeting. All 
MSS. for publication in the ‘ Bulletin’ must be given to the 
Editor before or at the Meeting. 

Agenda. 

Dr. C. H. Kellaway, of Melbourne, will show a series of lantern- 
slides of Australian Birds. 


| 
ho 49 BULLETIN 

ee BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB. 

Wo. CCCLXIX. 

Tue three-hundred-and-sixty-fourth Meeting of the Club was 
held at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W. 1, 
on Wednesday, May 10, 1933. 

Chairman: Mr. D. A. BANNERMAN. 

Members present :—E. C. Stuart Baker; Miss P. BARCLAY- 
Smith; F. J. F. Barrineton; Miss R. BLEZARD; Hon. 
G. L. CHarreRis; Maj.-Gen. Sir P. Z. Cox; C. DaANIELs ; 
Miss EK. M. Gopman; Capt. C. H. B. Grant: Col. A. E. 
Hamerton ; Dr. E. Hopkinson; Miss E. P. Lacs ; Dr. G. 
CaRMICHAEL Low (Editor); Dr. P. R. Lowe: Dr. N. §. 
Lucas; T. H. McKrrrricx, jun.; C. W. Mackwortn- 
PRaED (Hon. Sec. & Treas.); Dr. P. H. MaAnson- Baur ; 
G. M. Matuews ; J. G. Mavrogorpato; Mrs. C. D. Murton : 
C. B. Rioxett; W. L. Scuater; OD. SETH-SmMITH ; Major 
A. G. L. Suapen; C. G. Tatsor-Ponsonsy ; Marquess of 
Tavistock ; A. LANDSBOROUGH THomson ; Dr. C. B. Trcn- 
HURST; B. W. Tucker; Miss E. L. Turner; H. WHISTLER ; 
H. F. Wirnersy (Vice-Chairman) ; C. G. M. pz Worms. 

Guest of the Club :—Dr. C. H. Kenuaway (Melbourne). 

_ Guests :—Mrs. Brack ; Dr. N. Haminton Farrury ; 
eer. Lown; Capt. A. Lyer:. Col) FP. MACKIE ; 
Mrs. C. W. Mackwortn-PraEp; Mrs. W. L. SCLATER ; 
Mrs. B. W. Tucker. 

Dr. C. H. Kettaway showed an interesting series of photo- 
graphs of common Australian birds at the nest. About sixty 
pictures were shown, including studies of forty-five species, 
eollected during the last seven years. All the photographs 

iA, Ke tAHA00 3 


Vol. liii.] 202 

except four were obtained in Victoria, and of the exceptions, 
two were taken near Adelaide, in South Australia, and two 
at Narrandera, in southern New South Wales. About a dozen 
of the pictures—including studies of the Australian Raven 
(Corvus coronoides), the Brown Hawk (Leracidia berigora), the 
Banded Stilt (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus), the Banded or 
Australian Black-breasted Plover (Zonifer tricolor), the Spur- 
winged Plover (Lobibyx nove-hollandie), the Magpie-Lark 
(Grallina cyanoleuca), the Tawny Frogmouth (Podargus 
strigoides), and the White-backed Magpie (Gymnorhina 
hypoleuca)—were obtained at Warncoort with the help of 
Mr. Vernon Dennis. The remainder were obtained at 
Berwick, Clunes, Macedon, Ringwood, Rye, and Lorne. 

Dr. Kellaway prefaced his remarks by comparing the 
conditions for photography in England with those prevailing 
in southern Australia. He thought that on the whole the 
Australian birds were less wary than the European species, 
though this did not apply to the Crows and Hawks. The 
light was generally harder and more brilliant, but many of the 
nests were to be found in densely shaded places, which made 
photography difficult. There were also special difficulties 
in the case of birds nesting in high eucalyptus, though these 
only applied in one or two of the photographs shown. 

The Honey-eaters were represented by nine species— 
Acanthagenys rufogularis, Myzantha melanocephala, Coleia 
carunculata, Manorina melanophrys, Gliciphila melanops, 
Nesoptilotis leucotis, Paraptilotis chrysops, Phylidonyris 
pyrrhoptera, and Meliornis nove-hollandie. 

In addition to those already mentioned, the series included 
pictures of two Pardalotes (Pardalotus punctatus and P.ornatus), 
the Brown ‘Tree-creeper (Climacteris picumnus), the Grey 
Shrike-Thrush (Colluricincla harmonica), two Whistlers (Pachy- 
cephala pectoralis and P. rufiventris), the Eastern Coach Whip- 
bird (Psophodes olivaceus), the Grey Butcher Bird (Bulestes 
torquatus), the Boobook Owl (Spzrloglaux boobook), the Eastern 
Rosella (Platycercus eximius), the Ground-Thrush (Oreocincla 
lunulata), the Australian Reed-Warbler (Acrocephalus australis), 
the White-browed Babbler (Pomatostomus superciliosus), 
the Little Grebe (Poliocephalus ruficollis), and the Bronze- 
winged Pigeon (Phaps chalcoptera). 


203 [Vol. liii. 

Dr. C. B. Tickuurst exhibited some young in down of 
various Waders, and made the following remarks :— 

I have on a good many occasions exhibited to you the young 
in down of various birds, and some of these here to-night 
you have seen before. They are shown again merely for 
comparison. Several of the others may be new to you. 

The first bird I would draw your attention to is the Kill- 
deer Plover (Oxyechus vociferus). Dr. P. R. Lowe has told us 
that this bird belongs to the Vanelline association. You will 
see that the characters of the downy young are not typical 
Charadriine or Vanelline: they have the white collar found in 
both subfamilies, but the down-pattern standsrather apart from 
both. I would further call your attention to the long tufts 
of the upper tail-coverts and tail. Such long tufts are absent 
in Charadrius, Leucopolius, and Vanellus, as you can see. 
It is obvious that this chick when taken was a good many 
days old, and yet I have seen no such tail-tufts in other chicks 
of Waders except in quite newly hatched Charadrius dubius, 
Actitis hypoleucos, and Lobivanellus indicus. In chicks of the 
first-named species a few days old the tail-tufts are absent, and 
I feel quite sure that the chicks of Leucopolius alexandrinus, 
Charadrius hiaticula, Dromas ardeola, Himantopus himantopus, 
Glareola pratincola, Capella gallinago, Scolopax rusticola, 
Phalaropus lobatus, P. fulicarius, Erolia spp., and Vanellus on 
hatching, or soon after,:do not have long tail-tufts. Possibly 
they are shed in the shell or are small and inconspicuous, 
but the whole question wants much further research, and 
I only draw your attention to it, as I have not come across 
any notes about it in literature. 

The Greater Yellowshank (T'otanus melanoleucus) is quite 
typical of the genus in down-pattern. I have placed a Red- 
shank beside it for comparison. 

The Wandering Tattler (Heteroscelus incanus) has a down 
which is very distinctive. Dr. Lowe puts the species in the 
Tringine subfamily, and correctly, as I should judge, but I can- 
not subscribe to the idea of others that it belongs to the genus 
Tringa as commonly accepted. The two facial dark streaks 
loral and down the middle of the crown—show its Tringine 
affinity, but the marked pattern on the dorsal surface so 
characteristic of Jringa is absent. In this respect it 

a2 


Vol. liii.] 204 

resembles more the Common Sandpiper. From this and other 
characters shown in the adult, such as the proportionately 
stout legs and feet, I consider the genus Heteroscelus well 
founded. 

Erotun2.—Dr. Loweand I have before stressed the Eroliine 
down-pattern, characterized particularly by the three facial 
streaks (the one from the bill-angle being the third) and the 
tiny ‘‘snow-flake’’ dots on the dorsal surface. Here you 
will see the chicks of nine forms. The Knot, as I before 
remarked, is not quite typical of Hrolia, and from this, and 
other considerations, I should put it in a different genus 
(Calidris). The others—Hrolia minutilla, mauri, pusilla, 
maritima, alpina, bairdi, and temminckii, and Hurynorhynchus 
pygmeus—are all quite typical in down-pattern. 

BARTRAMIA LONGICAUDA.—This is put by Dr. Lowe 
in the Limosine association with the Curlews and Godwits. 
It is evidently a very aberrant bird, judging from its downy 
chick. The down-pattern does not recall a Godwit’s, nor is 
it at all like a Curlew’s. The hair-like element in the down is 
rather pronounced, especially about the head, giving a silky 
instead of a woolly appearance, but one can see the same thing 
in the Curlew. 

ARENARIA.—You will see here, side by side, the chicks of 
A. interpres and A. melanocephala. The latter is very 
remarkable, I think, in that it has a paler pattern than has 
interpres, and is a beautiful example of what Dr. Lowe has 
termed adumbration. One would expect, I think, that the 
Black Turnstone would have had the darker pattern of the 
two. Note that the character of the bill in both at this early 
stage is already marked. 

SQUATAROLA and Puuviauis.—The similarity in down- 
pattern here is very evident, but Dr. Lowe has already com- 
mented on this. At the same time the two chicks can be 
easily differentiated. 

Dr. Lowe has already pointed out (Ibis, 1933, p. 114) that 
pairs of species like the Kentish and Ringed Plover or the 
Grey and Golden Plover, whose anatomical characters are 
so distinct that one must divide them generically, have downy 


205 [Vol. liii. 

characters so similar that one must suppose a common descent 
and not a convergence later. Or, as I may put it, as they 
became modified structurally, and so diverged from the 
branch-stem, they carried the ancestral colour-patterns of the 
chick with them. 

Hence it follows that the downy pattern of the chick is 
to-day a far older character than the slight osteological 
modifications which have been pointed out. You may 
recall, too, in mammals that a spotted pelage in the young 
is common to many structurally distinct felines. 

You will remember that in a great many birds which have 
what I may call for the moment “ queer-shaped’’ bills, 
the billis not “‘queer-shaped ”’ in the chick, such as, for instance, 
in the Shoveler, Spoonbill, Curlew, Creeper, Crossbill, etc., 
and these ** queer-shaped ”’ bills are looked upon as very: late 
characters in the horizon of time, and due to adaptation. 
Now if you will look at the chick of Hurynorhynchus pygmeus 
you will see that,on hatching, its bill is a replica of that of the 
adult. That is, I think, a very remarkable thing, and it must 
surely show that this modification is a very ancient character. 
How much more ancient then must be the colour-pattern, 
which you will see very closely resembles those of the other 
Eroliine. 

Note.—The genus Hreunetes seems to be founded on extremely 
slender grounds. Apart from a very slight modification of 
the bill, the character depended on is the semi-webbed con- 
dition of the toes. This latter character is seen to a some- 
what less degree in Charadrius semipalmatus, yet this bird. 
has so far escaped the genus-splitter; in fact I have heard 
that there are some who would consider it but a race of 
Ch. hiaticula! The two views are extremes, and both cannot 
be, and perhaps neither is, satisfactory. 

Descriptions.—As I cannot find any descriptions of the downy 
young of any of the following in English literature, I append 
them :— 

OXYECHUS VvOcIFERUS.—Loral line to eyes, a narrow 
band on forehead becoming indistinct over the eyes and 
joining with a distinct coronal band, black; beneath the 
latter a broad white band surmounting a broad _ black 


Vol. liii.] 206 

complete collar. Rest of upper-parts greyish-buff, with darker 
marks indistinct ; mid-dorsal line and lateral lines from tail 
to thighs black; vent pale buff; rest of under-parts, except 
collar, white. Upper tail-coverts long and banded buff and 
black ; tail-tufts long, black centrals, white laterals. 

EROLIA PUSILLA.—Lores and forehead white; the usual 
three Eroliine dark “ face-streaks’ ; upper-parts variegated 
black and chestnut-buff, the black elements carrying the 
usual “‘snow-flake’’ tips; under-parts white, tinged with 
buffish-white on the throat and pectoral region. 

EROLIA MINUTILLA.—Similar to. pusilla, but the rufous 
element is rich chestnut, and the throat and pectoral region 
are tinged with this colour. 

EuURYNORHYNCHUS PYGMEUS.—Similar to pusilla, but 
immediately recognizable, not only by the flat triangular 
bill, but by yellow-buff replacing the chestnut element. 

TOTANUS MELANOLEUCUS.—Typical Totanine pattern. The 
black element accentuated, taking up more space in the 
pattern than in 7’. totanus ; pale element buffish-grey ; under- 
parts white, in the region of the throat dusky tips to hair-like 
down. 

HETEROSCELUS INCANUS.—Two narrow black face-streaks 
as in 7’. totanus. General colour dusky black and grey, 
the black much suppressed, so that the upper-parts are much 
more uniform than in 7’. totanus and the Totanine pattern 
lost ; under-parts white. 

Dr.C. B. Ticenurst also exhibited an example of the Maroon 
Oriole (Oriolus traillit), and made the following remarks :— 

This very remarkable Oriole was collected by chance by 
Capt. F. W. Finch at Nathkaw, at 4100 feet, in the Naga Hills, 
in February last. Capt. Finch is not in any way an experienced 
ornithologist, but as he was touring an out-of-the-way district 
he made a haphazard collection which were roughly skinned 
by his cook. The ordinary maroon colour of the upper-parts 
and tail of the normal Oriole is in this bird replaced by bright 
red. Actually the normal colour is not quite the Maroon of 
Ridgway’s ‘Nomenclature of Colours,’ but Claret Brown (pl. i.), 
and the red seen in this variety corresponds exactly with his 


207 [Vol. liii. 

Scarlet. Now scarlet is a pure spectrum hue composed of 
60 per cent. red and 40 per cent. orange, whereas claret- 
brown is the same colour shaded with 87-5 per cent. black. 
No doubt in the normal bird the colour is made up of a lipo- 
chrome and a melanin, and one can easily suppose, I think, 
that in this queer variety the melanin is absent, thus giving 
us the scarlet hue. 

I am going to suggest that this bird throws some light 
on the very rare Oriole (Oriolus mellianus) which was described 
by Dr. Stresemann (Ornith. Monatsber. xxx. 1922, p. 64), 
and of which only a few specimens are known. In ‘ L’Oiseau ’ 
for April 1931 Dr. Stresemann brought together all that was 
known about this bird, and the coloured plate accompanying 
his article (which I also show you) gives us a very good idea 
of it. Now it is obvious from this plate that O. mellianus 
is very closely related to O. traalliz. You will see that the red 
pigment is not absent in the tail, and is just indicated in the 
tail-coverts and scapulars, but on the rest of the dorsum, 
and on the breast, the bird is white, or nearly so. Here, then, 
is a bird which has not only lost the melanin, but also to 
a large extent the red lipochrome. 

Oriolus mellianus is only known from four localities: 
N. Kwangtung, 2, in May (type); Yaoshan,in Kwangsi, several 
males and females in breeding season (Stresemann and Delacour) ; 
©, Cambodia, in December (Delacour); and ad. ¢ from near 
Chantaboon, 8.E. Siam (Dr. Hugh Smith coll.). 

Dr. Stresemann has claimed that the first two localities 
represent the breeding area of this species and the two latter 
the winter quarters. 

So far as is at present known 0. traillii does not breed in 
Kwangsi and Kwantung, and I know of no proof that it is 
a migrant anywhere within its Indian range, but Delacour 
supposes that it is a winter visitor to Tonkin and Annam 
(where he obtained it), apparently in order to account for the 
presence of O. nigellicauda in the same area. But there is no 
proof one way or another of this supposition. The question 
of interest is whether O. mellianus is a sporadic variety, 
such as this Naga Hill bird which I show you to-night most 
certainly is, since O. traillit occurs in the same area, or whether 


Vol. liii.] 208 

in Kwangsi and Kwangtung it has segregated out as a stable 
form. If the latter, it seems to be a very beautiful example 
of separation into a race or species which surely started 
originally as a mutant from O. traillit. 

BREEDING OF REDWING IN SCOTLAND. 

Dr. Percy R. Lowe exhibited the nest and two eggs 
of a Redwing (T’urdus musicus) which had been taken in 
Scotland and presented to the British Museum. He said 
that he was not at liberty to disclose either the name of the 
donor or the locality. 

The nest and eggs corresponded in every respect with those 
of the Redwing with the exception that the eggs were a little 
smaller than those typical of the generality of clutches. 

The nest, which was smaller than that of a Blackbird, was 
slightly more than three inches (77 mm.) across the cup 
(inside measurement). The two eggs measured respectively 
23X 18 and 23-517 mm. 

Of the authenticity of the nest and eggs there can be no 
doubt, as both male and female parents had been observed 
for some time, and their peculiar song specially noted. 

Unfortunately, while the nest was under observation, the 
female bird disappeared, and as some blood was found smearing 
one of the eggs in the nest, the inference was that she had 
come to a violent end. 

It will be remembered that the nesting of a pair of Redwings 
was recorded last year in ‘ British Birds ’ (xxvi. 1932, pp. 132- 
134) by Mr. A. H. Daukes from the same district. 

Capt. CLaupE H. B. Grant and Mr. C. W. Mackwortu- 
PRAED sent the following three notes :— 

1. The Correct Type-locality of the Purple Heron, 
PYRRHERODIA PURPUREA PURPUREA (Linnezus). 

Linneus, Syst. Nat. ed. xii. i. 1766, p. 236, gives the locality 
*‘in oriente,”’ and gives one reference only, to 

Brisson, Orn. 1760, P. 424, who gives locality as ‘‘ borders 
of rivers and marshes,’’ but no references. 


209 [Vol. liii. 

As we cannot find that any type-locality has been fixed 
for this bird, and as it would appear desirable, after a lapse 
of 167 years, to have something more definite than “‘oriente,”’ 
we have endeavoured to trace a locality in the earliest works 
that refer to this Heron. We have found the following :-— 

1745, Marsigh, Vog. Danube, 1745, p. 20: Danube. 

1750. Klein, Hist. Av. 1750, p. 124, no. xii. : no locality. 

1783. Buffon, Ois. vii. p. 208; Pl. Enl. 788, 1783: Danube. 

1785. Latham, Syn. Bds. iii. 1785, p. 96: banks of the 
Danube. 

As three out of these four authors give the Danube as 
a locality, we are of opinion that the correct type-locality of 
Pyrrherodia purpurea purpurea should be the River Danube, 
Middle Europe. 

2. The Correct Type-locality of the Long-tailed Cormorant, 
or Reed Duiker, PHALACROCORAX AFRICANUS AFRICANUS 
(Gmelin). 

In ‘ The Ibis,’ 1915, p. 75, Claude Grant designated White 

Nile District as the type-locality, but this is not quite correct. 

Gmelin, Syst. Nat. i. 1789, pt. 2, p. 577, gives Africa, and 

refers only to Latham, Syn. Bds. iii. 1785, 2, p. 606, no. 23, 

who also gives Africa, but no references. 

The following are also early references to this bird :— 

1790. Latham, Ind. Orn. 11. 1790, p. 890, who gives Africa. 

1790. Bonnaterre, Tabl. Encycl. Méth. i. 1790, p. 51, who 
gives Africa. 

1808. Savigny, Syst. Ois. de VEgypte, 1808, p. 420, who gives 
“from Egypt to the Cape of Good Hope,” and this author’s 
Desc. de l Egypte, Taf. 8, fig. 2, 1809, which is the figure of 
an adult in full black dress. 

1817. Vieillot, Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. Nat. viii. 1817, p. 88: 
no locality. 

1826. Shaw, Gen. Zool. xiii. 1826, pt. 1, who gives Africa. 

1837. Swainson, Bds. W. Afr. viii. 1837, p. 255: no 
locality. 

1844. G. R. Gray, List Bds. i. 1844, p. 188, who only 
refers to Gmelin and Swainson. 


Vol. liii.] 210 

1845. Riippell, Vog. N. O. Afrika, 1845, p. 140, who gives 
“common on the banks of the Nile,’ and refers to Savigny. 

1850. Hartlaub, Beitr. Orn. W. Afr. 1850, p. 44, who gives 
Senegambia. 

As Gmelin and Latham only give Africa, we have, in accord- 
ance with the rules of priority, sought for a more definite 
locality in the earliest works that refer to this bird, and we 
have found this, in Savigny, as Egypt. Thirty-seven years 
later Riuppell refers to Savigny and gives a more definite 
locality within Savigny’s general locality. As we know that 
this Cormorant occurs as far north as the Fayim, Egypt, 
we are of opinion that the type-locality of Phalacrocorax 
africanus africanus (Gmelin) should be the River Nile, Egypt. 

3. A more definite Type-locality for the African Woolly-necked 
Stork, DissoURA EPISCOPUS MICROSCELIS (Gray) . 

As G. R. Gray, in Gen. Bds. iii. 1848, p. 561, pl. 151, gave 
no locality, Reichenow, Vog. Afrika, i. 1900-1, p. 348, has 
designated Africa, and this has been accepted. In these days 
of closer zoogeographical work, it would appear desirable 
to endeavour to find a more exact locality than Africa; and there 
is little doubt that the plate in Gray’s work was drawn from 
an actual specimen, and it is quite probable that this specimen 
was in the British Museum collection. Two specimens were 
in the collection at that time, both from South Africa, one 
from the Derby collection (no. reg.), and one from Verreaux 
(Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1843.2.28.21); the latter is possibly the 
specimen entered in the Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus. xxvi. 1898, p. 296, 
as from Sir A. Smith. 

The measurements of these two birds(in millimetres) are :— 

Derby Bird. Verreaux Bird. 
Wing ..... 389 (to end of 451 
Galion 199 imner secondaries) 138 
Barsus?. i. <lod 139 

The measurements taken from the plate in Gray’s work 
are :— 
VANS foie ca Maes oon as 210 
1 0T al ae ria ae 69 
WALSUS 0's + 12 pene ai 76 


211 [Vol. liii. 

Tf the plate has been drawn to half-size, and from one of the 
two specimens mentioned above, the discrepancy between 
the plate and the Derby bird is, on the average, less than 
with the Verreaux bird, although the latter agrees with the 
plate in the measurement of the culmen. 

A comparison of the plate and the two skins shows that the 
Derby bird agrees in the head-markings, especiallyin the crown 
being black to the base of the bill. The plate does not appear 
to show any primaries, but only the elongated innermost 
secondaries, and an examination of the Derby bird shows that 
the primaries have been clipped. It therefore appears very 
probable that the plate was drawn from the Derby specimen, 
but there is not at present sufficient proof to warrant this 
specimen being considered the type. We consider, however, 
that the plate was drawn from one or other of these specimens, 
or a combination of both, and, therefore, suggest that the 
type-locality of Dissoura episcopus microscelis be designated 
as South Africa. 

Mr. G. L. BatEs sent the following note :— 

Professor Oscar Neumann, in his note published in the 
‘Bulletin’ for January last (antea, p. 96), following my 
description of a new race of Charadrius marginatus in the 
October number (antea, p. 10), has contributed much to the 
understanding of the history of our knowledge of this African 
Sand-Plover. I think I can, from further study, throw a little 
more light on the distribution and affinities of this rather 
poorly known species. 

I cannot undertake to give any definite view of its races 
and their ranges, for much more material is required for that. 
All I will do for that part of the subject is to give a list, in the 
order of their priority, of the six races which now seem to have 
more or less prospect of becoming recognized as valid when 
better known, with their typical localities :— 

Ch. m. marginatus. 1818. Coast of South Africa. 

Ch. m. tenellus. 1861. Coast of Madagascar. 

Ch. m. mechowi. 1884. Quango River, N. Angola. 

Ch. m. pons (Neumann’s Ch. alexandrinus pons). 1929. 
Coast of S. Somaliland. 


Vol. liii.] 212 

Ch. m. hesperius. 1932. Coast of Liberia. 

Ch. m. nigirius. 1932. Upper Niger River. 

I do not think it likely that inland specimens will prove 
to be of one race distinct from the coastal ones, as Neumann 
suggests, and I do not expect that nigirius will prove to be the 
same as mechowi. But I never could be quite satisfied about 
the distinctness from each other of the races of the East and 
West Coasts of Tropical Africa (tenellus and my hesperius). 

I was evidently greatly in error in stating that this species 
has been found “ only on sea-beaches and on banks of rivers 
near their mouths.” It was Neumann’s recent note that 
first opened my eyes to the wide inland distribution of Chara- 
drius marginatus. ‘To the inland localities in West Africa which 
he gives are to be added the Zambezi River and Lake Nyasa, 
given in Sclater’s ‘Systema Avium Atthiopicarum,’ p. 118, 
for tenellus; and I have recently discovered, by a thorough 
search among the specimens in the British Museum, some from 
other localities far inland. One is an adult collected by 
Boyd Alexander on the Ubangi River. Two more are juvenile 
birds which had been wrongly identified as Ch. pecuarius. 
(I do not here take space to give all the distinguishing marks 
by which I could tell these two species apart when in juvenile 
plumage, but wish to mention one—the small feet of Ch. margi- 
natus.) One of these juvenile specimens of Ch. marginatus 
is from Goz Abu Guma, on the White Nile ; the other is one 
I collected myself in November 1922 at Guna, south of 
Garua, in N. Cameroon. This last was not even on the bank 
of any river, but “shot on the ground near a pool in the 
path,” as I wrote it down at the time. (The Benue River 
was less than 50 miles away.) 

Now, I wish to speak of Neumann’s idea of uniting Charadrius 
marginatus with Ch. alexandrinus. A study of the specimen 
in the British Museum from Obbia, on the Somali coast, 
which Neumann himself considers an example of his pons, 
together with the characters of that race given by the author 
himself (Nov. Zool. xxxv. 1929, p. 212), convinces me that 
pons is not to be regarded as an intermediate connecting 
race, but merely a race of marginatus. I will not give all the 
details that lead me to that conclusion, but will mention 


218 [Vol. liii. 

again the characteristic small feet of Ch. marginatus; the 
Obbia specimen has a tarsus of 24-5 mm., while a large number 
of specimens of Ch. alexandrinus seebohmi from the north coast 
of Somaliland and Sokotra have tarsi 27-29 mm. and stronger- 
looking feet. But my chief objection to uniting Ch. mar- 
ginatus with Ch. alexandrinus is that the black band across the 
head of the former, though similar in appearance to that 
found in the latter, is found in both sexes alike, and its 
presence or absence in adults is a matter of season, not of sex. 

Mr. Gregory M. Matuews sent the following descriptions of 
a new form of the White Capped Albatross, a new form of 
Wandering Albatross, and a new Whale-bird from the Atlantic 
Ocean :— 

Diomedella cauta atlantica, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Differs from any form of D. cauta cauta 
in having the fleshy sulcus at the base of the lower mandible 
orange, not fleshy colour. The culmen and the ramus of the 
lower mandible are yellow. The bill is the same lerrgth as the 
bill of the Wandering Albatross inhabiting the same locality, 
but deeper through in the middle. 

Measurements.—Wing 553; tail 223; culmen 136; depth 
at base 52, at the middle 39; tarsus 111; outer toe 122, 
middle toe 135 mm. 

Distribution.—Collected in the South Atlantic Ocean, 
lat. 35° 44’ S., long. 538° W., about 120 miles off the coast of 
the Province of Buenos Aires, Sept. 6, 1926. 

Type.—tin the National Museum of Buenos Aires. 

Remarks.—My thanks are due to Dr. R. Dabbene for his 
help. The form has so far not been recorded from the 
Atlantic Ocean. It differs from Thalassarche desolationis in 
the shape and length of the bill; in desolationis the measure- 
ments are: length 112 mm.; depth at the base 43, in the 
middle 28. In D. c. atlantica the fleshy sulcus on the lower 
mandible is angular in shape, while in desolationis there is 
the usual bar at the base of the ramicorn, and no angle. 


Vol. liii.] 214 

In the immature D. c. atlantica the fleshy sulcus is the same 
angular shape as in the adult, but of a blackish-brown colour ; 
the bill is uniform grey, with the nail on the upper and lower 
mandible blackish horn-colour; length of the bill 126 mm. 

Dr. Dabbene has sent me a coloured drawing of the type of 
Diomedea exulans alexanderi, together with the measurements, 
which are: bill, length 136; depth at the middle 36 mm.; 
eyelid blue; also a drawing of the bill of Diomedea exulans 
from South Georgia the length of which is 170 mm.; eyelid 
red. 

I name the bird from South Georgia 

Diomedea exulans georgia, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Differs from D. e. alexanderi in having a much 
longer bill and in having the eyelid red, not blue. 

Type.—In the National Museum of Buenos Aires, an adult 
6 collected in South Georgia. 

Pachyptila vittata georgicus, subsp. nov. 

Description.—Differs from P. v. keyteli in having a narrower 
bill. In P. v. keytelt the bill is 20 mm. wide at the base, while 
in birds from South Georgia the measurement is between 
14 and 15 mm.; adult 3g, wing 188-194, 9 188 mm. The 
adult of P. v. vittata has the wing-measurement of 209 mm. 

Distribution.—South Georgia and surrounding seas. 

Type.—In the British Museum. Stomness Bay, South 
Georgia, November 26, 1913. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1914.3.8.38. 


215 [Vol. liii. 
NOTICES. 

The next Meeting of the Club (the last of the Session) will be 
held on Wednesday, June 14, 1933, at Pagani’s Restaurant, 
42-48 Great Portland Street, W.1. The Dinner at 7 p.m. 

Members intending to dine are requested to inform the 
Hon. Secretary, Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed, 51 Onslow 
Gardens, London, S.W. 7. 

Members who wish to make any communication at the 
next Meeting of the Club must give notice to the Editor, 
Dr. G. Carmichael Low, 86 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, W. 1, 
as soon as possible. The titles of their contributions will then 
appear on the Agenda published before each Meeting. All 
MSS. for publication in the ‘ Bulletin’ must be given to the 
Editor before or at the Meeting. 

Agenda. 

Mr. Jack Mavrogordato will read a paper, illustrated with 
photographs, entitled “ Flights with the Trained Goshawk,”’ 
and will show specimens of English and Indian falconry 
equipment. 



sp” cy 
ge” BULLETIN 

OF THE 

BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB. 

i 
we of 

a _~/ No. CCCLXX. 
mat Lite , rii= a SEA re a 
we tAL. 4 

THE three-hundred-and-sixty-fifth Meeting of the Club was 
held at Pagani’s Restaurant, 42-48 Great Portland Street, W.1, 

on Wednesday, June 14, 1933. 

Chairman: Mr. D. A. BANNERMAN. 

Members present :—Miss C. M. Actanp ; F. J. F. Barrine- 
ton; P. F. Bunyarp; Hon. G. L. CHartreris; H. P. O. 
CLEAVE; Maj.-Gen. Sir P. Z. Cox; Miss J. M. Ferrier ; 
Miss E. M. Gopman; Capt. C. H. B. Grant; Rev. J. R. 
Hae; Col. A. E. HamMerton; R. E. Heatu; Dr. E. Hopxriy- 
son; Dr. K. Jorpan; N. B. Kinnear; Miss E. P. 
Leacu ; Dr. G. CARMICHAEL Low (Editor); Dr. N.S. Lucas ; 
C. W. MackwortH-PRAED (Hon. Sec. & Treas.); T. H. 
McKittrick, jun.; Dr. P.H.Manson-Banr; G. M. MatHews; 
J. G. Mavrocgorpato; C. OupHAmM; H. J. BR. PEASE; 
Lord RotuscHitp; R. G. SANDEMAN; W. L. ScLATER; 
D. Setu-SmitH; Major A. G. L. Suapen; Dr. A. LANps- 
BOROUGH THomSoN; B. W. TuckER; H. M. Watts; 
H. F. WiruHersy (Vice-Chairman). 

Guests :—Miss C. E. Gopman; Miss E. Huse; Capt. C. 
Kwnicut; N. B. Knicur; I.S. Matcoum; P. E. C. Manson- 
BauRe; R. E. Moreau; Mrs. W. L. Scuater; N. Wuitt ; 

Mrs. H. F. WITHERBY. 
[July 15, 1933. ] a VOL. Lit, 


Vol. liii.] 218 

Mr. J. G. MAvrogorpDato read a paper, illustrated with 
photographs, entitled “‘ Flights with the Trained Goshawk ” :— 

The Goshawk (Astur g. gentilis) is a yellow-eyed, short- 
winged bird of prey. It closely resembles the Sparrow-Hawk 
(Accipiter n. nisus) both in appearance and in flight, and 
almost certainly also in habits, though as my experience 
of the wild Goshawk is limited to a brief glimpse of two birds, 
seen from a car and from a train, respectively, in Corsica 
a few years back, this is mere inference on my part, from the 
similarity in structure. 

The main differences, apart from size, between the two that 
strike the ordinary observer are the following :— 

The legs of the Goshawk are comparatively much shorter 
and stouter. As a result of this it lacks the upright stance 
of the Sparrow-Hawk, which stands bolt upright on its long 
and slender legs, like a toy soldier on parade. This difference 
in the legs is probably to be accounted for by the difference in 
the food, the Goshawk, unlike the Sparrow-Hawk, preying 
largely on “fur,” as well as “‘ feather.”’ 

The immature Goshawk has tear-drop markings on the 
breast and thighs in place of the bars of the immature Sparrow- 
Hawk, and the tail-feathers are tipped with white. After 
the first moult it attains a barred front, and loses the 
white tip to the tail, thus approximating more closely 
in plumage to the Sparrow-Hawk, but the male differs only 
slightly in the brightness of his colouring from the female, 
and does not acquire the showy rufous front and blue back 
of the adult male of the Sparrow- Hawk. | 

Both hawks have short wings, which sharply differentiate 
them from the true Falcons. The wings are rounded in 
appearance, the fourth primary being the longest; the 
primaries are markedly emarginated, the bastard primaries 
are conspicuous, and the feathers generally are soft and pliant 
and almost Owl-like. The tail is long and flexible and, in 
the opinion of falconers, regrettably weak; in practice it 
seldom stands up indefinitely to the violent stresses to which 
it is subjected during the capture of a rabbit or hare, and by 
the end of the season, unless one is unusually lucky or skilful, 
the tips of several feathers will be conspicuous by their absence, 


219 [Vol. liii. 

and a few of the middle feathers will have suffered more 
serious breakages. The wing-feathers, on the other hand, 
are very strong, and the loss of even a tip is almost 
unknown if proper care is exercised. The reason why wild 
hawks are nearly always found to be in perfect feather is 
probably due to the fact that they fly only to please 
themselves, and avoid large and difficult quarry except 
in an emergency. I suspect that full-grown hares, even 
mountain hares, form a very small percentage of the food 
of the wild Goshawk. 

These characteristics of short wings and long tail are those 
we should expect to find in forest birds. They adapt the 
owner for quick turns and sudden stops in confined spaces, 
and consequently for short dashes rather than prolonged 
flights. The tail assists in these twists and turns, though 
probably to a less extent than might be imagined, as tailless 
birds have been known to catch rabbits. 

The old French falconers used to call these short-winged 
hawks “ voiliers saillants,”’ or catapulted gliders so to speak, 
as opposed to ordinary gliders or soarers like the Kite or 
Buzzard, and to the “‘rameurs’”’ or rowers like the true 
Falcons, which progress by powerful wing-beats of a stiff 
blade-like wing. This kind of spring or leap is the secret 
of the Goshawk’s amazing quickness off the mark, and 
its gliding is the secret of its ultimate momentum. If a 
Peregrine starts to glide on outspread wings in the middle 
of a flight, nine times out of ten it has abandoned the pursuit. 
The Goshawk is never more deadly than when it stops beating 
its wings and starts to glide: like a boat which runs fastest 
between the strokes, or a skater who shoots forward with 
increased momentum the instant he stops striking out, and 
_ glides with both feet together, the Goshawk shoots forward 
at a markedly increased speed when it spreads its wings and 
glides, and very often it adopts this technique when nearing 
the quarry, partly with a view to putting on the necessary 
spurt and partly, perhaps, to facilitate the actual “‘ footing ”’ 
of the quarry at the moment of impact. 

The Goshawk’s feet are incredibly powerful, and the long 
curved claws on the back and inner toes exert a terrific 
pressure, which is sufficient to kill a rat or young rabbit 

a 2 


Vol. liii.] 220 

almost instantaneously. On the other hand, the beak is 
not a weapon of offence at all. It lacks the Falcon’s “tooth,” 
which the latter uses for breaking the neck of its victim, 
and is only used for tearing off the flesh: the killing is 
accomplished solely by the pressure of the feet. The bite 
of anangry Peregrine is a thing to remember, but a disgruntled 
Goshawk’s feet are all that one need watch, though its beak 
is powerful enough. 

Finally, the Goshawk, like the Sparrow- Hawk, has a yellow 
eye. Itbegins life as a watery greenish grey, darkens to yellow 
by the first winter, and to orange after successive moults. 
The bird is amazingly keen-sighted, and reacts almost 
instantaneously to what it sees, so that a constant difficulty 
experienced in practice when flying the Hawk is to slip it 
at the right moment—that is to say, when it has sighted the 
quarry, but before it has hurled itself from the fist in pursuit ; 
for if the falconer is himself, as he is almost bound to be, 
less quick-sighted, and so caught unprepared, the hawk will 
be held back by the jesses (the leather straps round its legs) 
when it tries to fly from the fist, and when slipped from that 
position will have lost all the benefit of its initial spring. 

Curiously enough, the eyes are at first chiefly, if not 
entirely, attracted only by movement, and the bird will not 
attempt to fly a stationary rabbit that is in full view, and 
perfectly obvious to the falconer. Later it learns to recognize 
rabbits at a distance, and eventually will begin to spot them 
in their seats. My own hawk has now started to do this, 
and has recently spotted in some reeds a rabbit which was 
apparently quite motionless and had only its head showing, 
and a hare in its form, which I was walking past when the 
hawk’s craned neck and expectant attitude attracted my 
attention. I stopped and looked around, but could see 
nothing, and was just about to move on again when a big 
hare got up out of its form only three or four yards from me. 
Had it not been for the hawk I should have walked right 
past it, and an exciting (though unsuccessful) flight would 
have been missed. 

The distinction in size between the sexes is considerable, 
though I fancy less marked than that between the Sparrow- 
Hawks. The Goshawks from the more northern countries 


22) [Vol. liii. 

also appear to be larger, sex for sex, than those from the south. 
In 1932 young birds were imported from Germany, Norway, 
and Finland, and average weights for females were 21 lb., 
24 lb., and 22 lb. respectively. The weight, of course, gives 
only a rough and unscientific indication of the size. The 
males turned the scale at between 14 lb. for a German male, 
and something like 2 lb. for a Finland male. 

The more southern birds also appear, as might be expected, 
to nest earlier. Fully fledged German birds were received 
about the middle of June, Norwegian birds in the beginning 
of July, Finland birds at the end of that month or later. 

The birds to be trained should be taken and sent off just 
before they would normally leave the nest, when they are 
robust and nearly fully fledged, but before their tails have 
grown long enough to be damaged in transit. 

The birds so received will be too young for training for 
about another month. The wing- and tail-feathers must 
be allowed to grow right down and harden in the flesh, and 
during this somewhat lengthy process the bird must be given 
all the food it can eat, and training is out of the question. 
Any attempt at this stage to secure obedience by the dieting 
necessitated when actual training does start will result in 
‘““hunger-streaks,”’ which are faults or flaws in the shafts 
and webs of the feathers, particularly the tail-feathers, that 
appear as they grow out of the body. These hunger-streaks 
weaken the feathers affected, making them liable to give way 
under any sudden strain, besides being unsightly, and a bad 
advertisement for the falconer concerned. 

Training proper begins when the feathers are really down. 
And first, as to equipment. The essentials are jesses, bells, 
swivel, and leash. But not the hood. I am afraid most 
_ people are disappointed when they learn that the Goshawk 
is never hooded nowadays, except on very rare occasions, 
such as journeys by rail. These hawks must be kept tame, 
and the more they are allowed to see, the tamer will they 
become. Hooding them not only deprives them of this 
opportunity of becoming tame, but, in addition, both the 
actual act of hooding and the state of being hooded are 
exceedingly distasteful to the Goshawk, and will do much 
to nullify the efforts of the falconer to win the respect and 


Vol. liii.] 229 

affection of his hawk. The jesses are, as has already been 
mentioned, the straps fastened round the hawk’s legs. These 
are never removed. To these are fastened the swivel and the 
leash, which are both removed in readiness for a flight. When 
at home, the hawk is attached by the leash to its perch. The 
bells are fastened round the legs above the jesses, and are 
invaluable for tracing a hawk which has flown out of sight, 
and perhaps killed its quarry in the middle of a copse or wood. 

The bird to be trained will at this stage be very fat and 
unruly, will shriek with anger when touched, and refuse to 
stand on the fist for more than a few seconds at a time without 
“ bating,”’ that is to say, hurling herself off the fist in a panic, 
and hanging upside down by the jesses. She will probably 
refuse to eat with anyone in sight, and generally prove herself 
to be in every way “as wild as a hawk.” The first step is 
to get rid of her internal fat and make her look forward to her 
meals. Hitherto the food will have been thrown to the hawk, 
and the hawk allowed to eat it when she pleased ; now it 
must only be offered to her while she stands on the faiconer’s 
fist. She may start to eat, in a nervous, hesitant way, almost 
at once. More probably she will refuse to touch the food 
for one, two, or even three days. But you must harden 
your heart ; the self-imposed fast will not do her any harm 
in her present condition, and if you surrender now you are 
lost. Sooner or later she will eat. When she does so readily 
and eagerly, her meals, which at first must be given in some 
quiet spot free from distracting sounds or sights, must be 
made more public, and she must be carried about the neighbour- 
hood as she eats and introduced to people, dogs, horses, 
cars, and other terrifying monsters till she learns that they 
do not harm her or interfere with the enjoyment of her meal. 
By the time she has learned this she will be tamed and half 
trained, and will look forward to the falconer’s visits and the 
meals they connote, instead of screaming with anger or terror 
at the sight of him. The next step in the training is to make 
the hawk come to the falconer for her food: at first a hop 
of a few inches from her perch will be all that she will venture 
on, but in a short time, if all goes well, she will jump a yard 
to the outstretched fist, then fly five yards, and a very few 


223 [Vol. lili. 

days later she will be coming fifty yards or more without 
a moment’s hesitation. During all these trial flights any 
tendency to stray will be checked by a fishing-line tied to the 
ends of her jesses. 

If she now shows by her attitude that she is no longer 
worried by the various sights and sounds of the countryside, 
which so terrified her at first, she may be trusted loose. 

The instinct to kill is so strongly implanted in a Goshawk 
that little or nothing in the way of “entering” the hawk 
to her quarry is required. If she is in proper order, well 
tamed or “‘manned,” coming readily long distances to the 
fist, and really keen, she will probably start at the first live 
rabbit that she sees, if it gets up close enough to her, and though 
she may miss the first one or two from inexperience, if she 
tries hard enough, and the rabbit is far enough from cover, 
she will very soon make a kill. 

Goshawks are chiefly flown at pheasants, partridges, rabbits, 
and hares. Young partridges and pheasant poults succumb 
fairly easily, but old partridges and pheasants, which are 
strong on the wing, and generally take care to give themselves 
longer slips, are quite a different proposition, and wili generally 
make good their escape, being as fast, or faster, than the hawk 
once they are really under way. In the case of pheasants, 
also, the flight is not without its dangers, as a hawk that is 
used to them will, even when outdistanced, fly on behind 
over several fields on the off-chance—quite a good chance, 
too—of grabbing the pheasant when it finally decides to come 
down into a covert, and slows up to do so, or when, having 
gained what it imagines is safety, it trusts to its legs, forgetful 
of the fact that the Goshawk is a woodland bird, no bigger, 
and decidedly quicker than itself. The danger of such flights 
is, firstly, that the hawk may be at least temporarily lost, 
the end, and possibly even the direction of the flight, being 
out of sight, and secondly, that she may encounter a hostile 
gamekeeper on a neighbouring shoot, while after or on the 
quarry, long before the assistance of the falconer can be forth- 
coming. I never fly my female Goshawk at feathered quarry 
for these reasons. An additional deterrent is that a Goshawk 
at all habituated to ‘feather ’’ will lose her enthusiasm for 


Vol. liii.] 224 

“fur,” which is, in comparison, so much more difficult to master 
when caught, and may refuse to tackle, or even to look at, 
anything as strong and troublesome as a full-grown hare. 

It will be gathered from the above that the trained Goshawk 
is by no means a brilliant performer at feathered quarry, 
lacking as it does in its trained state the advantages of elevation 
and surprise which it enjoys when wild. The uninitiated 
not only expect Kestrels to take wild duck and rabbits, but 
expect a Goshawk, or any hawk for that matter, to pursue and 
capture some rook or wood-pigeon flying high over a distant 
wood half a mile or more away, and are quite hurt and dis- 
appointed when the falconer declines to throw off his hawk 
at it. Every falconer and every ornithologist will, of course, 
appreciate the absurdity of even contemplating such a flight, 
which, besides being for all practical purposes a physical 
impossibility, is repugnant to every instinct of the short- 
winged hawk, which “flies by policie,”’ as the old books 
have it, or, in modern parlance, is a typical “smash and grab”’ 
raider. 

The best quarry for a female Goshawk, as far as “ filling 
the bag ”’ is concerned, is the rabbit, which has the additional 
advantages of being plentiful, edible, and vermin. Unusually 
strong and plucky males can also cope with a full-grown 
rabbit, which weighs 34lb. or so, but most males either 
refuse, or fail to hold them. The extra size and weight of the 
female enables her to hold the strongest rabbits with com- 
parative ease once she has them by the head. 

There are three methods of obtaining flights at a rabbit. 
The first and easiest is to walk in line over rough pasture 
where they are known, or suspected to be lying out, and put 
them out of their seats. The second is “ hedge-whacking,” 
or beating them with sticks out of the hedges. The third 
is ferreting. 

Flying rabbits out of their seats is the easiest. The seats 
are very often some way from cover, and the rabbits often 
sit very tight, and so give a close slip. They may even be 
spotted in their seats, and so enable the falconer to adjust 
the length of the slip according to the distance of the seat 
from cover, the capabilities of his hawk, and his own ideas 


995 [Vol. liii. 

of sportsmanship. An experienced hawk will often get a 
rabbit pushed out inadvertently by the falconer’s foot before 
it has gone more than three or four yards. 

Let us suppose the rabbit does not sit as tight as all that, 
but gets up while we are still some ten yards off. We are 
lucky if we see it at once, and so are ready to slip the hawk 
the next instant as she flings herself from the fist in pursuit. 
The rabbit is by now in full career some twenty yards off, 
and going all out: by comparison the hawk seems to be 
flapping along in a rather slow and wavering fashion, and 
it is quite surprising to notice that she has already gained 
considerably on the rabbit, and is, in fact, fast overhauling 
him as she flies in his wake only a few feet above the ground. 
The rabbit suddenly changes his mind, as if conscious of 
impending doom, and decides to make for the side hedge 
instead of the bury at the end of the field, but the hawk 
is anold hand, and swings round, with wide-spread tail, without 
a second’s delay, to follow the new direction, flattens out into 
a glide, and, before you realize she can have reached it, she 
has swept down and into the rabbit and struck it hard with one 
foot on its hindquarters, immediately fastening the other foot 
on the head or neck. The rabbit is a strong one, and going 
full tilt, though not much more than half as fast as the hawk, 
and the result of the impact is that rabbit and hawk go head 
ever heels in a somersault. The onlookers catch a glimpse 
of a flash of white as the rabbit goes over, the hawk secures 
its grip on the rabbit’s head and proceeds to hold it motionless, 
and to all intents paralyzed, in its fearful grip, till the falconer 
comesup. The rabbit’s neck is promptly broken by the latter, 
and the hawk rewarded with the brains before being picked 
up in readiness for the next flight. 

It is, perhaps, needless to add that the popular notion 
of the hawk being a sort of winged retriever, and bringing 
back the quarry to lay at the feet of its master, though 
touching, is quite erroneous. No hawk will do, or can be 
expected to do, anything of the sort, and in the case of a Gos- 
hawk and a rabbit it is physically impossible as well. A Gos- 
hawk weighing two pounds or so cannot be expected to lift a 
rabbit weighing, say, three pounds from the ground. 

ad 


Vol. liii.] 226 

All flights, of course, are not so simple and straightforward 
as the one described. In really open country, such as down- 
land, slips may be anything up to 100 or even 200 yards, 
the governing factor in every case being more the distance 
of the rabbit from cover than the distance of the hawk from 
the rabbit ; but very long slips are often not successful with 
a young hawk, as the rabbit has time to see it coming and 
think out a plan of action, and by skilful dodging and doubling 
may throw out the hawk till cover is reached, or she gives 
up the chase in disgust. 

‘““ Hedge-whacking ”’ calls for rather more skill from the 
hawk and falconer, and rather less skill from the rabbit. 
The hawk must be very quick off the mark and make the most 
of her opportunities, as the rabbit may only run a little way 
before turning back into the hedge: and the falconer must 
always be ready to slip the hawk, and yet constantly hold 
her back, because the rabbit has not yet “ broken ’’ properly. 
A premature slip will only land the hawk in the hedge and 
allow the rabbit to leave it with impunity. 

Two hawks, one on each side of the hedge, form a deadly 
combination, but they should never be slipped at the same 
rabbit, as the unsuccessful hawk will rush in to claim a share 
of the victim, the victor will disengage its claws in order 
to defend its prize, if need be with its life, and the “‘ prize ”’ 
will as often as not seize the opportunity of slipping out 
of the “‘ring’”’ and making good its escape, leaving the rivals 
to fight it out. If neither hawk catches the rabbit an 
armistice is generally observed ; but on one occasion when 
two female Goshawks were flying the same hare and one 
hawk passed underneath the other, the temptation proved 
irresistible ; the latter promptly secured what it could get— 
it had never yet succeeded in catching a hare—and the two 
hawks descended to earth in a locked embrace, and had to be 
parted by their owners. If only one hawk is out, and the rabbit 
*‘ breaks’ from the wrong side of the hedge, the hawk can 
be thrown over the hedge, if it is not too tall, and is then 
almost sure to catch sight of the rabbit and go after it, though 
the falconer will not, of course, see much of the resulting 
flight. 


227 (Vol. liii, 

Ferreting is a sure way of killing rabbits with a hawk 
if the bury is suitable, and the rabbits can be made to bolt. 
A big bury is undesirable, because the hawk will start the 
moment a rabbit appears, and the rabbit will take warning, 
pop down the next hole, a yard or so further on, and refuse 
to come out again. Consequently the rabbits must be hidden 
- as much as possible from the hawk until they have bolted 
well clear of the bury. Small buries in small hedges are as 
good as anything: the rabbits often bolt out across the open 
field, and, probably because they are preoccupied with thoughts 
of the ferret, afford exceptionally easy flights; in fact my 
hawk has never missed one in such circumstances. Where 
the buries are of any size, and right out in the open, the 
falconer would be well advised, I think, to take his stand as 
far from the bury as possible—fifty yards, or further if there 
is no cover for some way. If he stands on or near the bury, 
my experience is that the hawk will put down every rabbit 
that thinks of bolting, and soon reduce things to a complete 
standstill. This is about the only occasion when the experi- 
ment of keeping the hawk hooded till the rabbit has bolted 
might be successfully tried. 

Some hawks must be taught by experience to resist the 
temptation to catch the ferrets as well as the rabbits, but 
my own bird has, luckily, never shown any inclination to do so, 
though I often work her with a dark polecat ferret, and on 
one occasion she got not only a rabbit, but a full-grown rat 
out of the same bury. Goshawks, as has already been remarked, 
are phenomenally quick, and on another occasion my hawk 
got a rabbit bolted from a hole at my feet before it had gone 
a yard. Iwas engaged at the time in assisting an incredulous, 
but eventually grateful, professional rabbit-catcher, who had 
run out of nets. On a subsequent occasion, when the catcher 
and his ferrets and nets were accounting for four rabbits, 
two female Goshawks flying the adjoining fields during the 
same, or a shorter, period accounted for nine. 

So far we have rather assumed that all flights at rabbits 
are successful. This, of course, is not so, though the more 
practice a hawk gets the more deadly she becomes. An 
unsuccessful flight may be due to the fault of the falconer 

ao 


Vol. liii.] 228 

or the hawk, or to the excellence of the rabbit. Needless 
to say, if the hawk is slipped at a rabbit which is too near 
a bury, a hedge, clump of brambles or gorse, or the edge 
of a thick wood, it will not, and cannot, get it, and as a series 
of fruitless flights disappoints and tires the hawk unnecessarily, 
it is as well to hold on to the jesses and not slip her unless 
there is a reasonable chance of a kill. The hawk herself 
is too excited to judge distances, and would, if permitted, 
fly at a rabbit 50 or 100 yards from her, and only one yard 
from impenetrable cover. 

If the falconer has failed to slip the hawk till after she 
has already bated from the fist, her start will be severely 
handicapped, and if the rabbit had not far to go it may make 
just the difference between hit and miss. Then again, there 
are slips and slips: the easiest are those in which the rabbit 
is running straight away from the falconer; cross-shots are 
harder, and often baffle an inexperienced hawk, which does 
not anticipate the rabbit’s direction : this a more experienced 
hawk will sometimes do, and, accordingly, smack into the 
rabbit broadside on instead of losing valuable seconds by 
slavishly following its tail. Head-on slips are the hardest 
of all, and, in fact, if the hawk succeeds at all it will probably 
be after missing and turning round, and having a second shot 
in the normal way. 

A young hawk will often make quite a habit of missing 
even easy rabbits with the first shot, and getting them with 
the second, if they have not yet reached cover. Sometimes, 
also, a young and inexperienced hawk will catch the rabbit, 
but fail to hold it, not having yet learned the vital importance 
of the grip on the head. Sometimes the well-timed doubling 
of the rabbit will throw the hawk out till the rabbit has reached 
cover, though it must be remembered in this connection 
that a good hawk makes a bad rabbit, and vice versa: in 
other words, the speed and certainty of the hawk may never 
give the rabbit a chance of dodging in the one case, while in 
the other the slackness of the pursuit may allow the rabbit to 
double again and again, till the hawk is completely thrown out. 

The rabbit may also owe its safety to atmospheric con- 
ditions. Poor visibility, resulting from fog or the approach 


229 [Vol. liii. 

of darkness, rain, and wind, all hamper the hawk more than 
the rabbit. More destructive of good flying than any of these, 
though it might not be suspected, is wet grass. After a hawk 
has killed a rabbit or two in drenched or dewy grass, the 
primaries and tail-feathers become laden with moisture, 
and not only greatly reduce her speed—she is still amply 
fast enough to catch a straight rabbit—but interfere with the 
momentum of her gliding, and generally upset her calculations, 
so that she misjudges her distance and her speed, and loses 
the power to cope successfully with a dodging rabbit. 

The slope of the ground is also an important factor, and, 
if it is at all pronounced, care should be taken to ensure 
a down-hill slip. The short-winged hawk is poor at mounting 
rapidly into the air by its own unaided efforts, and as flying 
up-hill is, in effect, the same as mounting, its speed is in these 
circumstances materially reduced, and, as always, loss of 
speed involves loss of efficiency as well. As we shall see 
when we deal more especially with hare-hawking, pace is 
more than half the battle. It is very noticeable when flying 
feathered quarry, such as a partridge, that if the partridge 
suddenly rises rapidly into the air in order, say, to clear a wood 
or @ belt of trees, the hawk, which may have looked a moment 
before as if it were on the point of making a kill, immediately 
loses ground, and not infrequently abandons the chase al- 
together. 

Sometimes a miss or a series of misses is explained by the 
condition of the hawk. If a hawk is allowed to get too thin 
or too fat it will begin to miss its rabbits, and the symptoms, 
curiously enough, will be the same in each case—slow, un- 
enthusiastic flying, with an inclination to give up the chase 
on the slightest provocation ; flying up into a tree instead 
of putting on that final spurt and crashing into a bramble 
after a rabbit, which might still be caught with a bit of luck ; 
or sitting on the ground in the open watching a dodging rabbit 
make an unexpected get-away across a hundred yards of open 
country. 

After an unsuccessful flight, the hawk will either remain 
on the ground in the open where the rabbit left her—and 

accordingly earn a black mark for her want of perseverance— 
or be found m the middle of the hedge or bramble through 


Vol. liii.] 230 

which the rabbit just managed to escape—if, indeed, it did 
escape, for very often the last split second proves fatal, and 
the hawk will be found to have the rabbit in her foot after all. 
Or if the rabbit was never really pressed by the hawk, but 
gained cover some way ahead of her, she will almost certainly 
have flown up into the branches of a tree. This, especially 
if the tree be a tall one, is the acid test of her training. The 
falconer holds out his fist with an attractive piece of food on it, 
and if the hawk is in proper order she should be gliding down 
to it at once, or a very few seconds later. Should it turn 
out to be a matter of minutes rather than seconds, recourse 
must be had to the lure—a dead rabbit or a stuffed imitation 
of one on a string—and this, especially if twitched about in 
a life-like manner, is sure to fetch her down at once. If it 
does not, the falconer stands convicted of flying a hawk which 
must have shown obvious symptoms of- being unfit to fly 
before it was taken out, and is condemned to dance attendance 
on her till hunger or caprice bring her down. 

So far I have dealt only with one method of kee 
namely, flying the hawk from the fist at quarry actually seen 
by the falconer, and calling the hawk back to the fist after 
an unsuccessful flight, before going in search of fresh quarry. 
There is another method in use which is even more deadly, 
but has disadvantages which, in my opinion, far outweigh 
the advantages of an increased and more varied bag. The 
method consists in leaving the initiative, as far as possible, 
to the hawk—not holding her back when she wants to fly, 
even though the falconer has not sighted anything ; and, when 
she goes into a tree, leaving her there, while beating about 
in the surrounding undergrowth in the hope of disturbing 
something that she will be able to see from her observation- 
post, even if the beaters cannot do so. 

The chief advantage accruing from the first procedure, which 
practically amounts to not holding the jesses of the hawk at 
all, once suitable country has been reached, but letting the 
hawk fly when she will, is that the hawk will always get 
a good, instead of a retarded, start from the fist, and will 
often fly and take quarry that the falconer himself would 
never have seen at all. On the other hand, though these 


231 [Vol. liii. 

flights, if successful, add to the size of the bag, they add very 
little to the sport actually shown, the quarry being, as a rule, 
almost inevitably out of sight during the whole or greater part 
of the time. | 

A further disadvantage is that all power to select the 
quarry to be flown vanishes, and the catch may prove to be 
a running pheasant caught against wire netting, while on 
the falconer’s unlucky day terrified squawks from a neigh- 
bouring field or farmyard may indicate a major catastrophe 
to one of his neighbour’s chickens, which experience shows 
is sure to have been a prize-winner, and the apple of its owner’s 
eye! 

Very often, however, the hawk, like the falconer, has seen 
nothing, but merely grown restive, and so flown off into a 
neighbouring or distant tree. It is here that the second part 
of the method is adopted—that of beating the surrounding 
undergrowth—and there can be no question but that a Goshawk 
in a tree isverydeadly. The greatly increased impetus gained 
by her elevation will enable her to account for pheasants, 
partridges, or duck flushed under her before they have had 
a chance of accelerating to their maximum speed, and many 
a rabbit slinking away through the undergrowth undetected 
by the beaters is cut off as the result of a sudden nose-dive 
from above. , 

On the other hand, these flights are generally poor from the 
spectacular point of view; often little or nothing is seen of the 
flight at all, and at times the hawk, from her commanding 
position, spies a prospective victim a field or so away, and, 
without a moment’s hesitation, deserts her beaters, who may 
often consider themselves lucky if they are in time even 
to see which way she went. 

Finally, a hawk allowed to take stand in trees like this 
will seldom or never come back to the fist, and, if no flight 
can be provided for her, the faleconer will have to lure her 
down, and the lure will have to be a really attractive one, 
almost as good as the real live quarry she expects, or she will 
refuse even that. The margin of safety is in consequence 
much reduced, and, in fact, a hawk flown like this is encouraged 
to become dangerously like a wild hawk in her habits ; control 


Vol. liii.] 932 

becomes precarious, and the slightest accident or error of 
judgment may spell disaster. 

And now for hare-hawking. The difference between rabbit- 
hawking and hare-hawking is the difference between milk 
and cream. One gets much less of it, but it is much more 
worth having. The size, strength, and cunning of the quarry 
make a full-grown hare a well-matched adversary for any 
female Goshawk. In fact, just as most male Goshawks will 
not tackle a full-grown rabbit, so the average female Goshawk 
will not: tackle a full-grown hare. Some of them will not 
start from the fist when a hare rises from its form; others 
will fly after the hare, and approach more or less closely 
to it as if to make sure that it is not a rabbit, and will then 
turn tail and fly off into a tree. If you have a hawk that will 
tackle them from the first with the necessary courage, you can 
consider yourself exceptionally lucky. 

I have had this stroke of luck, and the following remarks 
will be based chiefly on my experiences with my own hawk. 
A good hare weighs about 7 lb., a good female Goshawk in 
flying order about 241b.; so that there is some excuse for 
thinking that the capture of the former by the latter is in the 
nature of an impossibility. And when my hawk was first 
trained, though she repeatedly tackled hares with varying 
degrees of enthusiasm or diffidence, for a long time she never 
succeeded in holding one. After a tussle lasting a second or 
two the hare would break away, and leave the hawk sitting 
on the ground. However, familiarity appearing to breed 
self-confidence, the struggles grew more exciting and more 
prolonged, and at last, with the adventitious aid of a hedge 
and ditch, the hawk achieved her first kill, and a 5-lb. hare 
was carried home in triumph. After that it was chiefly 
a question of experience; the hawk is almost certain to 
persevere once she has learned that this formidable-looking 
beast can be made to succumb to her attacks. 

It will have been gathered from the above that the whole 
technique of hare-hawking is very different from that of rabbit- 
hawking, and a hawk will not succeed in this flight until she 
has learned from experience at least some of these differences. 
Tn the first place, if the hawk plants the first foot on the hare’s 


233 [Vol. iii. 

loins, aS she is accustomed to do with rabbits, she will never 
be able to get her other foot on to the hare’s head, simply 
because the distance to be bridged is too great: the result 
will be that the hawk will be kicked off and left on the ground. 
On the other hand, if the hawk strikes both feet into the hare’s 
head, the chances are that the hare, if a big one, will leap a 
yard or more into the air two or three times in succession, 
and follow this up, if necessary, with a somersault or two on 
the ground, and so dislodge an inexperienced and not un- 
naturally somewhat frightened hawk. Success generally 
seems to be the outcome of stopping the hare first with a 
powerful tackle, and then holding it with one or both feet 
by the nose like a bull. Once this grip has been established 
the hare appears to be powerless. Occasionally a hawk 
manages to hold even a 7-lb. hare by a terrific grip with a 
foot on each hind-quarter. My hawk has done so once, and a 
friend’s hawk I think twice, but it is somewhat surprising 
that the hare should be rendered incapable of further move- 
ment in these circumstances. 

The flight at a hare is so difficult that every possible ad- 
vantage must be given to the hawk. The closer the slip the 
better, and this for two reasons. The hawk will reach the 
hare comparatively quickly, and so have all its reserves of 
energy available for the fray instead of being “ blown” by a 
long initial flight ; and secondly, the hare will have less time 
and opportunity to bring his cunning into play. If the hare 
can be marked down in its form for a young hawk, so much 
the better. There should be little or no wind, for if there 
is a strong wind the hare will probably race up-wind the 
moment it realizes that it is being pursued, and leave the 
hawk behind. As regards ground, plough is best, as it hinders 
the hare and so assists the hawk ; then long grass, the coarser 
the better. Short grass is worst, because it increases the 
speed of the hare and facilitates the turns and doubles at which 
the hare is naturally so adept. In fact my hawk has not 
yet succeeded in catching and holding a hare on really short 
grass, a8 in every case, after the first unsuccessful grip, the 
hare has doubled so suddenly and so repeatedly that the 
hawk has failed even to touch it again, and has given up in 


Vol. liii.] 234 

disgust. Enclosed country is also, I think, easier than very 
open country. In the former the hare has his own special 
runs and meuses, and will, as a rule, make straight for them, 
despite the hawk. In open country one direction is as good 
as another, and the hare will determine his line with one eye 
on the hawk, instead of trying to keep to his regular “‘ point 
to point ”’ course. 

Hilly country is undesirable, as the hare is almost sure 
to run up hill, and the only possibilities will be a tricky head-on 
slip if the falconer begins above the hare, or an up-hill slip 
if he does not, and the hard tackle which speed alone can 
give is of crucial importance when flying hares. 

We have still to deal with the tactics of pursuer and pursued 
during the actual flight. The usual ruse of the hare, if he 
adopts one, is the well known right-angled or acute-angled 
turn. And, as already pointed out, if executed at the last 
possible moment, with the necessary speed and precision, 
and repeated three or four times in rapid succession, it appears 
to baffle the hawk completely. | 

Another trick that is sometimes successfully employed by 
the hare is the ‘“‘ high jump.” The hare waits till the hawk 
is within striking distance, and then leaps high into the air, 
allowing the hawk to pass underneath it. Curiously enough, 
the only time this manceuvre was tried on my hawk it signally 
failed of its object. When the hawk was within striking 
distance, the hare, without warning, stopped dead, then 
kicked itself wp in a prodigious leap five feet or so into the air. 
The hawk, however, instead of hurling herself at the spot where 
the stationary hare had been a second before, as she was no 
doubt intended to do, and thus finding herself stranded, 
empty-handed, on the ground, while the hare made off in 
a new direction, threw up into the air some fifteen or twenty 
feet, so that both hawk and hare were in the air together ; 
and, the moment the hare landed, heeled over, and came 
crashing down on to it before it had time to find its legs and 
make a fresh start. 

So much for theory, much of it grounded, I admit, on in- 
sufficient evidence. Now for a description of an actual flight 
at a hare, which took place on the first afternoon I went out 


235 [Vol. hii. 

with the hawk this year. We were walking over a small 
piece of plough in the corner of a fairly large field, rather 
as a matter of form than in the expectation of putting up 
a hare, which is something of a rarity on this particular farm. 
Suddenly one of the “field”? spotted a hare crouching in a 
scrape in the plough, and managed to withdraw and tell me 
without having disturbed it. While the rest of the “ field ” 
proceeded to line the two neighbouring hedges, I quickly 
brought the hawk round till we were between the hare and the 
nearest hedge. I waited till I too had seen the hare, and then 
proceeded to walk it up, ready to slip the hawk at a moment’s 
notice. 

When I was about three yards off, the hare got up, and, with- 
out a second’s hesitation, the hawk left the fist in pursuit. 
The battle was on! After this ideal start the hawk reached 
the hare comparatively quickly, and struck it hard with one 
foot across the loins, but before she could improve her position 
the hare had kicked her off and gone on, with the hawk once 
more in hot pursuit. Another impact, even harder, followed 
by a confused medley of wings and fur, and the hare was down ! 
In fact, it seemed to have taken the final count, and the cheers 
of the “‘field”’ were ringing out, when, with a violent convulsion, 
it shook itself free again and turned back for the hedge. The 
hawk, being left off her balance on the plough, made a slow 
and laboured start, and although she caught up with the hare 
for the third time, had so little way on that the impact was 
feeble, and the hare continued its course unscathed, except 
for the loss of a tuft of fur. The hawk thereupon spread 
her wings and sailed up into the air, and it looked for one 
anxious moment as if she had given up the unequal contest 
and intended to rest herself in a neighbouring tree. Suddenly, 
however, she wheeled round and, turning over from her new 
elevation, she came down with an audible swish after the 
fast-retreating hare, and swept into it with irresistible force 
in the nick of time, just as it was about to negotiate the meuse 
through the hedge, which would have secured it temporary 
or even permanent respite ; and when I arrived on the scene 
the hawk was on top of it in the ditch, with the daggers 
of one foot firmly imbedded in the hare’s head. As a reward 


Vol. liii.] 236 

for having flown with such courage and perseverance, the 
hawk was then fed up on the quarry, and not flown again 
that aftenoon. 

A few statistics about this particular female Goshawk 
(a Norwegian) will illustrate the sort of thing these birds 
can do. She was trained and flown loose sixteen days after 
she was first takenin hand. Inthe next ten days (in exception- 
ally favourable country) she accounted for forty rabbits. 
By the end of the year, four months later, during which she 
was flown only at week-ends, her bag had risen to ninety-three 
rabbits, six hares, and a rat. The biggest hare weighed over 
7 lb. On her best days she will account for something like 
five out of every six rabbits at which she is slipped. On the 
last morning of last year, when I wanted five more head of 
game to complete the hawk’s century, three-quarters of an 
hour proved sufficient for my purpose, as by then she had 
had six slips, admittedly none of them difficult ones, and got 
the five rabbits required. 

It will be seen from the above that a female Goshawk 
is popular with the housekeeper as well as with the falconer, 
and even when flown only at the week-ends it is seldom that 
she does not manage to make some contribution to the larder, 
and, of course, catches far more than she could eat herself. 
The most I have ever taken in an afternoon with my hawk is 
nine rabbits, but on that particular occasion I was single- 
handed and obliged to stop, not because the hawk was tired, 
but because I was, having had to carry the nine rabbits in 
question, in addition to the ordinary paraphernalia of the 
falconer, and that in hilly country under an August sun ! 

The Goshawk, like other birds of prey, is fed only on raw 
meat. Nothing is better than rabbit, with the fur to form 
castings, and my hawk supplies herself and a male Goshawk 
with enough to feed them both for the better half of the week, 
quite apart from any contributions to the larder. In the 
absence of rabbit, rats, chicken-heads, and necks, or beef 
can be resorted to, and roughly in that order. Butcher’s 
meat should be avoided as a rule, or at least not given at all 
regularly. 


237 [Vol. liti. 

In case anything I have said may lead anyone to conclude 
that the sport of hawking with a short-winged hawk is easier 
than it really is, I shall end by recapitulating a few of the 
difficulties and dangers with which the falconer is confronted. 

Loss of the hawk is, of course, the final disaster, and it may 
arise in an infinity of ways. Mechanical breakdown, such 
as the snapping of jesses, swivel, or leash, may release the 
hawk at an inopportune moment, and it may have time to 
resume its wild life before it can be traced and recovered. 
A lesser danger is that a fat and bumptious hawk may refuse 
to come back to the fist or lure—lesser because these are signs 
of incipient disobedience, which will put the experienced 
falconer on his guard. Another danger is that a hawk, while 
flying its quarry, may come within range of the “‘ man with 
the gun,” either a gamekeeper on a neighbouring shoot, 
or even a cottager, who knows a hawk when he sees one. 
I have myself been within measurable distance of losing a 
trained hawk through each of these gentlemen. 

A hawk may also be lost by flying its quarry out of sight 
and sound of the bells; but, as has already been pointed out, 
it is not the nature of a short-winged hawk to fly far or perse- 
vere unduly in the chase, and this mishap is only likely to 
result in practice from astern chase after a pheasant, which 
is an undesirable quarry for this very reason. 

Lastly, there is disease to be feared. A Goshawk is alleged 
to be hardy as hawks go; but this must be regarded only 
as increasing the margin of safety, not as excusing the taking 
of unnecessary or avoidable risks. A hawk must be flown 
without any internal fat. The consequence of this is that 
the hawk, though perfectly healthy, is more susceptible to any 
sudden change than it would be if it had a reserve of fat upon 
_ which to fall back in an emergency, and if it once falls seriously 
ill the chances are distinctly against recovery. 

However, these difficulties and dangers are not insurmount- 
able, and as the result of a combination of luck and care you 
may reasonably hope to find yourself, as I do now, in the happy 
position of having completed your hawk’s first season without 
mishap; and having “cast her into the mews” to moult 


Vol. liii.] 238 

her feathers, with a score of a century odd to her credit, can 
look forward with every confidence to a second season with 
greater triumphs still in store. 

Lord RoruscuHitp exhibited a mounted specimen of 
Casuarius unappendiculatus rufotinctus, together with a 
drawing and photographs from life, and an oviduct egg. 
He said this is the finest example of this form yet imported ; 
he obtained it when immature (plumage mixed with brown 
feathers), being probably four years old, and it had lived 
in the Zoological Gardens for over ten years, and had died 
egg-bound by the egg exhibited. This bird came from the 
neighbourhood of Humboldt Bay, but the subspecies extended 
westward all over Dutch New Guinea except the Arfak 
Peninsula, where it is replaced by C. u. rothschildi. How far 
eastward it extends is unknown, but it is replaced round 
Huon Gulf by C. wu. aurantiacus. 

The typical form of this species, Casuarius unappendi- 
culatus unappendiculatus, is confined to the Island of Salwatti. 

Dr. Ernst Mayr and other Continental ornithologists have 
considered C. u. rufotinctus to be identical with Count Salva- 
dori’s C..u. occipitalis, but until we get living specimens 
from the Island of Jobi this must remain more than doubtful. 

The only known examples of C. u. occipitalis are the two 
skins (now mounted) in the Paris Museum, brought home by 
Laglaize, one of which is the type of Casuarius laglaizet. . 

The egg taken from the oviduct, and now exhibited, is 
interesting as showing how very shortly before expulsion the 
final colouring takes place. 

The drawing and photographs were taken from life by 
H. Grénvold and C. Millward. 

Lord RotuscuiLD also exhibited a curious variety of a 
Blackbird picked up dead at Tring Park, and said that 
last year three such birds were hatched out in one nest in 
the garden at Tring, and two of these were still about. The 
brown feathers look like the transient youthful brown feathers 
often present in the Corvide, but the two living Blackbirds, 
now thirteen or fourteen months old, still show them. 


239 [Vol. liii. 

Dr. G. CARMICHAEL Low showed, on behalf of Dr. J. M. 
Harrison, a stuffed specimen of a Yellowshank (Tringa flavipes) 
which was shot in Lincolnshire on September 15, 1932, this 
being the first record of that species for the county. The 
occurrence, he said, had already been reported in ‘ British 
Birds’ (xxvi. 1933, p. 338) by Mr. G. H. Caton Haigh. The 
latter recorded that the bird was shot on September 15, 1932, 
by Mr. J. H. Stubbs at his Plover decoy-pool in Tetney Cow 
Marsh. The bird was very tame and had a strange note. 
Caton Haigh did not hear of the occurrence for some days, 
and did not see the bird in the flesh. When he saw it at the 
Louth bird-stuffers he noted that it had long thin legs and a 
noticeably slender bill. The legs were pale yellow and the 
bill black. The bird was very badly stuffed, but has now been 
remounted and nicely set up by Dr. Harrison, who recently 
purchased it from Mr. Stubbs. There have been eight records 
at least of the occurrence of this American species in the 
British Isles, and it may be useful for members of the Club 
to have these in detail. In my ‘Literature of the Charadrii- 
formes,’ ed. ii. 1931, p. 220, these are given as follows :— 

1. Tringa flavipes, Yellow-legs. One obtained, Mission, Nottingham- 
shire, north-east of Bawtry, before 1855: Yarrell, ‘ British Birds ’ 
(ed. iv.), ii. 1882-1885, p. 480. One? obtained: ‘ Naturalist,’ 
1858. No substantiating evidence: Yarrell, loc. cit. 

2. Tringa flavipes. One obtained near Marazion, about two miles 
from Penzance, September 12, 1871: Rodd, ‘ Zoologist,’ 1871, 
p. 2807. 

3. Tringa flavipes. One obtained, Fair Isle, Shetlands: W. Eagle 

Clarke, Ann. Scott. Nat. Hist. 1911, p. 53. 
se | Tringa flavipes. Two obtained, jg and 9, Camber, Sussex, August 15, 

1914: Ford-Lindsay, ‘ British Birds,’ viii. 1914, pp. 121-122. 

. Tringa flavipes. One obtained, Tresco, Scilly Isles, September 2, 

1920: Langton, Ball. B. O. C. xli. 1920, pp. 26-27. 

7. Tringa flavipes. One obtained, West Mersea, August 8, 1921 ; 
in Southend Museum: Thompson, Essex Nat. xx. 1922, p. 46, 
fo. i. 

8. Tringa flavipes. One seen, Tresco, Scilly Isles, August 19, 1921: 
A. A. Dorrien-Smith, Ibis, 1927, p. 782. 

OUR 

for) 

The bird shown to-night, therefore, makes 

9. Tringa flavipes. One obtained, Tetney Cow Marsh, Lincolnshire, 
September 15, 1932: G. H. Caton Haigh, ‘British Birds,’ xxvi. 
1933, p. 388. Exhibition of specimen, Bull. B.O.C. liii, 1933, p. 239. 


Vol. liii.] 240 

Dr. CARMICHAEL Low also showed a series of picture 
post-cards of Texel birds. These were from photographs 
taken by Mr. Burdet, the well known Dutch ornithologist. 
Dr. Low said he had just come back from a week’s trip to 
Texel, and that, if time permitted, in the next Session he 
would give a description of this wonderful bird island. Here 
Redshanks (T'ringa totanus totanus), Black-tailed Godwits 
(Limosa 1. limosa), Ruffs (Philomachus pugnax), Kentish 
Plovers (Charadrius a. alexandrinus), Oyster-catchers (Hama- 
topus ostralegus), Avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta), Black-headed 
Gulls (Larus r. ridibundus), Common Terns (Sterna h. hirundo), 
etc., were breeding in profusion—so much so that in some of 
the meadows one had to take special precautions to avoid 
treading on the eggs. 

The Hen. Guy CHARTERIS showed a series of eggs from 
Hungary :— 

1. Five clutches of eggs of the River-Warbler (Locustella . 
fluviatilis). 

2. Some interesting types of Cuckoos’ eggs, laid in nests 
of the Great Reed- Warbler (Acrocephalus a. arundinaceus). 

3. Two clutches of eggs of the Short-toed Lark (Calandrella 
b. brachydactila), which, as far as he knew, had not been 
recorded as breeding in Hungary before. 

Mr. Jack Vincent forwarded a description of yet another 
new subspecies which had been noticed among the Portuguese 
East African collection :— 

Micropus apus lawsone, subsp. nov. 

The collection brought back from Portuguese East Africa 
includes four breeding Swifts from Southern Nyasaland, 
and as it has been brought to my notice that these are not 
applicable to existing forms I am compelled to describe them 
as new. 

Description.—Quite unlike the small and pale 1. a. shelleyi, 
which has an unusual characteristic in the light-coloured 
wing-coverts, contrasting strongly with the dark primaries. 


241 [Vol. liii. 

Differs from M. a. barbatus in being considerably darker 
throughout, particularly on the underside, which is much 
blacker, and not brownish, in general hue, although it possesses 
a similarly distinct barring below, due to the whitish edges 
to the feathers. The throat is somewhat whiter than M. a. 
barbatus, and shows less striation. Everything points to the 
Nyasaland birds being an intermediate form between M. a. 
shelleyi and M. a. barbatus, for whereas the former, of which 
ten specimens were examined, has a wing averaging 154 mm. 
(with a maximum of 160 and a minimum of 146 mm.), and the 
latter, of which ten specimens were also examined, has a wing 
averaging 179 mm. (maximum 187, minimum 165 mm.), 
my birds have a wing which averages 171 mm. (with maximum 
173 and minimum 168 mm.). Generally speaking, these 
Nyasaland birds approach quite closely to M. a. balstoni 
and M. a. mayottensis in their dark coloration, but the island 
forms are even blacker, and show a smaller wing-measurement. 

Type.—No. 2168, an adult female, shot by myself at Palombe, 
in the Mlanje district of Southern Nyasaland, 15-50°S., 
35:40° E., at 2300 feet altitude, on September 6, 1932. Two 
eggs yolking up in the ovary. Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1933.3.1.25. 

Measurements of Type.—Total length in the flesh 187 ; 
wing 173; tail 76 mm. 

Remarks.—The measurements which I have quoted in the 
description amply justify this separation, and although 
I am not entirely in favour of describing intermediate forms, 
for which 2 signs are preferable, in this case an exception 
is necessary, as it is a dark race lying between two paler ones, 
and the intergradation of colour is inconsistent with that 
expected. The race has been named as a compliment to 
Miss M. Lawson, of the Bird Room, British Museum. 

Mr. H. F. WirHERBY pointed out that three of the nestling 
Waders referred to by Dr. C. B. Ticehurst in the last ‘ Bulletin ’ 
(liii. 1933, pp. 205-6) as being hitherto undescribed in English 
literature, so far as he knew, had already been described, and 
also figured, as follows :— 

Oxyechus [Charadrius] vociferus W. Rowan, Brit. Birds, xx. 
June 1926, pl. ii. and p. 9. 


Vol. liii.] 242 

Erolia [Ereunetes| pusilia W. Rowan, ft. c. p. 145 (description) 
and p. 216 (figure). 

Tringa melanoleuca, t. c. xxiii., figured by W. Rowan (pl. iv.) 
and described by H. F. Witherby (p. 17) *. 

Capt. C. H. B. Grant and Mr. C. W. MackworTH-PRAED 
sent the following notes :— 

1. The exact Type-locality of the Maccoa Duck, ERISMATURA 
maccoa Eyton, and the White-backed Duck, THawas- 
SORNIS LEUCONOTUS Eyton. 

Both these species were described by Eyton, Monogr. Anat. 
1838, pp. 168 and 169, and were founded on Dr. A. Smith, 
Cat. S. Afr. Mus. 1837, p. 37. Although Sclater, in Fauna 
S. Afr. iv. 1906, pp. 151 and 154, gives the exact type-locality, 
he only quotes South Africa in his Syst. Av. A‘thiop. 1. 
1924, p. 40. The exact locality is to be found in Smith, 
Illust. Zool. S. Afr. ii. 1847, pl. 108, and 1846, pl. 107, and is 
given for both these ducks, as Verloren Vlei, Piquetberg 
Division, Cape Colony. 

2. The exact Type-locality of the Cape Shoveler, SPATULA 
CAPENSIS (Eyton), and a character by which the females 
of this species may be distinguished from the females 
of the European Shoveler, SPATULA CLYPEATA (Linnaeus). 

Eyton, Monogr. Anat. 1838, p. 135, described this species 
on specimens exhibited in the South African Museum, and 
adopted Smith’s name, Rhynchaspis capensis, Cat. S. Afr. 
Mus. 1837, p. 36, but no locality is given, though it is presumed 
the locality was South Africa, and this has been used by all 
authors, including Sclater, Syst. Av. Aithiop. i. 1924, p. 41. 

In his Illust. Zool. 8. Afr. ii., Aves, 1844, pl. 98, Smith 
gives Cape District, followed by Worcester, and Uitenhage. 
As this is the first reference to a definite locality, the correct 
type-locality for Spatula capensis (Eyton) is the Cape 
District, Cape Colony, South Africa. 

The following is a character which appears to be quite 
constant, and by which the females of both species can be 

* (The chick of Heteroscelus [Tringa] incanus has also been described 
and figured (Murie, ‘ Auk,’ xli. 1924, p. 234, pl. xviii.) —Eb.] 


243 [Vol. liii. 

at once distinguished, and which also holds good for the males 
and young birds of both sexes :-— 

Spatula clypeata.—Shafts of primary feathers white. 
Spatula capensis.—Shafts of primary feathers brown. 

3. A more definite Type-locality for the Abyssinian Yellow- 
billed Duck, ANAS UNDULATA RUPPELLI Blyth. 

Blyth, Journ. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, xxiv. 1855, p. 265, described 
this race from a specimen received from Ruppell, and which 
was undoubtedly collected by him during his travels in North- 
East Africa. Blyth gives the locality as Central Africa. 

Other references to localities are :— 

1864. Jerdon, Bds. of Ind. ii. 1864, p. 800: North Africa. 
1872. Giebel, Thes. Orn. i. 1872, p. 361: Africa. 
1900-1. Reichenow, Vog. Afr. i. 1900-1, p. 113; only 
includes name’ as synonym. 
- 1904. Neumann, J. f. Ornith. 1904, p. 327: inner North- 
East Africa (p. 328, last line). 

We know that Riippell travelled only in Egypt, Nubia, 
Red Sea coast, Arabia, and Abyssinia between 1817 and 1833, 
and as Blyth gives Central Africa, the type (which appears 
to have been lost) must have come from Nubia (eastern Sudan), 
the Red Sea Coast, or Abyssinia. 

As this bird does not occur in Egypt, and is most commonly 
found in Abyssinia, and less so, or is non-existent, in the Sudan, 
we suggest that the type-locality of Anas undulata ruppelli 
Blyth be designated as Abyssinia. 

4, On the Status of ANAS SPARSA LEUCOSTIGMA Riippell. 

Sclater, Syst. Av. Atthiop. i. 1924, p. 42, and Bannerman, 
Bds. Trop. W. Afr. i. 1930, p. 139 (who gives the bill as pinkish), 
recognize only one form of the African Black Duck, but Chapin, 
Bds. Belg. Congo, i. 1932, p. 496, recognizes a southern and 
a northern form, having the bill “ dark lead blue,’’ as opposed 
to “‘ much paler ”’ in more northern birds. 

This has caused us to examine all the material in the 
British Museum collection, and we cannot see any really 
distinctive difference in this respect in the dried skins, and the 


Vol. liii.] 244 

type of Anas sparsa Eyton, from South Africa, has a distinct 
pale bill with a brown patch on the culmen and a brown nail, 
which were, no doubt, black in life. Many other specimens 
from southern Africa have pale bills, all with distinct black 
patches on the culmen, varying in size individually, and black 
nails; but grey, especially pale grey, might just as easily 
completely fade, as would yellow or pink, and in dried skins 
the soft parts do have quite a different appearance and colour 
to what they exhibited during life. 

Eyton, in the original description, gives the bill as lead- 
coloured, and Sclater, Fauna 8S. Afr. iv. 1906, p. 136, gives 
it as slate. The colours recorded on the labels of eleven 
specimens from southern Africa are :—Lavender-grey, slaty 
brown, slaty blue, purplish-blue, pinkish-slaty, livid blue, 
pale purplish livid, livid, light blue-grey, and blue-grey. 

Riippell, in the original description, gives the bill as yellow, 
and van Someren, Journ. Kast Africa and Uganda Nat. Hist. 
Soc. nos. 38 & 39, 1930, p. 51, gives the bill as pink. The 
colours recorded on five specimens from eastern Africa are :— 
Yellow ochre; yellow; pinkish-white, brown at base, greenish- 
horn at tip; pink at base, rest horn; and greyish white on the 
one specimen from the Cameroons. 

Despite the appearance of the dried skins, and judging 
solely by the above colours of the bill as recorded by the various 
collectors, it does appear that the northern birds have no 
pale or slate coloration in the bill, but incline more to yellow 
or pink. 

We therefore propose to follow Chapin and recognize 
two races of this Duck, as follows :— 

ANAS SPARSA SPARSA Hyton. 

Anas sparsa Eyton, Monogr. Anat. 1838, p. 142: South 
Africa. 

Range.—Southern Africa, north to Angola, Nyasaland, 
and Portuguese East Africa. 

ANAS SPARSA LEUCOSTIGMA Riippell. 

Anas leucostigma Riippell, Syst. Ueb. Vog. N.-O. Afr. 
1845, p. 130, pl. xlviii.: Abyssinia. 

Range.—Kastern Africa from Abyssinia to Tanganyika 
Territory, western Africa, and the Belgian Congo. 


245 [Vol. liii. 

5. The Occurrence of the Pintail, Darita acuta (Linneus), 
and the Garganey, ANAS QUERQUEDULA Linnezus, in 
Tanganyika Territory. 

Sclater, Syst. Av. Aithiop. i. 1924, pp. 43, 44, has given 
the range of both these Ducks as Tabora, in Tanganyika 
Territory, but as the specimens on which this record was 
based have not, as far as we know, been recorded in the 
literature, we consider it of interest to do so now :— 

PintalL, Qad.: Tabora, Tanganyika Territory, January 16, 
1922 (C. F. M. Swynnerton). Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1923.4.15.6. 

GARGANEY, gad. in full eclipse: Tabora, Tanganyika 
Territory, January 1922 (C.F. M. Swynnerton). Brit. Mus. 
Reg. no. 1923.4.15-7. 

A second occurrence of the Garganey in Tanganyika Territory 
has been recorded in the Bull. B. O. C. li. 1931, p. 127. 

6. Further Notes on DEMIGRETTA SCHISTACEA, EGRETTA 
GARZETTA GARZETTA, EGRETTA GARZETTA DIMORPHA, and. 
some Corrections. 

Through the kindness of Dr. J. P. Chapin we have been . 
enabled to examine the specimen of Demigretta schistacea 
(Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. no. 265280) recorded on p. 433 of his 
‘Birds of the Belgian Congo,’ i. 1932, and we are satisfied 
thatit is a typical female in the grey phase of that species. This 
record extends the range from the Nile Valley to Lake Albert, 
and as the Nile also rises in Lake Victoria, we may expect 
to find that this Heron occurs on that lake. 

The measurements of this bird are :—Wing 300, culmen 95, 
tarsus 112, depth of bill behind nasal orifice, 16 mm. 

Dr. Finn Salomonsen has discovered another good sub- 
specific character between the coloured forms of FL. g. garzetta 
and EH. g. dimorpha which he has very kindly allowed us to 
quote here :— 

E. g. garzetta.—Feathers at base of lower mandible white. 

E.g.dimorpha.—Feathers at base of lower mandible coloured. 

Corrections.—In the Bull. B. O.C. liii. 1933, p. 191, line 27, for 
“blackish state ” read ‘“ blackish slate’; line 32, add ‘‘Cape 
Verde Islands’’; p. 192, line 16, delete “‘Cape Verde’ ; line 29, 


Vol. liii.] 246 

delete ‘Tanganyika Territory (Dar-es-Salaam), and read 
“ Range.—Madagascar.”’ 

7. A new Subspecies of the Rusty Bush-Lark, MIRAFRA RUFA 
Lynes. 

In ‘The Ibis,’ 1924, p. 695, Lynes, under 566. Mirafra 
rufa (?), mentions two specimens he obtained in the region 
of Nahud, eastern Darfur, but did not name them definitely 
owing to lack of material. The data on the label of the male, 
which is 70 miles west of El Obeid, do not agree with that 
given by Lynes in ‘ The Ibis.’ 

Through the kindness of the Sudan Government Museum 
we have now been enabled to examine four more Larks from 
Delami and Um Dona in the Koalib area of the Dar Nuba, 
and which agree perfectly with Lynes’s two skins. These 
very clearly show that Lynes’s birds are not “ aberrant in- 
dividuals of M. rufa,” but represent a new eastern race of 
Mirafra rufa, and we propose to name it :— 

Mirafra rufa lynesi, subsp. nov. 

Description.—In size and general appearance similar to 
Mirafra rufa rufa Lynes, but lacking the distinct black 
striping to the centres of the feathers of the head and mantle, 
thus giving the bird a more clear, rich rufous coloration ; 
the wing-coverts are paler, and the general tone of the under- 
parts is deeper, 7. e., slightly more rufous. 

Measurements.—Wing 86, tail 62, culmen 13, tarsus 22 mm. 

Distribuiion.—Kordofan. 

Type.—In the British Museum. dadult. Delami, Kor- 
dofan Province; collected by W. Ruttledge on July 13, 1927 
(Sudan Government Museum, no. 38718). Brit. Mus. Reg. 
no. 1933.6.28.1. | 

Remarks.—Named in honour of Rear-Admiral Hubert Lynes, 
C.B.,C.M.G., R.N. Presented by the Sudan Government. 

Six specimens examined, as follows :— 

gad., 29. iii. 1922, 70 miles west of El Obeid, 2000 feet. 
Wing 85mm. (Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1922.12.8.1558.) 

Qad., 24. 111.1922, 20 miles west of Nahud, 2200 feet. 
Wing 82mm. (Brit. Mus. Reg. no. 1922.12.8.1557.) 


247 [Vol. liii. 

dad., 13. vii. 1927, Delami, Kordofan Province. Wing 
85mm. (Sudan Government Museum, no. 3736.) 

dad., 13. vii. 1927, Delami, Kordofan Province. Wing 
86mm. (Sudan Government Museum, no. 3718.) Type. 

6 ad., 18. ix. 1927. Um Dona, Koalib, Kordofan Province. 
Wing 85mm. (Sudan Government Museum, no. 4013.) 

@ad., 2.ii.1928. Delami, Kordofan Province. Wing 
84 mm. (Sudan Government Museum, no. 4128.) 

Distribution (of both races).— 

Mirafra rufa rufa Lynes, Bull. B.O.C. xli. 1920, p. 15: 
Central Darfur, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. (The type-specimen 
is labelled ‘‘ Juga Juga,” 15 miles E.N.E. of El Fasher.) 

Range.—North and Central Darfur, from Juga Juga to 
Zalingei. 

Mirafra rufa lynesi. 

Range.—Kordofan, from 20 miles west of El Nahud to 
Delami and Um Dona in the Koalib area of Dar Nuba. 

Capt. C. H. B. Grant sent the following note :— 

With reference to Mr. B. G. Harrison’s paper in the Bull. 
B. O. C. hii. 1933, p. 102, on the Cowbirds of South America, 
I should like to invite attention to my paper in ‘ The Ibis,’ 
1912, p. 278, on the eggs and foster parents of the three species 
found in the Argentine. 

Corrigenda to Volume LIII. 

P. 114, line 2 from bottom of page, for Orthotomus artrogularis read 
Orthotomus atrogularis. 
P. 202, line 5, for Ieracidia berigora read Ieracidea berigora. 
P. 214, line 2 from bottom of page, for Stomness Bay read Stromness 
Bay. 


Vol. liii.] 248 
NOTICES. 

The next Meeting of the Club (the first of the new Session), 
will be held on Wednesday, October 11, 1933, at the Knights- 
bridge Hotel, Knightsbridge, S.W.1. The Dinner at 7 p.m. 

Members intending to dine are requested to inform the 
Hon. Secretary, Mr. C. W. Mackworth-Praed, 51 Onslow 
Gardens, London, S.W. 7. 

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING. 

This will also be held at the Knightsbridge Hotel, Knights- 
bridge, S.W. 1, on Wednesday, October 11, 1933, at 5.45 p.m. 
An Agenda and Balance Sheet will be issued in September. 

Members who wish to make any communication at the 
next Meeting of the Club must give notice to the Editor, 
Dr. G. Carmichael Low, 86 Brook Street, Grosvenor Square, W. 1, 
as soon as possible. The titles of their contributions will then 
appear on the Agenda published before each Meeting. All 
MSS. for publication in the ‘ Bulletin’ must be given to the 
Editor before or at the Meeting. 


INDEX. 

| Names of new species and subspecies are indicated by clarendon type 
under the generic entry only ; vernacular, or common, 
names are shown in ordinary type. | 

aalge hyperborea, Uria, 68, 69. 

, Uria aalge, 68, 70. 

aberrans minor, Cisticola, 171. 

njombe, Cisticola, 170. 

—f— nyika, Cisticola, 171. 

Acanthis flammea flammea, 65. 

Acanthagenys rufogularis, 202. 

Accipiter nisus nisus, 218. 

achimodz, Micropus, 171, 173. 

Acrocephalus arundinaceus arundi- 
naceus, 240. 

australis, 202. 

Actinodura nipalensis. waldeni, 79. 

wardi, subsp. n., 79. 

Actitis hypoleucos, 203. 

acuta, Dafila, 245. 

adsimilis atactus, Dicrurus, 
178. 

coracinus, Dicrurus, 178. 

——, Dicrurus, 177. 

adsimilis, 178. 

divaricatus, Dicrurus, 177. 

modestus, Dicrurus, 177, 178. 

Aigialitis mechowi, 96. 

ceegyptius, Caprimulgus cgyptius, 
79. ‘ 

ceneus, Tangavius, 103. 

ceequatorialis, Micropus, 172. 

. Pogonornis bidentatus, 124. 

ceruginosus, Circus eruginosus, 129. 

afer, Cinnyris: Structural differ- 
entiation (fig. 3), 41. 

affinis, Cypselus, 71, 72, 98. 

africanus, Phalacrocorax africanus, 
209, 210. 

Agelaioides badius, 103. 

agmen, Mesopicos goerte, 74, 75. 

airensis, Cercomela melanura, 175. 

akleyorum, Lampribis olivacea, 12. 

VOL. LIII. 

177, 

? 

Albatross, Wandering, 213. 

, White-capped, 213. 

albicilla longicauda, Muscicapa 
madagascariensis, 120. 

albidorsalis, Sterna maxima, 44. 

albigularis, Lybius zombe, 151. 

albitorquata, Amadina fasciata, 148. 

albirictus, Dicrurus macrocercus, 20. 

Alca torda, 68. 

Alcippe, 87. 

nepalensis stanfordi, 19. 

porioicephala phayrei, 19. 

variegaticeps, 88. 

Alethe anomala anomala, 139. 

gurué, subsp. n., 138. 

choloensis, 162. 

choloensis, 138. 

namuli, subsp. n., 138. 

alexanderi, Amadina fasciata, 148. 

, Diomedea exulans, 214. 

alexandrinus, Charadrius, 96, 212, 
2132 

——, alexandrinus, 85, 240. 

——, Leucopolius, 203. 

mechowi, Charadrius, 96. 

nigirius, Charadrius, 96. 

—— pons, Charadrius, 96. 

seebohm, Charadrius, 213. 

alfredi <itoculo, Phyllastrephus, 
134. 

» Phyllastrephus alfredi, 134. 

Alle alle alle, 68. 

Allocotops calvus, 113. 

alpina, Calidris alpina, 163, 165. 

, Hrolia, 204. 

schinzii, Calidris, 164, 165. 

Amadina fasciata albitorquata, 
subsp. n., 148. 

alexanderi, 148. 

t 


Vol. liii.] 

Amadina fasciata fasciata, 148. 
meridionalis, 148. 
amauropteryx camerunensis, Hypo- 
chera, 179. 
, Hypochera amauropteryx, 
L784 79. 
ambigua, Cisticola robusta, 170. 
americanus, Coccyzus americanus, 
77, 88, 89, 90, 98. 
amicta, Nyctiornis, 108. 
Ammomanes deserti, 151. 
anne, 151. 
bensoni, subsp. n., 
151, 1523 
geyri, 152. 
—— —— janeti, subsp. n., 151. 
—— —— mya, 151. 
payni, 152. 
analis, Pycnonotus, 109. 
Anas leucostigma, 244. 
querquedula, 245. 
sparsa leucostigma, 243, 244. 
sparsa, 244. 
undulata ruppelli, 243. 
anatum, Falco peregrinus, 79. 
anderssoni, Struthio, 14. 
angolense, Tricholema flavipunc- 
tata, 152,153. 
angolensis, Cisticola robusta, 170. 
, Pogoniulus scolopaceus, 184. 
Anhinga melanogaster, 109. 
anne, Ammomanes deserti, 151. 
anomala, Alethe anomala, 139. 
—— gurué, Alethe, 138. 
Anomalospiza imberbis, 159. 
Anous stolidus, 78. 
Anser brachyrhynchus, 167. 
ansorgii, Tricholema flavipunctata, 
152, 1538. 
Anthipes monileger gularis, 19. 
Anthracoceros malayanus, 114. 
Anthus richardi lacuum, 132. 
lichenya, subsp. n., 131. 
raaltenii, 131, 132. 
Apalis binotata, 142. 
jacksoni, 142. 
—— lynesi, sp. n., 142. 
— melanocephala, 162. 

=== fuliginosa, subsp. n., 
141. 

a melanocephala, 141. 

—— tenebricosa, subsp. n., 
141, 142. 

apivorus, Pernis apivorus, 15, 45. 
appelator, Indicator, 130, 160. 
apus balstoni, Micropus, 241. 
-—— barbatus, Micropus, 241. 
-—— lawsone, Micropus, 240. 
— mayottensis, Micropus, 241, 

250 

apus shelleyi, Micropus, 240, 241. 

Aquila chrysaétos hodgsoni, 21. 

daphanea, 21. 

Arachnothera everetti, 113. 

julie, 114. 

longirostra, 108. 

Arboricola hyperythra, 111. 

arctica, F'ratercula arctica, 68. 

Ardea asha, 195. 

garzetta, 191, 194. 

— gularis, 192. 

schistacea, 195. 

ardeola, Dromas, 203. 

Arenaria interpres, 204. 

melanocephala, 204. 

argentatus, Larus, 67. 

Argya fulva, 6. 

argyromitra, Penelope superciliaris, 
94. 

argyrotis, Penelope, 94. 

arundinaceus, Acrocephalus arundi- 
naceus, 240. 

asha, Ardea, 195. 

, Demigretta, 189, 194. 

Asio flammeus flammeus, 128. 

assamensis, Drymocataphus tickelli, 
19. 

, Macacus, 16. 

assumptionis, Egretta garzetta, 193. 

Astur gentilis gentilis, 218. 

atactus, Dicrurus adsimilis, 177, 
178. 
ater britannicus, Parus, 76. 
——, Molothrus, 103, 104. 
atlantica, Diomedella cauta, 213, 

214. 
atra, Muscicapa, 20. 
atricapillus borealis, Parus, 32, 76. 
kleinschmidti, Parus, 32, 37, 
39, 40, 76. 

: (Nesting cavi- 

ties of), 29. 

» ——-: Structural differ- 

entiation (fig. 3), 41. 

montanus, Parus, 32. 

—., Parus, 26. 

—— rhenanus, Parus, 32. 

atripennis, Dicrurus, 178. 

atrogularis, Orthotomus, 114, 247. 

aucupum, Steganura paradisca, 
180. 

Auk, Little, 68. 

aurantiacus, Casuarwus unappendi- 
culatus, 238. 

aureoflavus pallidiceps, 
147, 159. 

, Ploceus aureoflavus, 147. 

aureus, Oreocincla dauma, 78. 

aurifrons, Chloropsis aurifrons, 46, 

Ploceus, 


251 [Vol. hii. 

aurifrons 
46 

frontalis, Chloropsis, 46. 

Auripasser luteus luteus, 72. 

tilemsiensis, subsp. n., 

72. 
austeni, Grammotoptila striata, 79. 
australis, Acrocephalus, 202. 
—, Hyliota, 160. 
—., australis, 135. 
inornata, Hyliota, 135. 
Avocets, 240. 
avosetta, Recurvirostra, 240. 
axillaris batesi, Huplectes, 181. 
mechowi, Huplectes, 181. 
, Urobrachya, 181. 

Babbler, White-browed, 202. 

Babblers, 108, 113. 

, Mountain-, 109. 

badius, Agelaioides, 103. 

bairdu, Hrolia, 204. 

baker, Liocichla pheenicea, 87, 88. 

balstoni, Micropus apus, 241. 

bambare, Thamnolea cinnamo- 
meiventris, 176. 

bannermani, Scopus umbretia, 196, 
197. 

barbatus, Micropus apus, 241. 

, Pycnonotus, 45. 

Barbet, 113, 163. 

, Double-toothed, 124. 

Bartramia longicauda, 204. 

batesi, Huplectes axillaris, 181. 

Batrachostomus miatus, 111. 

harterta 111. 

Bee-eater, 113. 

bensoni, Ammomanes deserti, 151, 
152. 

bernicla, Branta bernicla, 167. 

berigora, Ieracidea, 202, 247. 

bewicku, Totanus, 18. 

, Tringa totanus, 18. 

biarmicus, Panurus, 129. 

bicolor, Muscipeta, 122, 123. 

bidentatus cequatorialis, Pogonornis, 
124. 

; friedmanni, Pogonornis, 124. 

-- Pogonornis, 124. 

biloba, Muscicapa, 20. 

bilobus, Dicrurus, 20. 

binotata, Apalis, 142. 

Bird, Oven-, 106, 107. 

, Red Thorn-, 107. 

, Tailor-, 108. 

Bittern, 46, 129. 

Blackbird, 238. 

bonariensis melanogyna, Molothrus, 
107, 

davidsoni, Chloropsis, 

bonariensis, Molothrus, 102, .103, 
104, 107. 

boobook, Spiloglaux, 202. 

Booby, Brown, 187. 

, Red-footed, 118, 119, 185, 
186, 187. 

——, White-tailed Red- footed, 
118. 

borealis, Parus atricapillus, 32, 76. 

—, Somateria mollissima, 66. 

borneensis, Caloperdix, 110, 111, 
114. oN 

, Hnicurus, 114. 

Botaurus stellaris stellaris, 129. _ . 

brachydactila, Calandrella brachy- 
dactila, 240. 

brachyrhynchus, Anser, 167. 

bractiatus, Cinnyris chalybeus, 146. 

Branta bernicla bernicla, 167. _ 

leucopsis, 166. 

britannicus, Parus ater, 76. 

Broadbill, 108-110, 113. 

brookei, Scops, 111. 

brunnescens, Erpornis, 109. 

Buchanga stigmatops, 114. 

Bulbul, 113. 

, Common, 45. 

Bulestes torquatus, 202. 

bullert, Diomedella, 185. 

Bunting, 160. 

——., Corn-, 84. 

——., Crested, 16, 

—., Reed.-, 84. 

——., Snow-, 65, 69. 

—., Western Large-billed Reed-, 
84. 

burmanicus, Criniger flaveolus, 19. 

Butcher-Bird, Grey, 202. 

Buzzard, 219. 

» Honey-,. 15, 45, 52, 

calandra, Emberiza calandra, 84. 

Calandrella brachydactila brachy- 
dactila, 240. 

Calidris, 204. 

alpina alpina, 163, 165. 

schinzit, 164, 165. 

canutus canutus, 85. 

—— maritima maritima, 66, 164. 

temminckii, 85. 

calidris, Scolopax, 18. 

Caloperdix borneensis, 110, 111, 
114. y 

calvus, Allocotops, 113. 

Calyptomena hosii, 111. 

whiteheadi, 113, 114. 

camelus, Struthio, 13. 

camerunensis, Hypochera amauro- 
pteryx, 179. 

a2 


Vol. liii.] 252 

camerunensis, Tchagra senegala, Charadrius hiaticula hiaticula, 66. 
73. marginatus, 10, 11, 96, 211, 

canescens, Pachycoccyx validus, 129. 213. 

canutus, Calidris canutus, 85. | ———— hesperius, nom. n., 11, 

Capella gallinago, 115, 203. 
delicata, 91, 92. 
capensis, Fringillaria, 160. 
, Rhynchaspis, 242. 
, Spatula, 242, 243. 

Caprimulgus cegyptius cegyptius, 

79. 
carunculata, Colera, 202. 
Casarca ferruginea, 116. 
castanopsis, Heliolais, 140, 161. 
Casuarius laglaizer, 238. 
unappendiculatus aurantia- 
cus, 238. 

occipitalis, 238. 
rothschildi, 238. 
rufotinctus, 238. 
unappendiculatus, 238. 
caudata, Muscicapa, 121, 123. 

96, 212. 

margimmatus, 10, 211. 

mechowi, 211. 

—— —— nhigirius, nom. n., 76, 96, 
212. 

el 

pallidus, 10. 
pons, 211. 
—— —— Trussatus, subsp. n., 10, 
75, 96. 
212. 
pallidus, 10, 11. 
pecuarius, 212. 
russatus, 75. 
semipalmatus, 205. 
chersonensis, Struthiolithus, 14. 
Chiffchaff, 36, 76. 
chiniana, Cisticola, 161, 174. 

tenellus, 10, 11, 211, 

cauta atlantica, Diomedella, 213, 

214. 

——., Diomedella cauta, 185, 213. 
peruvia, Diomedella, 185. 
cavernicola, Thamnolea cinnamo- 

meiventris, 176. 
centralasica, Riparia rupestris, 184. 
centralis, Mesopicos goertee, 75. 
Cercomela melanura airensis, 175. 
melanura lypura, 175. 
melanura, 175. malabarica, 46. 
ultima, subsp. n., 175. choloensis, Alethe, 162. 

Ceryle rudis rudis, 45. i choloensis, 138. 
Ceyx, 114. namuli, Alethe, 138. 
chalybeata, Hypochera chalybeata, chrysaétos, Falco, 21. 

178, 179. hodgsoni, Aquila, 21. 
—— neumanni, Hypochera, 179. Chrysophlegma humei, 113. 
chalybeus bractiatus, Cinnyris, 146. chrysops, Paraptilotis, 202. 
——, Cinnyris chalybeus, 144. chrysostoma, Diomedella, 185. 
gertrudis, Cinnyris, 145. cineracea, Herodias, 191. 
—— ludovicensis, Cinnyris, 145. cineraceus, Orthotomus, 108. 
—— manoensis, Cinnyris, 144. comerea colorata, Glareola, 11. 
—— namwera, Cinnyris, 146. ——, Gllareola cinerea, 11, 12. 
-—— subalaris, Cinnyris, 145, 146. cinereum, Setaria, 109. 

—— zonarius, Cinnyris, 146. cinnamomewentris bambare, 
chapini, Tricholema flavipunctata, Thamnolea, 176. 

frater, Cisticola, 174. 

— mocuba, Cisticola, 174. 
procera, Cisticola, 174, 175. 
Chlamydochera jefferyi, 114. 
chlorocephalus, Oriolus, 162. 
Chlorocharis emelice, 111. 
Chlorophoneus nigrifrons, 162. 
Chloropsis aurifrons aurifrons, 46. 
davidsoni, 46. 
frontalis, 46. 

152, 153. cavernicola, Thamnolca, 176. 
Chara lrius, 203. —— subrufipennis, Thamnolea, 
—— alexandrinus, 96, 212, 213. 176. 

— — —— alexandrinus, 85, 240. 
—_— —— mechowi, 96. 

— — —— nigirius, 96. 

—— —— pons, 96. 

—— —— seebohmi, 213. 

= @NDtHS 2a. 

—— ——curomcus, 8A. 

—— heywoodi, 11. 

—— hiaticula, 203, 205, 

Cinnyris, 40. 

afer: Structural differentia- 
tion (fig. 3), 41. 

—— —— afer, 43. 

—— chalybeus bractiatus, subsp. 
n., 146. 

—— —— chalybeus, 144. 

gertrudis, 145. 

—— —— ludovicensis, 145, 


253 

Cinnyris chalybeus manoensis, 144. 
namwera, subsp., n., 

146. 
ae subalaris, 145, 146. 
zonarius, subsp. n., 146. 
neergardi, 144. 
reichenowi, 144. 

Shelleyr, 159. 

neergardi, 144. 

Shelleyi, 144. 

Circus eruginosus eruginosus, 129. 

pygargus, 129. 

Cissa jefferyi, 114. 

Cisticola, 56, 159, 161, 168, 173. 

aberrans minor, 171. 

njombe, subsp. n., 170. 

nytka, 171. 

chiniana, 161, 174. 

frater, 174. 

—— mocuha, subsp. n., 174. 

procera, 174, 175. 

emini emint, 173. 

lurio, subsp. n., 173. 

petrophila, 174. 

tertensis, 173, 174. 

galactotes galactotes, 169. 

luapula, subsp. n., 169. 

suahelica, 169. 

— lais semifasciata, 171. 

robusta ambigua, 170. 

angolensis, 170. 

——— —— awemba, subsp. n., 169. 

nuchalis, 170. 

Cladorhynchus leucocephalus, 202. 

Clangula hyemalis, 66. 

clara, Hirundo lucida, 9. 

Climacteris picumnus, 202. 

clypeata, Spatula, 242, 243. 

Coach Whip-bird, Eastern, 202. 

Coccyzus, 90. 

americanus americanus, 77, 

88-90, 98. 

erythropthalmus, 89, 90, 98. 

Coleia carunculata, 202. 

Colletoptera, 98. 

Colluricincla harmonica, 202. 
collybita, Phylloscopus  collybita, 

eat 00. 

———_ 

—_—- 

colorata, Glareola cinerea, 11. 
Columba livia gymnocyclus, 12. 
livia, 12 

lividior, subsp. n., 12. 
Colymbus ummer, 67. 

stellatus, 67. 

communis, Parus palustris, 32. 
comorensis, T'chitrea, 122. 
compilator, Emberiza tschusii, 84. 
Copsychus musicus, 109. 
coracinus, Dicrurus adsimilis, 178. 
modestus, 177, 178. 

? 

[Vol. liu. 

Cormorant, Long-tailed, 209. 

corone, Corvus corone, 84. 

coronoides, Corvus, 202. 

coruscans, Neodrepanis, 182, 183. 

Corvus corone corone, 84. 

coronoides, 202. 

frugilegus frugilegus, 84. 

coryt, Sula, 118. 

Cowbird, 247. 

, American, 99, 102-105. 

——., Bay-winged, 103, 104, 106. 

——, North American, 103, 104, 
106. 

——, Red-eyed, 103. 

——., Screaming, 103, 104. 

, Shiny, 102, 103, 106. 

cranbrooki, Grammatoptila striata, 
79. 

Creeper, 205. 

, Tree-, 40. 

Crinifer piscator, 45. 

Criniger flaveolus, 19. 

burmanicus, 19. 

—— gutturalis ochraceus, 19. 

tephrogenys griseiceps, 19. 

robinsoni, subsp. n., 19. 

tephrogenys, 19. 

cristatus, Podiceps cristatus, 129. 

Crossbill, 205. 

Crow, 84. 

Cryptospiza reichenowi 
148, 149. 

reichenowti, 148, 149. 

——— —— sanguinolenta, subsp. n., 
148, 149. 

Cuckoo, 105, 106, 108, 113, 240. 

, American Yellow-billed, 77, 
78, 88-90. . 

—, Black-billed, 89, 90, 97, 98. 

, Tree-, 103. 

, Yellow-billed, 97, 98. 

cucullatus, Ploceus cucullatus, 45. 

Curlew, 85, 204, 205. 

curonicus, Charadrius dubius, 84. 

cuviert, Falco, 45. 

cyanoleuca, Grallina, 202. 

Cymochorea, 154. 

Cyornis, 114. 

Cypselus affinis, 71, 72, 98. 

ocularis, 

Dafila acuta, 245. 

daphanea, Aquila, 21. 

Darter, 109. 

dauma aureus, Oreocincla, 78. 
davidsoni, Chloropsis aurifrons, 

delicata, Capella gallinago, 91, 92. 
Demigretta asha, 189, 194. 
dimorpha, 189-191. 


Vol. liii.] 

Demigretta gularis, 189, 191. 
sacra, 193. 
—— schistacea, 
195, 245. 
Dendrobates poicephalus, 74. 
Dendrobiastes hyperythra, 111. 
deserti, Ammomanes, 151. 
anne, Ammomanes, 151. 
bensoni, Ammomanes, 
152. 
geyrt, Ammomanes, 152. 
janeti, Ammomanes, 151. 
mya, Ammomanes, 151. 
desolationis, Diomedella, 185. 
, Thalassarche, 213. 
Diablotin, 59. 
dichrous kangree, Lophophanes, 
20. 

TS60;. “tot, Los, 

151, 

wellsi, Lophophanes, 21. 

Dicrurus adsimilis, 177. 

adsimilis, 178. 

atactus, 177, 178. 

coracinus, 178. 

divaricatus, 177. 

modestus, 177, 178. 

—— atripennis, 178. 

bilobus, 20. 

—— macrocercus, 20. 

albirictus, 20. 

—— —— minor, 20. 

—— —— peninsularis, subsp. n., 
20. 

modestus coracinus, 177, 178. 

modestus, 177. 

sharper, 178. 

dimorpha, Demigretta, 189-191. 

, Lgretta, 192. 

garzetta, 192, 193, 245. 

Diomedea exulans, 214. 

alexanderi, 214. 

georgia, subsp. n., 214. 

Diomedella bulleri, 185. 

cauta atlantica, subsp. n., 

213, 214. 

cauta, 185, 213. 

peruvia, subsp. n., 185. 

chrysostoma, 185. 

desolationis, 185. 

platei, 185. 

Dissoura episcopus microscelis, 210, 
211. 

divaricatus, 
vie 

Diver, Great Northern, 65, 67. 

, Red-throated, 67. 

Dove, Red-eyed, 45. 

, Rock-, 12. 

Dowitcher, 90, 93, 155, 164. 

dresseri, Parus palustris, 32, 37, 
39, 40, 42, 76, 97. 

Dicrurus adsimilis, 

254 

dressert, Parus palustris : Struc- 
tural differentiation (fig. 3), 41. 

Dromas ardeola, 203. 

Drongo, Black, 19. 

, Glossy-backed, 177. 

, Velvet-mantled, 177. 

Drymocataphus fulvus, 19. 

garoensis, 19. 

—— minor, 19. 

olivaceus, 19. 

tickelli assamensis, 19. 

grisescens, subsp. n., 18. 

tickella, 18, 19. 

Dryobates leucotos kurode, 22. 

minor (Nesting cavities of), 

29. 
dubius, Charadrius, 203. 
curonicus, Charadrius, 84. 
——, Pogonornis, 124. 

Duck, 109. 
, Abyssinian Yellow-billed, 

243. 

——, African Black, 243. 
——, Common Sheld-, 116, 117. 
——, Domestic, 168. 

——, Ejider-, 116. 

——., Harlequin, 79. 

—.,, Hawk.-, 79. 

——., Long-tailed, 66. 

—., Maccoa, 242. 

—, Muscovy, 187. 

——., Ruddy Sheld-, 99, 116. 
——., Tufted, 66, 67, 69. 
——., White-backed, 242. 

,» Wild, 168. 

Duiker, Reed, 209. 
dulitensis, Pyrotrogon, 111. 

, Rhizothera, 111. 
Dunlin, 163-165. 

duvaucelu, Pyrotrogon, 110. 

Eagle, 22. 

, Himalayan Golden, 21. 
Egret, Little, 189, 191, 194. 
Ligretta dimorpha, 192. 

garzetta, 189-191. 
assumptionis, subsp. n., 

193. 

245. 

(192, 

dimorpha, 193, 
garzetta, 191-195, 245. 
—— —— gularis, 192. 
emmaculata, 192. 
nigripes, 192. 

Eider, Common, 118. 

-Duck 116. 

——, King, 68, 118. 

——, Northern, 66. 

——, Steller’s, 99, 117, 118. . 


255 

ellisiz, Nesillas typica, 95. 

Emberiza calandra calandra, 84. 

lathami, 16. 

schoeeniclus scheeniclus, 84. 

ischusw compulator, 84. 

emelice, Chlorocharis, 111. 

emini, Crsticola emini, 173. 

lurio, Cisticola, 173. 

petrophila, Cisticola, 174. 

teitensis, Cisticola, 173, 174. 

Enicurus borneensis, 114. 

episcopus microscelis, 
210, 211. 

epops, Upupa-epops, 70, 71. 

somalensis, Upupa, 70, 71. 

Hreunetes, 205. 

[ | pusilla, Hrolia, 242. 

EHrismatura maccoa, 242. 

Hrolia, 204. 

alpina, 204. 

bairdu, 204. 

—— [Ereunetes] pusilla, 242. 

—— maritima, 204. 

—— mauri, 204. 

— minutilla, 204, 206. 

— pusilla, 204, 206. 

spp., 203. 

temminckii, 204. 

Erpornis brunnescens, 109. 

Erythrocercus livingstonei, 161. 

livingstonei, 137. 

——— —— monapo, subsp. n., 137. 

thomsont, 137, 138. 

erythroptera, Heliolais erythroptera, 
139, 140. 

jodoptera, Heliolais, 140. 

kavirondensis, Heliolais, 140. 

kirbyi, Heliolais, 139. 

— major, Heliolais, 140. 

rhodoptera, Heliolais, 
140. 

erythropthalmus, Coccyzus, 89, 90, 
98. 

erythropus, Tringa, 17, 18. 

Eucichla schwaneri, 113. 

Euplectes axillaris batesi, subsp. n., 
181. 

Dissoura, 

139, 

mechowi, 181. 

Eurylaimus javanicus, 109. 

ochromalus, 108. 

Eurynorhynchus pygmeus, 
206. 

everetti, Arachnothera, 113. 

, Staphidia, 109. 

excubitor, Lanius, 6. 

exilis, Indicator, 130. 

eximius, Platycercus, 202. 

eculans alexanderi, Diomedea, 214. 

, Diomedea, 214. 

georgia, Diomedea, 214. 

204— 

[Vol. liii. 

falemellus, Plegadis falcinellus, 78. 

Falco chrysaétos, 21. 

cuviert, 45. 

peregrinus anatum, 79. 

tinnunculus tinnunculus, 15. 

Falcon, Cuvier’s, 45. * 

fasciata albitorquata, 
148. 

alexanderi, Amadina, 148. 

——, Amadina fasciata, 148. 

meridionalis, Amadina, 148. 

ferruginea, Casarca, 116. 

jiber, Pelecanus, 186. 

Fieldfares, 105. 

Figure I., 29. 

hy 34. 

—— ITI., 41. 

Finch, Fire-, 179. 

flammea, Acanthis flammea, 65. 

flammeus, Asio flammeus, 128. 

flaveolus burmanicus, Criniger, 
19. 

, Criniger, 19. 

flavipes, Tringa, 239. 

Amadina, 

flavipunctata angolense, Tricho- 
leema, 152, 153. 
ansorgu, Tricholema, 152, 
153. 
Tricholema, 152, 

chapini, 

— hybridum, Tricholema, 152, 
153. 

——,, Tricholema flavipunctata, 
152, 153. 

flavisquamatus, Pogoniulus  scolo- 
paceus, 184. 

flavostriatus litoralis, 
phus, 133, 134. 

——, Phyllastrephus, 161. 

—, flavostriatus, 
134. 

tenuirostris, Phyllastrephus, 
133. 

Flowerpeckers, 110, 114. 

fluviatilis, Locustella, 240. 

Flycatcher, 108, 111. 

, Paradise, 102, 119, 120. 

, Pied, 40. | 

frater, Cisticola chiniana, 174. 

Fratercula arctica arctica, 68. 

friedmanni, Pogonornis bidentatus, 

Phyllastre- 

133, 

Fringilla melanictera, 15. 
Fringillaria, 161. 

capensis, 160. 

Frogmouth, 114. 

, Lawny, 202. 

frontalis, Chloropsis aurifrons, 46. 
, Phyllornis, 46. 

frugilegus, Corvus frugilegus, 84. 


Vol. liii.] 

Jupeerne jourdaini, Phalaropus, 

, Phalaropus, 203. 

fuliginosa, Apalis melanocephala, 
141. 

fuligula, Nyroca, 66. 

, Ptyonoprogne, 143. 

Fulmar, 68. 

Fulmarus glacialis glacialis, 68. 

fulva, Argya, 6. 

fulvus, Drymocataphus, 19. 

funerea, Hypochera, 16. 

Furnarius rufus, 107. 

fuscwentris, Pityonoprogne rufigula, 
143. 

garmardi, Muscicapa, 121, 128. 

galactotes, Cisticola galactotes, 169. 

luapula, Cisticola, 169. 

suahelica, Cisticola, 169. 

gallinago, Capella, 115, 203. 

delicata, Capella, 91, 92. 

Gannets, 119. 

Garganey, 245. 

garoensis, Drymocataphus, 19. 

Garrulax, 85, 87. 

garzetta, Ardea, 191, 194. 

assumptionis, Hgretta, 193. 

dimorpha, Egretta, 192, 193, 
245. 

——., ligretta, 189-191. 

——., garzetta, 191-195, 245. 

—— gularis, igretta, 192. 

wmmmaculata, Egretta, 192. 

nigrupes, Hgretia, 192. 

Geese, 68. 

Gelochelidon nilotica, 44. 

gentilis, Astur gentilis, 218. 

georgia, Diomedea exulans, 214. 

georgicus, Pachyptila vittata, 214. 

gertrudis, Connyris chalybeus, 145. 

geyri, Ammomanes deserti, 152. 

glacialis, Fulmarus glacialis, 68. 

Glareola cinerea cinerea, 11, 12. 

colorata, subsp. n., 11. 

pratincola, 203. 

glareola, Tringa, 129. 

Gliciphila melanops, 202. 

Goatsucker, Egyptian, 79. 

Godwit, 204. 

, Bar-tailed, 85. 

, Black-tailed, 240. 

goertce agymen, Mesopicos, 74, 75. 

centralis, Mesopicos, 75. 

koenigi, Mesopicos, 75. 

——, Mesopicos goertce, 74, 75. 

powephalus, Mesopicos, 74, 

75. 
Goldfinch, 36. 

256 

Goose, Barnacle-, 54, 166, 167. 

» Brent, 167. 

— ., Pink-footed, 167. 

, Pouched, 188. 

Goshawk, 215, 218-221, 223-227, 
231, 232, 236-238. 

Grackle, Rice-, 103. 

Grallina cyanoleuca, 202. 

Grammatoptila striata austent, 79. 

eranbrooki, subsp. n., 

79. 

Graph of Marsh-Tit’s song, 34. 

of Willow-Tit’s song, 34. 

Grebe, Great Crested, 51, 129. 

» Little, 202. 

griseiceps, Criniger tephrogenys, 19. 

grisescens, Drymocataphus tickelli, 
18. 

griseus hendersoni, Limnodromus, 
90-93, 164, 166. 

——, Limnodromus 
165. 

scolopaceus, Limnodromus, 
90, 92, 165, 166. 

Guan, White-eyebrowed, 93. 

Guillemot, Briinnich’s, 68, 70. 

, Common, 68, 69. 

gularis, Anthipes monileger, 19. 

, Ardea, 192. 

———, Demigretia, 189, 191. 

——., Hgretta garzetia, 192. 

——., Lepterodas, 189. 

Gull, Black-headed, 240. 

, Glaucous, 67. 

—, Great Black-backed, 67, 69. 

—., Herring-, 65, 67-69. 

, Lvory, 68. 

gurué, Alethe anomala, 138. 

guituralis ochraceus, Criniger, 19. 

gymnocyclus, Columba livia, 12. 

Gymnorhina hypoleuca, 202. 

griseus, 93, 

Hematopus ostralegus ostralegus, 
44, 240. 
Hoeematortyx 

114. 
Haliastur indus, 109. 
Halocyptena, 154. 
Hang-nests, 103. 
harmonica, Colluricincla, 202. 
Harrier, Marsh-, 129. 

, Montagu’s, 129. 

harterti, Batrachostomus, 111. 

hasitata, Pterodroma, 59. 

Hawk, Brown, 202. 

» Duck-, 79. 

——., Sparrow-, 218. 

Heliolais castanopsis, sp. n., 140, 
161. 

sanguinieps, 110, 


257 

Heliolais erythroptera erythroptera, 
139, 140. 

jodoptera, 140. 

kavirondensis, 140. 

kirby, 139. 

—— —— major, 140. 

rhodoptera, 139, 140. 

hendersoni, Limnodromus griseus, 
90-93, 164, 166. 

Herodias cineracea, 191. 

procerula, 191. 

Heron, 51, 109. 

, Purple, 208. 

, Reef-, 189-191, 194, 195. 

hespertus, Charadrius marginatus, 
11, 96, 212. 

Heteroscelus, 204. 

incanus, 203 206. 

[T'ringa] incanus, 242. 

heywoodu, Charadrius, 11. 

, Hraticula, 11. 

Hiaticula heywoodu, 11. 

hiaticula, Charadrius, 203, 205. 

: hiaticula, 66. 

Himantopus himantopus, 203. 

hirsutum, T'richoleema, 152, 153. 

Hirundo lucida clara, subsp. n., 9. 

lucida, 9. | 

hirundo, Sterna hirundo, 240. 

Histrionicus histrionicus histrioni- 
cus, 79. 

hodgsoni, Aquila chrysaétos, 21. 

holosericea, Muscipeta, 121, 123. 

, I'chitrea, 122. 

Honey-Buzzard, 15, 45, 52. 

Honey-eaters, 202. 

Honey-guide, 103, 160. 

Hoopoe, European, 70, 71. — 

, West African, 70, 71. 

Hornbill, 109, 114. 

hos, Calyptomena, 111. 

, Oriolus, 111, 113. 

humei, Chrysophlegma, 113. 

Humming-Bird, 42. 

hybridum, Tricholema flavipunc- 
tata, 152, 153. 

Hydrobates pelagicus, 44. 

_ hyemalis, Clangula, 66. 

Hyliota australis, 160. 

australis australis, 135. 

inornata, subsp. n., 135. 

hyperborea, Uria aalge, 68, 69. 

hyperboreus, Lagopus mutus, 68. 

, Larus, 67. 

hyperythra, Arboricola, 111. 

, Dendrobiastes, 111. 

Hypochera, 16. 

amauropteryx amauropteryx, 
178, E79. 

—- —— camerunensis, 179. 

[Vol. liii. 

Hypochera chalybeata chalybeata, 
178, 179. 

neumanni, 179. 

funerea, 16. 

hypoleuca, Gymnorhina, 202. 

hypoleucos, Actitis, 203. 

» T'ringa, 44, 109. 

hypoxantha, Neodrepanis, 182, 
183. 

Hypsipetes McClellandii, 16. 

Ibis, 12, 13. 

» Glossy, 78. 

Leracidea berigora, 202, 247. 

imberbis, Anomalospiza, 159. 

ummaculata, Egretta garzetta, 192. 

emmer, Colymbus, 67. 

umcanus, Heteroscelus, 203, 206. 

: [Tringa], 242. 

Indicator appelator, sp. n., 130, 
160. 

extlis, 130. 

minor, 130. 

imdicus,. Lobwanellus, 203. 

mdus, Haliastur, 109. 

mornata, Hyliota australis, 135. 

interjecta, Steganura paradisea, 
180. 

interpres, Arenaria, 204. 

itoculo, Phyllastrephus  alfredi, 
134. 

jackson, Apalis, 142. 

jacucaca, Penelope, 94. 

janeti, Ammomanes deserti, 151. 
javanicus, Hurylaimus, 109. 
Jefferyt, Chlamydochera, 114. 

, Cissa, 114. 

jodoptera, Heliolais erythroptera, 
140. 

johnstoni,  Seicercus ruficapilla, 
136. 

jourdaini, Phalaropus fulicarius, 
67 

julice, Arachnothera, 114. 

kangre, Lophophanes dichrous, 20. 

kavirondensis, Heliolais erythro- 
ptera, 140. 

Kestrel, 15, 224. 

keyteli, Pachyptila vittata, 214. 

King Hider, 118. 

Kingfisher, 109. 

, Black-and-White, 45. 

kirbyi, Heliolais erythroptera, 139. 

Kite, 219. 

, Brahminy, 109. 


Vol. lii.] 

Kittiwake, 68. 

kleinschmidti, Parus atricapillus, 
32, 37, 39, 40, 76. 

(Nesting cavities 

of), 29. 
; —— : Structural differ- 

entiation (fig. 3), 41. 

: montanus, 26. 

Knot, 54, 85, 204. 

koenigi, Mesopicos goertee, 75. 

kurode, Dryobates leucotos, 22. 

kurodai, Yungipicus scintilliceps, 
22. 

lacuum, Anthus richardi, 132. 

laglaizer, Casuarius, 238. 

Lagonosticta rubricata, 8. 

rubricata polionota, 7, 8. 

virata, subsp. n., 7, 8. 

senegala, 179. 

Lagopus mutus hyperboreus, 68. 

laas semifasciata, Cisticola, 171. 

Lampribis olwacea akleyorum, 
12. 

Lanius excubitor, 6. 

lapponica, Limosa lapponica, 85. 

Lark, Crested, 40. 

, Magpie-, 202. 

——., Rusty Bush-, 246. 

, Short-toed, 240. 

Larus argentatus, 67. 

hyperboreus, 67. 

marinus, 67. 

ridibundus ridibundus, 240. 

lathami, Emberiza, 16. 

, Melophus, 16. 

lawsone, Micropus apus, 240. 

Levothrix, 85, 87. 

Lepterodas gularis, 189. 

schistacea, 189, 195. 

leucocephalus, Cladorhynchus, 202. 

leucogaster, Sula, 186. 

leuconotus, Thalassornis, 242. 

Leucopolius, 203. 

alexandrinus, 203. 

leucopsis, Branta, 166. 

leucostigma, Anas, 244. 

, Anas sparsa, 243, 244. 

leucotis, Nesoptilotis, 202. 

leucotos kurode, Dryobates, 22. 

lichenya, Anthus richardi, 131. 

Limnodromus griseus griseus, 93, 
165. 

166. 

166. 
scolopaceus, 165. 
Limosa lapponica lapponica, 85. 

hendersoni, 90-93, 164, 

scolopaceus, 90, 92, 165, 

258 

Limosa limosa limosa, 240. 

lindsayi, Terpsiphone, 122, 123. 

J.innet, 16. 

LInocichla, 85, 87. 

omeiensis, 81, 85, 87. 

—— phenicea bakeri, 87, 88. 

—— — phenicea, 87, 88. 

ripponi, 88. 

wellsi, 88. 

steerii, 85, 87. 

litoralis, Phyllastrephus flavostria- 
tus, 133, 134. 

lwia, Columba livia, 12. 

gymnocyclus, Columba, 12. 

lwidior, Columba, 12. 

lwidior, Columba livia, 12. 

livingstonei, Erythrocercus, 161. 

5 lwingstonet, 137. 

monapo, Hrythrocercus, 137. 

—— thomson, Erythrocercus, 137, 
138. 

lobatus, Phalaropus, 203. 

Lobibyx novee-hollandic, 202. 

Lobwanellus indicus, 203. 

Locustella fluviatilis, 240. 

locustella, Paludipasser, 160. 

lomvia, Uria lomvia, 68, 69. 

longicauda, Bartramia, 204. 

, Muscicapa madagascariensis, 
120. 

—,, —— —— albicilla, 120. 

varia, 120. 

longirostra, Arachnothera, 108. 

Lophophanes dichrous kangre, 
subsp. n., 20. 

wellsi, 21. 

luapula, Cisticola galactotes, 169. 

lucida clara, Hirundo, 9. 

» Hirundo lucida, 9. 

ludovicensis, Cinnyris chalybeus, 
145. - 

lunulata, Oreocincla, 202. 

lurio, Cisticola emini, 173. 

Luscinia megarhyncha megarhyn- 
cha, 84. 

luteus, Auripasser luteus, 72. 

tilemsiensis, Auripasser, 72. 

Lybius torquatus, 150, 151. 

zombee, 149, 151, 163. 

albigularis, 151. 

lynesi, Apalis, 142. 

» Mirafra rufa, 246, 247. 

lypura, Cercomela melanura, 175. 

Macacus assamensis, 16. 
maccoa, Hrismatura, 242. 
macrocercus albirictus, Dicrurus, 

; Dicrurus, 20. 


259 

macrocercus minor, Dicrurus, 20. 
peninsularis, Dicrurus, 20. 
Macropygia ruficeps, 113. 
macrura, Sterna, 66. 
madagascariensis albicilla longi- 
cauda, Muscicapa, 120. 
longicauda, Muscicapa, 120. 
varia longicauda, Muscicapa, 

, White-backed, 202. 

major, Heliolais erythroptera, 140. 

malabarica, Chloropsis, 46. 

malayanus, Anthracoceros, 114. 

manoensis, Cinnyris chalybeus, 
144. 

Manorina melanophrys, 202. 

marginatus, Charadrius, 10, 11, 96, 
211-2138. 

a, marginatus, 10, 211. 

hesperius, Charadrius, 11, 96, 

2. 

—— mechowt, Charadrius, 211. 
nigirius, Charadrius, 76,. 96, 
212. 

pallidus, Charadrius, 10. 
pons, Charadrius, 211. 
russatus, Charadrius, 10, 75, 

96. 

tenellus, Charadrius, 10, 11, 
211, 212, ; 
marinus, Larus, 67. 

maritima, Calidris marituma, 66, 

164. 

, Hrolia, 204. 

Martins, 105. 

mauri, Hrolia, 204. 

maxima albidorsalis, Sterna, 44. 

mayottensis, Micropus apus, 241. 

McClellandu, Hypsipetes, 16. 

, Sciurus, 16. 

mechowi, Avgialitis, 96. 

, Charadrius alexandrinus, 96. 

—.,, marginatus, 211. 

, Huplectes axillaris, 181. 

, Urobrachya axillaris, 181. 
megarhyncha, Luscinia megarhyn- 

cha, 84. 

_melanictera, Fringilla, 15. 
melanicterus, Melophus, 15. 
Melanitta nigra nigra, 66. 
melanocephala, Apalis, 162. 

,» —— melanocephala, 141. 

——, Arenaria, 204. 

—— fuliginosa, Apalis, 141. 

——, Myzantha, 202. 

tenebricosa, <Apalis, 

142. 
melanogaster, Anhinga, 109. 

141, 

[Vol. liii. 

melanogyna, Molothrus bonariensis , 
107. 

melanoleuca, Tringa, 242. 

melanoleucus, T'otanus, 203, 206. 

melanophrys, Manorina, 202. 

melanops, Glicuphila, 202. 

melanura aivrensis, Cercomela, 
bias 

——.,, Cercomela melanura, 175. 

— lypura, Cercomela, 175. 

ultuma, Cercomela, 175. 

Meliornis novee-hollandice, 202. 

mellianus, Oriolus, 207. 

Melophus lathami, 16. 

melanicterus, 15. 

meridionalis, Amadina  fasciata, 
148. 

Mesia, 87. 

Mesopicos goertz agmen, nom. n., 

centralis, 75. 

goertce, 74, 75. 

koenigi, 75. 

powephalus, 74, 75. 

Micropus, 71. 

achimodzi, sp. n., 171, 173. 

—— cquatorialis, 172. 

—— apus balstoni, 241. 

barbatus, 241. 

—— —— lawsone, subsp. n., 
240. 

mayottensis, 241. 
shelleyi, 240, 241. 
— unicolor, 172. 

poensis, 172. 

microscelis, Dissoura episcopus, 
210,.211. 

Mimus modulator, 106. 

Minla, 87. 

minor, Dicrurus macrocercus, 20. 

, Drymocataphus, 19. 

, Dryobates (Nesting cavities 

of), 29. 

, Cisticola aberrans, 171. 

—, Indicator, 130. 

, Scopus umbretia, 196, 197. 

minutilla, Hrolia, 204, 206. 

Mirafra rufa lynesi, subsp. n., 246, 
247. 

—— —— higriticola, subsp. n., 8. 

rufa, 8, 246, 247. 

miatus, Batrachostomus, 111. 

mocuba, Cisticola chiniana, 174. 

modestus coracinus, Dicrurus, 177, 
178. 

—_, Dicrurus. adsimilis, 177, 
178. 
_ modestus, 177. 

modicus, Onychognathus morio, 7. 
modulator, Mimus, 106. 


Vol. liti.] 

mollissima borealis, Somateria, 66. 
» Somateria mollissema, 118. 
Mollymawk, Shy, 185. 
Molothrus ater, 103, 104. 
bonariensis, 102-104, 107. 
melanogyna, 107. 
rufoaxillaris, 103. 
monapo, Hrythrocercus livingstonet, 
137. 
monileger gularis, Anthipes, 19. 
montanus kleenschmidii, Parus, 
26. 
——-, Parus atricapillus, 32. 
monticola, Nesillas typica, 95. 
montis, Otocompsa, 114. 
moptana, Saxicola torquata, 8. 
morio modicus, Onychognathus, 7. 
neumanni, Onychognathus, 7. 
ruppellii, Onychognathus, 7. 
Muscicapa atra, 20. 
biloba, 20. 
caudata, 121, 123. 
gaimardi, 121, 123. 
madagascarvensis 
longicauda, 120. 
longicauda, 120. 
varia longicauda, 120. 
mutata, 120-123. 
virescens, 121, 123. 
Muscipeta bicolor, 122, 123. 
holosericea, 121, 123. 
rufa, 121, 123. 
musicus, Copsychus, 109. 
, Lurdus, 208. - 
mutata, Muscicapa, 120-123. 
pretiosa, T'chitrea, 123. 
singetra, T'chitrea, 122, 124. 
——, T'chitrea, 120,.122. 
mutata, 122. 
mutus hyperboreus, Lagopus, 68. 
mya, Ammomanes deserti, 151. 
Myzantha melanocephala, 202. 

albicilla 

nagamichii, Yungipicus scintillr- 
ceps, 22. 

namuli, Alethe choloensis, 138. 

namwera, Connyris chalybeus, 146. 

neergardi, Cinnyris, 144. 

‘ shelleyi, 144. 

Neodrepanis coruscans, 182, 183. 

hypoxantha, sp. n., 182, 183. 

nepalensis stanfordi, Alcippe, 19. 

Nesillas, 95. 

typica ellisvi, 95. 

monticola, 95. 

typica, 95. 

Nesoptilotis leucotis, 202. 

Nesting cavities of British Willow- 
Tit, 29. 

260 

Nesting cavities of Dryobates minor, 
29. 

of Lesser Spotted Wood- 

pecker, 29. 

of Parus atricapillus 
kleinschmidti, 29. 

neumanni, Hypochera chalybeata, 
179. 

» Onychognathus morio, 7. 

nicolli, Sula, 118, 119. 

nigellicauda, Oriolus, 207. 

Nightingale, 35, 84. 

Nightjar, European, 52, 64, 67. 

nigirius, Charadrius alexandrinus, 
96. 

——, —— marginatus, 76, 96, 
212. 

nigra, Melanitia nigra, 66. 

nigrifrons, Chlorophoneus, 162. 

nigripes, Egretta garzetta, 192. 

nigriicola, Mirafra rufa, 8. 

nilotica, Gelochelidon, 44. 

, Steganura paradiscea, 180. 

nipalensis waldeni, Actinodura, 
79. 

wardi, Actinodura, 79. 
nisus, Accipiter nisus, 218. 
niwalis, Plectrophenax nivalis, 65. 
njombe, Cisticola aberrans, 170. 
Noddy, 78. 

nothus, T'chagra senegala, 74. 
nove-hollandie, Lobibyx, 202. 

,» Meliornis, 202. 

nuchalis, Cisticola robusta, 170 
Numenius arquata arquata, 85. 
—— pheopus pheopus, 44. 
Nuthatch, 30. 

Nyctiornis amicta, 108. 

nyika, Cisticola aberrans, 171. 
Nyroca fuligula, 66. 

obscura, Stachyridopsis rufifrons, 
18. 

occipitalis, Casuarius unappendi- 
culatus, 238. 

Oceanodroma, 154. 

ochraceus, Criniger gutturalis, 19. 

ochromalus, Hurylaimus, 108. 

ochromitra, Penelope superciliaris, 
94. 

ocularis, Cryptospiza reichenowt, 
148, 149 

olivacea akleyorum, Lampribis, 
12. 

olwaceiceps, Ploceus, 160. 
olivaceus, Drymocataphus, 19. 

, Psophodes, 202. 
ometensis, Liocichla, 81, 85, 87. 
onocrotalus, Pelecanus, 187-189. 


9) 

od 

Onychognathus morio modicus, 
subsp. n., 7. 

neumanni, 7. 

ruppellit, 7. 

Oreocincla dauma aureus, 78. 

lunulata, 202. 

orientalis, Steganura paradiscea, 
180. 

Oriole, 103. | 

, Maroon, 206. 

Oriolus chlorocephalus, 162. 

hosvi, 111, 113. 

mellianus, 207. 

nigellicauda, 207. 

traillii, 206-208. 

ornatus, Pardalotus, 202. 

orostruthus, Phyllastrephus, 133. 

Orthotomus atrogularis, 114, 247. 

cineraceus, 108. 

Ortygospiza, 160. 

ostralegus, Hceematopus ostralegus, 
44, 240. 

Ostrich, 13-15, 80. 

Otocompsa montis, 114. 

Oven-Bird, 106, 107. 

Owl, Boobook, 202. 

, Short-eared, 125, 128. 

Oxyechus vociferus, 203, 205, 241. 

Oyster-catcher, 23, 240. 

, European, 44. 

Pachycephala pectoralis, 202. 
rufiventris, 202. 

Pachycoccyx validus, 130. 
canescens, subsp. n., 

129. 
Pachyptila vittata georgicus, subsp. 
n., 214. 

keytelr, 214. 

vittata, 214. 

pallescens, Stachyridopsis rufifrons, 
18. 

pallida, Tchagra senegala, 73. 

pallidiceps, Ploceus aureoflavus, 
147, 159. 

pallidus, Charadrius, 10, 11. 

—, marginatus, 10. 

Paludipasser locustella, 160. 

palustris communis, Parus, 32. 

dresseri, Parus, 32, 37, 39, 40, 

42, 76, 97. 
. : Structural dif- 
ferentiation (fig. 3), 41. 
, Parus, 26. 

; palustris, 32. 

Panurus biarmicus, 129. 

paradisea aucupum, Steganura, 
180. 

nilotica, Steganura, 180. 

61 [Vol. liii. 

paradisea 
180. 

orientalis, Steganura, 180. 

——. Steganura paradisca, 179, 
180. 

—— togoensis, Steganura, 180. 

Paraptilotis chrysops, 202. 

parasiticus, Stercorarius, 66. 

Pardalotes, 202. 

Pardalotus ornatus, 202. 

punctatus, 202. 

Parrots, 30. 

Partridge, 111, 223, 229, 231. 

,» Ground.-, 110. 

Parus ater britannicus, 76, 

atricapillus, 26. 

borealis, 32, 76. 

montanus, 32. 

rhenanus, 32. 

—— —— kleinschmidti, 32, 37, 
39, 40, 76. 

—— —— (Nesting 

of), 29. 

imterjecta, Steganura, 

cavities 

—: Structural differ- 
entiation (fig. 3), 41. 

montanus kleinschmidti, 26. 
palustris, 26. 

communis, 32. 

dresseri, 32, 37, 39, 40, 
42, 76, 97. 

—: Structural differ- 
entiation (fig. 3), 41. 

palustris, 32. 

Passer simplex, 6. 

Peacock, 42. 

pectoralis, Pachycephala, 202. 
pecuarius, Charadrius, 212. 
pelagicus, Hydrobates, 44. 
Pelecanus fiber, 186. 

onocrotalus, 187-189. 
piscator, 186. 

—— roseus, 187, 188. 

—— sula, 185, 186. 

Pelicans, 188, 189. 

Penelope argyrotis, 94. 

jacucaca, 94. 
superciliaris 
subsp. n., 94. 
ochromitra, subsp. n., 

argyromitra, 

94. 
—— ——— pseudonyma, subsp. n., 
93, 94 
—— superciliaris, 93-95. 
peninsularis, Dicrurus macrocercus, 
20. 
Peregrine, American, 79. 
peregrinus anatum, Falco, 79. 
Pernis apivorus apivorus, 15, 45. 
peruvia, Diomedella cauta, 185. 
Petrel, 45, 


Vol. liii.] 

Petrel, Capped, 59. 

, Fork-tailed Storm-, 154. 

, Storm.-, 44. 

petrophila, Cisticola emint, 174. 

Phacellodomus ruber, 107. 

pheopus, Numenius pheopus, 44. 

Phalacrocorax africanus africanus, 
209, 210. 

Phalarope, Grey, 67. 

Phalaropus fulicarius, 203. 

—— jourdaini, 67. 

—— lobatus, 203. 

Phaps chalcoptera, 202. 

phayrei, Alcippe poioicephala, 19. 

Pheasants, 223, 231. 

Philomachus pugnax, 240. 

phenicea bakeri, Liocichla, 87, 88. 

——., Liocichla pheenicea, 87, 88. 

—— ripponi, Liocichla, 88. ; 

—— wellsi, Liocichla, 88. 

pheniceum, Trochalopteron, 87. 

Phylidonyris pyrrhoptera, 202. 

Phyllastrephus, 133. 

alfredi alfredi, 134. 

—— —— jtoculo, subsp. n., 134. 

—— flavostriatus, 161. 

—— —— flavostriatus, 133, 134. 

—— —— litoralis, subsp. n., 133, 
134. 

—_— —— tenwirostris, 133. 

— orostruthus, sp. n., 133. 

Phyllornis frontalis, 46. 

Phylloscopus collybita collybita, 76. 

—— trochilus trochilus, 76. 

Pica pica pica, 84. 

picumnus, Climacteris, 202. 

Pigeon, Bronze-winged, 202. 

, Wood.-, 224. 

Pintail, 245. 

Pipit, Tree-, 36. 

piscator, Crinifer, 45. 

piscator, Pelecanus, 186. 

Plantain-eater, Grey, 45. 

platei, Diomedella, 185. 

Platycercus exvmius, 202. 

Platylophus, 109. 

Plectrophenax nivalis nivalis, 65. 

Plegadis falcinellus falcinellus, 78. 

Ploceus aureoflavus aureoflavus, 
147. 

—. pallidiceps, subsp. n., 
147, 159. 

cucullatus cucullatus, 45. 
—— olivaceiceps, 160. 

subaureus, 147. 

Plover, African Sand-, 211. 
Australian Black-breasted, 

°’ 

202. 
— ., Banded, 202. 
——, Golden, 18, 204. 

262 

Plover, Grey, 44, 204. 

» Kentish, 85, 96, 204, 240. 

—., Killdeer, 203. 

——., Little Ringed, 84. 

——, Ringed, 66, 204. 

——., Spur-winged, 202. 

——, White-fronted Sand.-, 

96. 

Pluvialis, 204. 

Podargus strigoides, 202. 

Podiceps cristatus cristatus, 129. 

poensis, Micropus unicolor, 172. 

Pogoniulus scolopaceus angolensis, 
subsp. n.; 184. 

—— —— flavisquamatus, 184. 

Pogonorhynchus, 124. 

Pogonornis bidentatus, 124. 

—— —— equatorialis, 124. 

—— —— friedmanni, subsp. n., 
124. 

— dubius, 124. 

—— rolleti, 124. 

poroicephala phayrei, Alcippe, 19.’ 

poicephalus, Dendrobates, 74. 

, Mesopicos goertcee, 74, 75. 

Poliocephalus ruficollis, 202. 

polionota, Lagonosticta rubricata, 

10, 11, 

Polysticta stellert, 117, 118. 
Pomatostomus superciliosus, 202. 
pons, Charadrius alexandrinus, 96. 
» —— marginatus, 211. 
pratincola, Glareola, 203. — 
pretiosa, T'chitrea, 122, 123. 
mutata, 123. 
Procellaria tethys, 154. 
procera, Cursticola chiniana, 
175. 
procerula, Herodias, 191. 
pseudonyma, Penelope superciliaris, 
93, 94. 
Psophodes olivaceus, 202. 
Ptarmigan, Spitsbergen, 68. 
Pterodroma hasitata, 59. 
Ptyonoprogne fuligula, 143. 
rufigula fusciventris, wea 
m.,. ‘E43: 

174, 

ufigula, 143. 
Puffin, Norwegian, 68. 
pugnax, Philomachus, 240. 
punctatus, Pardalotus, 202. 
purpurea, Pyrrherodia purpurea, 
208, 209. 
pusilla, Erolia, 204, 206. 
[Hreuntes], 242.. 
Pycnonotus analis, 109. 
—— barbatus, 45. 
pygargus, Circus, 129. 
pygmeus, Hurynorhynchus, 

2 

204— 


263 

Pyrotrogon dulitensis, 111. 

duvaucelii, 110. 

vidua, 111. 

whiteheadi, 113, 114. - 

Pyrrherodia purpurea purpurea, 
208, 209. 4 

pyrrhoptera, Phylidonyris, 202. 

quelimanensis, Seicercus ruficapilla, 
136. 
querquedula, Anas, 245. 

raaltenii, Anthus richardi, 131, 
132. , 

Rails, 109. 

Raven, Australian, 202. 

Razorbill, 68, 69. 

Recurvirostra avosetta, 240. 

Redpoll, Mealy, 65. 5 

Redshank,. 17, 18, 129, 155, 163, 
203, 240. 

, Iceland, 164. 

Redwing, 52, 208. 

reichenowr, Cinnyris, 144. 

——, Cryptospiza reichenowi, 148, 
149. 

—— ocularis, Cryptospiza, 148, 149. 

—— sanguinolenta, Cryptospiza, 
148, 149. 

rhenanus, Parus soar ateiarr ee = 

Rhinomyias, 111. 

FRhizothera dulitensis, 111. 

rhodoptera, Heliolais erythroptera, 
139, 1490. 

Rhynchaspis capensis, 242. 

richardi lacuum, Anthus, 132. 

—— lichenya, Anthus, 131. 

—— raaltenii, Anthus, 131, 132. 

ridibundus, Larus ridibundus, 240. 

Riparia rupestris centralasica, 
subsp. n., 184. 

rupestris, 184. 

rippont, Liocichla phenicea, 88. 

Rissa tridactyla tridactyla, 68. 

Robin, Straits, 109. 

robinsoni, Criniger tephrogenys, 19. 

robusta ambigua, Cisticola, 170. 

angolensis, Cisticola, 170. 

—— nuchalis, Cisticola, 170. 

, Tringa totanus, 163. 

Rock-Dove, 12. 

rolleti, Pogonornis, 124. 

Rook, 84, 105, 224. 

Rosella, Eastern, 202. 

roseus, Pelecanus, 187, 188. 

rothschildi, Casuarius unappendi- 
culatus, 238. 

ruber, Phacellodomus, 107. 

‘[Vol. iii. 

rubricata, Lagonosticta, 8. 

—— polionota, Lagonosticta, 7, 8. 
virata, Lagonosticta, 7, 8. 
rudis, Ceryle rudis, 45. 

rufa lynesi, Mirafra, 246, 247. 
——, Mirafra rufa, 8, ne 247. 
—— nigriticola, Mirafra, 8 

——, Muscipeta, 121, 123. 

Rufts, 240. 
ruficapilla johnstoni, Seicercus, 136. 
quelimanensis, Seicercus, 136. 
——, Sercercus ruficapilla, 136. 
ruficeps, Macropygia, 113. 

ruficollis, Poliocephalus, 202. 

rufifrons obscura, Stachyridopsis, 
18. 

—— pallescens, Stachyridopsis, 18. 

——, Stachyridopsis  rufifrons, 
18. 

rufigula fusciventris, Pityonoprogne, 
143. 

——, Ptyonoprogne rufigula, 143. 

rufiventris, Pachycephala, 202. 

rufoaxillaris, Molothrus, 103. 

rufogularis, Acanthagenys, 202. 

rufotinctus, Casuarius unappendi- 
culatus, 238. 

rufus, Furnarius, 107. 

rupestris centralasica, Riparia, 184. 

, Riparia rupestris, 184. 

ruppelli, Anas undulata, 243.- 

ruppellic, Onychognathus morio, 7. 

russatus, Charadrius, 75. 

» —-— marginatus, 10, 75, 96. 

rusticola, Scolopax, 203. 

sacra, Demigretta, 193. 

salax, Saxicola torquata, 9. 
Sandpiper, Common, 44, 109, 204. 
——, Purple, 66, 164. 

——., Red-legged, 17, 18. 

——, Wood-, 129. 

sandvicensis, Sterna sandvicensis, 
44. 

sanguiniceps, Hcematortyx, 110, 
114. 

sanguinolenta, Cryptospiza reichen- 
owt, 148, 149 

Saxicola torquata moptana, subsp. 
nn. 6 

salax, 9. 

schinzu, Calidris alpina, 164, 165. 

schistacea, Ardea, 195. 
—, Demigretia, 189, 191, 194, 
195, 245. 

——. Lepterodas, 189, 195. 

scheeniclus, Emberiza scheniclus, 
84. 

schwanert, Hucichla, 113, 


Vol. liii.] 264 
scintilliceps kurodai, Yungipicus, Snipe, Wilson’s, 91. 

22. 
—— nagamichii, Yungipicus, 22. 
Sciurus McClellandii, 16. 
scolopaceus angolensis, Pogoniulus, 
184. 
—— flavisquamatus, Pogoniulus, 
8 

——, Linnodromus griseus, 90, 92, 
165, 166. 

Scolopax calidris, 18. 

—— rusticola, 203. 

Scops brookei, 111. 

Scopus umbretta bannermani, 196, 
LOT. 

minor, 196, 197. 
umbretia, 196. 

Scoter, 68. 

, Common, 66. 

seebohmi, Charadrius alexandrinus, 
213. 

Seicercus ruficapilla johnstoni, 136. 

quelimanensis, subsp. 

n.,' 136. 

ruficapilla, 136. 
semifasciata, Cisticola lais, 171. 
semipalmatus, Charadrius, 205. 

semitorquata, Streptopelia semt- 
torquata, 45. 
senegala camerunensis, T'chagra, 

73. 
——., Lagonosticta, 179. 
nothus, T'chagra, 74. 
pallida, Tchagra, 73. 
——, Tchagra, senegala, 73. 
timbuktana, Tchagra, 74. 
senegalensis, Upupa, 70, 71. 
Setaria cinereum, 109. 
sharpei, Dicrurus, 178. 
Shearwater, 45. 
shelleyi, Cinnyris, 159. 
——, shelleyr, 144. 
——, Micropus apus, 240, 241. 
—— neergardi, Cinnyris, 144. 
Shoveler, 205. 
——, Cape, 242. 
——, European, 242. 
Shrike, Bush-, 162. 
, Crested, 108, 109. 
-Thrush, Grey, 202. 
Sibia, 85. 
simplex, Passer, 6. 
singetra, T'chitrea mutata, 122, 124. 
Siva, 87. 
Skua, Arctic, 66, 67. 
, Great, 168. 
——, Stercorarius skua, 168. 
Snipe, Common, 115. 
, Red-breasted, 90, 164. 
——, Sabine’s, 115, 

somalensis, Upupa, 70, 71. 

. epops, 70, 71. 

Somateria mollissima borealis, 66. 

mollissima, 118. 

—— spectabilis, 118. 

Sparrow-Hawk, 218, 220. 

sparsa, Anas sparsa, 244. 

—— kkucostigma, Anas, 243, 244. 

Spatula capensis, 242, 243. 

—— clypeata, 242, 243. 

spectabilis, Somateria, 118. 

spekei, Tchitrea, 121, 123. ° 

Spider-hunters, 108, 110, 113, 114. 

Sptloglaux boobook, 202. 

Spoonbill, 205. 

spp., Hrolia, 203. 

Squatarola, 204. 

—— squatarola squatarola, 44. 

Stachyridopsis rufifrons obscura, 18. 

pallescens, subsp. n., 18. 

rufifrons, 18. 

stanfordi, Alcippe nepalensis, 19. 

Staphidia everetti, 109. 

Starling, 65, 67-69, 84. 

steer, Liocichla, 85, 87. 

Steganura paradiscea aucupum, 
180. 

—— —— interjecta, 180. 

nilotica, 180. 

—— —— orientalis, 180. 

—— —— paradisea, 179, 180. 

—— togoensis, 180. 

stellaris, Botaurus stellaris, 129. 

stellatus, Colymbus, 67. 

stelleri, Polysticta, 117, 118. 

Stercorarius parasiticus, 66. 

skua skua, 168. 

Sterna hirundo hirundo, 240. 

macrura, 66. 

—— maxima albidorsalis, 44. 

—— sandvicensis sandvicensis, 44. 

stigmatops, Buchanga, 114. 

Stilt, Banded, 202. 

Stint, Temminck’s, 85. 

stolidus, Anous, 78. 

Stonechat, 8. 

Stork, African Woolly-necked, 

210. 

Streptopelia semitorquata semi- 
torquata, 45. 

striata austeni, Grammatoptila, 79. 

cranbrooki, Grammatoptila, 79 

strigoides, Podargus, 202. 

Struthio anderssoni, 14. 

—— camelus, 13. 

—— wimani, 80. 

Struthiolithus chersonensis, 14. 

Sturnus vulgaris vulgaris, 65, 84. 

suahelica, Cisticola galactotes, 169. 


265 

subalaris, Cinnyris chalybeus, 145, 

146. 
subaureus, Ploceus, 147. 
subrufipennis, Thamnolea cinna- 

momewentris, 176. 

Sula coryz, 118. 
leucogaster, 186. 
— nicolli, sp. n., 118, 119. 

—— sula sula, 118, 119, 185, 187. 
sula, Pelecanus, 185, 186. 
Sunbird, 40, 43. 

, Greater Double-collared, 43, 
superciliaris argyromitra, Penelope, 

94, 

ochromitra, Penelope, 94. 
——, Penelope superciliaris, 93~ 
95. 
—— pseudonyma, Penelope, 93, 
94, 

superciliosus, Pomatostomus, 202, 
Swift, 163. 

, European, 71. 

——, Little, 71. 

——, African, 97. 

Tadorna tadorna, 116, 117. 

Tailor-Bird, 108, 114. 

Tangavius ceneus, 103. 

Tattler, Wandering, 203. 

T chagra senegala camerunensis, 73. 

nothus, 74. 

pallida, 73. 

senegala, 73. 

——— ——— timbuktana, subsp. n., 
74. 

T chitrea, 121. 

comorensis, 122. 

holosericea, 122. 

— mutata, 120. 

mutata, 122. 

pretiosa, 123. 

——— ——— singetra, subsp. n., 122, 
124, 

pretiosa, 122, 123. 

speket, 121, 123. 

vulpina, 122. 

teitensis, Cisticola emsns, 173, 174. 

temminckii, Calidris, 85. 

, Hrolia, 204. 

tenebricosa, Apalis melanocephala, 
141, 142, 

tenellus, Charadrius marginatus, 
10; TL V2bIg 212: 

tenuirostris, Phyllastrephus flavo- 
striatus, 133. 

tephrogenys, Criniger tephrogenys, 
19. 

—-— griseiceps, Criniger, 19. 
robinsom, Crinager, 19, 

VOL... Lirk, 

[Vol. liii. 

Tern, African Royal, 44. 

, Arctic, 66, 69. 

, Common, 240. 

——, Gull-billed, 44. 

-, Sandwich, 44. 

Terpsiphone lindsayi, 122, 123. 

tethys, Procellarva, 154. 

Tethysia, gen. n., 154. 

Tetragonopyga, gen. n., 72, 97. 

Thalassarche desolationis, 213. 

Thalassidrama, 154. 

Thalassornis teueonotus, 242. 

Thamnolea cinnamomeiventris 
bambarce, 176. 

- cavernicola, subsp. n., 

176. 

-—— subrufipennis, 176. 

thomsoni, Hrythrecercus living- 
stoner, 137, 138. 

Thorn-Bird, Red, 107. 

Thrush, 113. 

, Grey Shrike-, 202. 

—-—, Ground.-, 202. 

-, White’s, 78. 

wekells assamensis, Drymocata- 
phus, 19. 

——, Drymocataphus tickelli, 18, 
19, 

—— grisescens, Drymocataphus, 
18. 

tilemsiensis, 

Auripasser luteus, 

tembuktana, Tchagra senegala, 74. 

Tinker-Bird, Speckled, 184. 

tinnunculus, Faleotinnunculus, 15. 

Tit, Alpine Willow-, 32. 

, Bearded, 129. 

——., Blue, 35. 

——, British Marsh-, 32. 

—.,, Willow-, 26, 32, 52. 

—— —.— (Nesting cavities 
of), 29. 
—, Continental Willow-, 26. 

——., Crested, 20. 

——, Great, 35. 

——, Long-tailed, 35. 

——., Marsh-, 26, 27, 30-33, 35- 
40, 42-44, 77, 97. 

nae —— (Graph of the song), 

4, 

——, Northern Willow.-, 32. 

——. Norwegian Marsh., 32. 

——, Willow-, 27, 28, 30-40, 42- 
44, 77, 96, 97. 

; (Graph of the song), 34. 

Titmice, 38. 

Titmouse, British Coal-, 76. 

——, Marsh.-, 23, 76. 

——, —— Willow-, 23, 76. 

——., Northern Willow.-, 76. 

b 


Vol. liii.] 2 

togoensis, Steganura paradisea, 
180. 

Toothbill, Hairy-breasted, 152. 

torda, Alca, 68. 

torquata moptana, Saxicola, 8 

salax, Saxicola, 9. 

torquatus, Bulestes, 202. 

, Lybius, 150, 151. 

Totanus bewickii, 18. 

—— melanoleucus, 203, 206. 

—— totanus, 206. 

totanus bewickii, Tringa, 18. 

—— robusta, Tringa, 163. 

——, Totanus, 206. 

——, Tringa totanus, 17, 
240. 

Trachycomus zeylanicus, 109. 

traillii, Oriolus, 206, 207, 208. 

Tree-Creeper, 40. 

——., Brown, 202. 

Tricholema flavipunctata angolense, 
152, 153: 

ansorgii, 152, 153. 

chapini, 152, 153. 

—— —— flavipunctata, 152, 153. 

hybridum, 152, 153. 

—— hirsutum, 152, 153. 

tricolor, Zonifer, 202. 

tridactyla, Rissa tridactyla, 68. 

Tringa, 203. 

erythropus, 17, 18: 

—— flavipes, 239: 

—— glareola, 129. _ 

— hypoleucos, 44, 109. 

163, 

[ ] incanus, Heteroscelus, 242. 
— melanoleuca, 242. 
totanus bewickit, 18. 
—— robusta, 163. 
—— totanus, 17, 129, 163, 
240. 
Trochalopteron pheniceum, 87. 
trochilus, Phylloscopus trochilus, 
76. 

Trogon, 110, 113. 

Troupials, 99, 102. 

tschusvi compulator, Emberiza, 84. 
Turdus musicus, 208. 

Turnstone, Black, 204. 

typica ellisii, Nesillas, 95. 

—— monticola, Nesillas, 95. 
——.,, Nesillas typica, 95. 

ultima, Cercomela melanura, 175. 

umbretta bannermani, Scopus, 196, 
197. 

— minor, Scopus, 196, 197. 

_——., Scopus umbretta, 196. 

66 

unappendiculatus aurantiacus, 
Casuarius, 238. 

238. 

oceipitalis, Casuarius, 238. 
—— rothschildi, Casuarius, 238. 
rufotinctus Casuarius, 238. 
undulata ruppelli, Anas, 243. 
unicolor, M Uropus, 172. 

—— poensis, Micropus, 172. 
Upuee epops epops, 70, 71. 
somalensis, 70, 71. 
—— senegalensis, 70, 71. 

—— somalensis, 70, 71. 

Uria aalge aalge, 68, 70. 
hyperborea, 68, 69. 
lomvia lomvia, 68, 69. 
Urobrachya axillaris mechow’, 181. 

= 

validus canescens, 
129. 

, Pachycoccyx, 130. 

Vanellus, 203. 

varia longicauda, Muscicapa mada- 
gascariensis, 120. 

variegaticeps, Alcippe, 88. 

vidua, Pyrotrogon, 111. 

virata, Lagonosticta rubricata, 7, 8. 

virescens, Muscicapa, 121, 123. 

vittata georgicus, Pachyptila, 214. 

keytelr, Pachyptila, 214. 

, Pachyptila vittata, 214. 

vociferus, Oxyechus, 203, 205, 241. 

vulgaris, Sturnus vulgaris, 65, 84. 

vulpina, Tchitrea, 122. 

Pachycoecyx, 

Waders, 62, 203, 241. 

Wagtail, Pied, 34. . 
waldeni, Actinodura nipalensis, 79. 
Warbler, Australian Reed-, 202. 

» Dartford, 35. 

——. Fantail-, 56. 

—-—, Great Reed-, 240. 

——-, Marsh-, 40. 

—., Reed.-, 40. 

——,, River-, 240. 

, Willow-, 76. 

wardi, Actinodura nipalensis, 79. 
Waterhen, 129. 

Weaver, 99, 102, 103, 160. 
Weaver-Bird, 181. 

Weaver, Red-billed Black, 105. 

, Sociable, 105. 

, V-marked, 45. 

wellsi, Liocichla phenicea, 88. 

, Lophophanes dichrous, 21. 


Whale-bird, 213. 

Whimbrel, 44, 168. 

Whistlers, 202. 

White-eye, 111. 

whiteheadi, Calyptomena, 113, 114. 
. Pyrotrogon, 113, 114. 
Whitethroat, Lesser, 35, 36. 
Whydah, Paradise, 179. 

wimani, Struthio, 80. 
Woodpecker, 28, 30, 113. 

, Fohkien Spark-headed, 22. 
——., Lesser Spotted, 28, 77. 
(Nesting cavities 

of), 29. 

267 

(Vol. liii. 
Yellowshank, 239. 

, Greater, 203. 
Yungipicus scintilliceps kurodait, 
22. 

—— —— nagamichii, nom. n., 22. 

zeylanicus, Trachycomus, 109. 

zombe albigularis, Lybius, 151. 

, Lybius, 149, 151, 163. 

zonarius, Cinnyris chalybeus, 
146. 

Zonifer tricolor, 202. 


PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS, 
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET. 











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