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Je, YEARLAN D q - eT w waa } 2! x * rg r J . 4 4 , ; Pe, 4 surest Soe ie 1962 ere | 4 3 > SS JAN1962, BULLETIN ~ 7kpuae | PLE HASER OF THE ; BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB Volume 82 Number | Published: Ist January, 1962 The five hundred and ninety-fourth meeting of the Club was held at the Rembrandt Hotel, London, on 19th December, 1961. Chairman: Mrs. B. P. HALL Members present. 27; Associates (Overseas), 1; Guests 14; Total, 42. The Club’s usual Chairman, Capt. C. R. S. Pitman, was regrettably unable to attend because of illness and his place was ably taken by Mrs. . P. Hall. The Chairman welcomed Mr. K. E. Wiltsher, Manager of e Caxton and Holmesdale Press, printers of the Bulletin. The proceedings on this occasion took the form of a British bird ‘‘quiz’’ between teams led by Mr. P. A. D. Hollom, supported by Messrs. Derek Goodwin and D. D. Harber (the Over forties) and Mr. I. J. Ferguson-Lees with Dr. I. C. T. Nisbet and Mr. D. I. M. Wallace (the Under forties). The last readily available reserves of ornithological knowledge con- sisted of those (regardless of age) seated at the tables on either side of the dining room and all questions related to birds on the British List, the maximum award of marks being either ten or five according to the question. The Chairman undertook the difficult task of awarding marks on the basis of the usual criteria—correctness, promptitude of answer, extent to Which reserves are called upon and so on. A selection of the questions and answers as set out on the cards are given here. Mr. Ferguson-Lees’ side answered first and the marks awarded are given in parenthesis at the end of each official answer. i alae of five different families which can excavate their nest-holes in the ground. Sand Martin, Bee-eater, Manx Shearwater, Kingfisher, Puffin. (8) Name five unquestioned species with the word ‘‘blue’’ in the usual name. venga Red-flanked Bluetail, Blue Tit, Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Blue-winged eal. ( What is the colour of the iris and orbital skin of (a) Stock Dove (b) Turtle Dove (c) Wood Pigeon? (a) dark brown; grey. (b) golden; purple or reddish. (c) pale vellow or whitish-yellow; grey. (4) What is the colour of the iris, bill and legs of (a) Little Crake (b) Corncrake? (a) iris crimson; bill grass green with grey tip and red at base of upper mandible; legs green, (b) iris pale brown; bill pale brown or fleshy; legs pale flesh. (4) alk Hm aoa 8 al Vol. 82 2 | - Bulletin B.O.C. oOo »a Oo ®x HO ABO Aw HAO B® BD Ox Od © a Oo »m® >a Or» OA® HO B® HOe® WEB After a series of ‘‘Quickies’’ the score stood at 96 for the Under forties Name three species out of the nine mentioned in Voous’ Atlas which breed in each of the six continents. Stilt, Oystercatcher, Great White Heron, Barn Owl, Cormorant, Black-winged Kite, Peregrine Falcon, Gull-billed Tern, Roseate Tern. (5) Name five buntings on the British List whose breeding range extends to the Pacific. Lapland, Reed, Rustic, Yellow-breasted, Snow. (5) Name eight waders of the Charadriidae or Scolopacidae you would expect to see in County Kerry in late June. Lapwing, Ringed Plover, Golden Plover, Snipe, Woodcock, Curlew, Common Sand- — piper, Redshank. (8) | What owls and birds of prey, other than falcons, breed in Ireland? : Golden Eagle, Common Buzzard, Sparrow Hawk, Hen Harrier, Barn Owl, Long- — eared Owl. (9) If you see a Brent Goose being shot, in what circumstances is it your duty to take — action, and what action? All circumstances. Get witness; shooter’s name and address; inform police and comply — with their requests in support of prosecution. (10) : Name five birds that have a practical usé around the house. (Chairman gives example, viz. Roller) Nutcracker, Knot, Skua, Yellowhammer, Petrel. Also acceptable Shag (tobacco) and — Stork (margarine). Shoveler suggested and passed, but Stock-pot Dove rejected. (5) For which of the following species is the British Isles the southern European limit for breeding? Red-néecked Phalarope, Ptarmigan, Blackcock, Black Guillemot, Red-throated Diver, Fulmar. Red-necked Phalarope, Black Guillemot, Fulmar. (8) In how many counties had the Little Ringed Plover bred by 1959 (last paar What was the total population then to the nearest ten pairs? (a) 24 (b) 100 (7) Give approximate dates for the following Kittiwake activities in breeding grounds in south-western England and Wales, (a) first return to breeding grounds, (b) first eggs, (c) first chicks, (d) last birds to leave home waters. (a) end of December, (b) last week of May, (c) last week of June, (d) third week of September. (0) Give approximate dates for the following Puffin activities in breeding grounds in south-western England and Wales, (a) first return to breeding grounds, (b) first eggs, (c) first chicks, (d) last birds to leave home waters. (a) end ) ‘de i (b) beginning of May, (c) 38 days later—mid-June, (d) first week of August. (4 Which of the following waders have no white wing-bar? Black-tailed Godwit, Bar- tailed Godwit, Curlew oe Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Spotted Red- shank? Bar-tailed Godwit, Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Spotted Redshank. (8) Which of the following warblers have a conspicuous eye-stripe? Marsh, Sedge, Moustached, Garden, Reed, Wood. Sedge, Moustached, Wood. (10) In what year and which county was the last Great Auk captured alive in the British - Isles? Where and when did the final extinction of the species take place? 4 Waterford 1834 (St. Kilda about 1840 also acceptable, but the bird was killed as a witch) Iceland 1844. (8) In what year and in which county (a) was the Great Bustard last recorded breeding ~ in Great Britain; (b) did the last indigenous birds die? (a) Suffolk 1832, (b) Norfolk 1845. (3) In which of the following species is incubation by the hen only? Wood Warbler, Reed Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler. Wood Warbler and Willow Warbler (9) ; What materials would you expect to find in the nests of (a) Crossbill (b) Meadow Pipit (c) Dipper (d) Stone Curlew? (a) pine twigs, grasses, wool, etc.; lined with grass, rabbit fur, hair, feathers, etc. (b) dry grasses and bents; lined with finer material and horsehair. (c) moss, dry grass; lined with dead leaves (beech and oak). (d) None. Small stones and rabbit droppings often present. (6) { | “a Bulletin B.O.C. 3 Vol. 82 and 85 for the Over forties, and the meeting proceeded to the realm of nonsense in which, it must be admitted, the seniors and their supporters made considerable headway, the final score being Under forties 112; Over forties 110. On the validity of Pytilia melba damarensis Neunzig, 1928 by P. A. CLANCEY Received 29th April, 1961 _ Over thirty years ago the German systematist Rudolf Neunzig (1928) ‘separated the Damaraland populations of the Melba Finch Pytilia melba (Linnaeus), 1758: China, ex Edwards, corrected to Angola by Zedlitz (1916), under the name P. m. damarensis Neunzig, 1928: Windhoek, characterized on the basis of paler general colouration and larger size. The Type is in the collection of the Zoological Museum, Berlin. P. m. damarensis has not been recognised by later workers (notably Sclater [1930]; Hoesch and Niethammer [1940]; and Clancey [1957]), but a re-appraisal of the question on the basis of a series 32 Damaraland specimens in the Durban Museum collection studied in conjunction with a series of twelve recently obtained examples of topotypical nominate P. melba from Angola (Durban Museum ex Chicago Natural History ‘Museum, and on loan from the collection of the Instituto de Investigacao Cientifica de Angola, Luanda) suggests that there are valid grounds for considering P. m. damarensis as a recognisable race, with a range extending from southern and south-western Angola and South-West Africa, east- wards to the northern Cape Province, western Orange Free State, Trans- vaal and Southern Rhodesia. _ Males of P. m. damarensis differ but slightly from those of P. m. melba in colour, averaging slightly darker golden olive over the mantle, but the difference is slight and not constant. However, they differ significantly in their larger overall proportions thus: wings of 22 33 of P. m. damarensis measuring 59-63 (61.2), 6 99 58.5-61 (59.8), tails of gg 49-54 (51.0), @° 47.5-51 (49.1), as against wings of 56.5-58 (57.2) in 6 gg from the Luanda area of Angola, 4 99 56—58.5 (57.2), tails of dg 43-47 (45.7), 9° 44-47 (45.3) mm. In addition to being markedly larger, P. m. damarensis iffers further in that the female has the head-top and nape slightly paler grey (Mouse Gray, vide Ridgway (1912) (pl. li], as against Deep Mouse ~ Gray {same pl.] in P. m. melba), while the mantle colour is distinctly paler and duller, often exhibiting a strong admixture of grey (about Buffy citrine [pl. xvi] as opposed to the deeper and unsullied Orange-Citrine pl. iv) of the nominotypical race). Ventrally there is little in the nature f a salient difference between the females of the two taxa, although in series P. m. melba shows a good deal of olive wash over the sides of the breast and over the flanks, which feature is quite lacking in P. m. damar- Hensis. It is interesting to note that in P. m. melba the sexes are exactly similar in size, whereas in P. m. damarensis the male is slightly larger than ithe female. These characters undoubtedly warrant the resuscitation of )P. m. damarensis from synonymy. | I have not attempted to determine the range limits of P. m. melba with any degree of accuracy, but the race concerned is considered to range from )Landana, the lower Congo, Stanley Pool and northern and central Angola, Vol. 82 4. Bulletin B.O.C eastwards to the southern Congo (Katanga), Northern Rhodesia and western Nyasaland. | P. m. angolensis Reichenow, 1919: Angola, Type from Malanje (Prof. Dr. E. Stresemann, in /itt.), appears to be a straight synonym of P. m. melba, the Type having a flattened wing-length of 58 mm. Two specimens from 15 km. W. of Yau? or Jau), Angola, collected by Gerd Heinrich in 1954 and now in the Durban Museum collection (ex Chicago Natural ~ History Museum), are larger than those from the Luanda district of Angola (wing of 3 63.5, 2 60 mm.) and agree in their dimensions with — P. m. damarensis, while the dorsal colouration of the female is also in | conformity with this determination. With the finding of two geographical races of the Melba Finch within the political confines of Angola, it would seem desirable to further restrict the present type-locality of P. m. melba — (‘‘Angola’’). Fringilla Melba Linnaeus, believed originally to come from China, was based on an Edwards reference (‘‘Edw. ay. 128, t. 128’’, vide Linnaeus [{1758]). Most of Angola was terra incognita and completely © inaccessible at the time Edwards lived, although the coastal regions were — comparatively well-known through the efforts of Portuguese explorers and navigators, and the Melba Finch was in all probability first made — known to workers on the basis of captives sent back to Europe by early | Portuguese colonists on board ships returning from the East. It seems | that the type-locality should be in the coast region, and as this species occurs plentifully round Luanda, the capital and main seaport of the territory, I designate Luanda, Angola, as the restricted type-locality o P. m. melba. In 1957 I reviewed the races of P. melba occurring within the South African sub-continent. In the light of the new findings this paper requires to be adjusted somewhat, mainly by the elimination of the nominotypical race from the South African list and its substitution by P. m. damarensis (as defined above). The small P. m. grotei Reichenow, 1919: Kionga, lower Rovuma R., southern Tanganyika Territory, in which the red on the throat of the male extends as a wash over the golden olive breast-band and the female is darker than P. m. melba, particularly greener backed, comes within South African limits in the lower Zambesi R. valley, perhaps ranging as far south as Beira in the Portuguese East African littoral. P. m. thamnophila Clancey, 1957: Big Bend, Swaziland, has a more restricted range than formerly believed, being confined to Natal and Zululand. eastern Swaziland and the littoral of southern Portuguese East Africa’ (south of the Limpopo R.). In this race, the male has the red of the chin and throat peach-coloured, not scarlet, and the breast-band is dull green (about Olive Lake [pl. xvi]) not golden olive (Aniline Yellow [pl. iv)), while there are other minor differences (see original description). The female of P. m. thamnophila is still darker on the upper-parts than P. m. grotei, with which the former taxon agrees fairly well on size, thougk averaging larger. A series from the eastern Transvaal (Newington) is intermediate in colour between P. m. thamnophila and P. m. damarensis, but mensurally like the former. It may be that P. m. thamnophila and P. m: grotei are not in contact, being segregated from one another by intrusive populations of P. m. damarensis, thrusting eastwards with other xeric Kalahari elements from the dry interior through the ‘‘Limpopo Gap”) * Bulletin B.O.C. 5 Vol. 82 almost to the Mozambique littoral, but much work still remains to be done on the distributions of the races of P. me/ba occurring within Portu- guese East African limits. Acknowledgements For the loan of material I am grateful to Dr. A. A. da Rosa Pinto, Ornithologist on the Staff of the Instituto de Investigacao Cientifica de Angola, Luanda. To Herr H. E. Wolters, Bonn, | am indebted for the great trouble he has gone to in helping me with the literature, and to Prof. Dr. Erwin Stresemann, Berlin, I extend thanks for details of the Type of P. m. angolensis. Literature cited: _ Clancey, P. A. 1957. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, vol. 77, 3, pp. 49-52. Hoesch, W. and Niethammer, G. 1940. Die Vogelwelt Deutsch-Siidwestafrikas, pp. 356-357. Linnaeus, C. von. 1758. Systema Naturae, 10th edition, i, p. 180. Facsimile reprint. London. Neunzig, R. 1928. Zoologischer Anzeiger, vol. |xxvii, pp. 9-10. Ridgway, R. 1912. Color Standards and Color Nomenclature. Washington. Sclater, W. L. 1930. Systema Avium Aethiopicarum, patt li, p. 787. Zedlitz, O. von. 1916. Journ. fiir Ornith., vol. lxiv p. 31. , On the geographical variation of the Yellow-throated Longclaw Macronyx croceus (Vieillot) by P. A. CLANCEY Received 29th April, 1961 Gyldenstolpe (1924) was the first worker to demonstrate the existence of geographical variation in the populations of the wide-ranging Yellow- throated Longclaw Macronyx croceus (Vieillot) of the savannas of Africa. Friedmann (1930), following on Gyldenstolpe’s original observations, arranged the populations of M. croceus in two races: M. c. croceus “(Vieillot), 1816: Senegal, and M. c. vulturnus Friedmann, 1930: coastal parts of Natal in the vicinity of Durban, the latter, introduced as a new race restricted to the extreme austral parts of the species’ range, being separated from M. c. croceus solely on the basis of longer culmen length. While Friedmann’s findings have been very largely followed by subsequent workers (see Roberts {1940}, Vincent [1952|, McLachlan and Liversidge (1957), inter alia), White (in Peters [1960]; 1961) has recently tried, without ‘presenting nearly sufficient evidence, to convince other workers that the Variation in this species is either seasonal or of such irregularity as to preclude its satisfactory nomenclatural recognition. Some years ago, I showed (Clancey, 1952A) that the population of M. croceus occurring in north-eastern Zululand consisted of birds with rather shorter bills than in Natal topotypes of M. c. vulturnus, and in a fuller exposition (Clancey, 1952B) I arranged the populations of the South African sub-continent in two races (M. c. vulturnus and M. c. croceus), restricting the range of M. c. vulturnus to Pondoland, Natal and ‘Zululand, the rest of the South African populations being referred to the nominotypical race. In a still later study (1958) I distinguished the popu- lations of M. croceus of east-central and eastern Africa from both M. c. vulturnus and M. c. croceus on colour and mensural characters under the mame M. c. tertius Clancey, 1958: Hartley, Matabeleland, Southern Vol. 82 6 Bulletin B.O.C. Rhodesia. From M. c. vulturnus, M. c. tertius was separated on the basis of overall smaller proportions, rather greyer upper-parts, and clearer_ yellow medial ventral surface, and from M. c. croceus on the basis of © greyer upper-parts, and the Lemon Chrome as against Light Cadmium (vide Ridgway [1912] pl. iv) of the breast and abdomen. In discussing the differences between M. c. vulturnis and M. c. tertius, ‘I demonstrated that in a direct and critical comparison between series of skins of the two — forms prepared by exactly similar techniques and by the same hands, there was a marked difference of between 4 and ? of an inch in length between — the skins of the respective forms. This connoted a palpable size difference which could conceivably be treated statistically in the event of sufficient weights of newly shot M. c. vulturnus and M. c. tertius being made available in the future. White (1961), in telane to justify his earlier rejection of M. c. vulturnus (1960), has expressed the view that the geographical variation in this species is so complex and irregular that science is not served by the recognition of races (cf. Chapin [1953]). I do not believe that this species is abnormally or particularly locally variable, or that the recorded vari- ation cannot be conveniently expressed by the recognition of subspecies.’ Moreover, White saw fit to discuss only about half of the characters utilized by me in my arrangement of the populations in to three forms— for instance he makes no reference to the fact that West African birds have duskier yellow under-parts than eastern or southern African ones, nor is any mention made of the differences in skin size advanced by me in the original description of M. c. tertius to enable one to distinguish this race from the adjacent M. c. vulturnus. That West African birds do in fact have dusky yellow under-parts was noticed years ago by the critical Zedlitz (see Gyldenstolpe {1924|). I submit that the inadequate evidence propounded by White does not amount to a fresh appraisal of the poly- typic variation in M. croceus, warranting the synonymizing of M. c. vulturnus and M. c. tertius with M. c. croceus. As in all pipits living the greater part of their lives in rank grass, the Yellow-throated Longclaw is subject to marked seasonal colour variation ¥ due mainly to abrasion, which appears to affect the plumage of the dorsal surface and the wings and tail more extensively than the underside. There- fore, in order to assess the geographical variation in the plumage colour- ation one is compelled to found decisions on material collected during the two or three months in the year in which the birds are in relatively fresh dress. It is an unfortunate fact that much of the material in the general run of museum collections is too worn and otherwise unsatisfactory to be of use in determining the existence and nature of the geographical as opposed to seasonal colour variation. A critical study of that material in the Durban Museum collection which meets the above requirements shows that colour variation is not heterogeneous as suggested by White but is remarkably stable over vast areas. For instance, in the race M. c. tertius there is not the slightest palpable colour difference between birds from Sul do Save, southern Portuguese East Africa, Mashonaland, eastern Southern Rhodesia, southern Nyasaland and western Northern Rhodesia and those of coastal - Kenya Colony. In further support of this finding, one need only look at j } Bulletin B.O.C. | ine Vol. 82 the highly stable, though admittedly localized, M. c. vulturnus, in which there is little individual variation in series of skins in a precisely com- parable condition. In so far as size is concerned there is also marked constancy in the two races of which we have adequate and fully representative series (M. c. vulturnus and M. c. tertius). In M. c. vulturnus the flattened wings of adult males range from 100-105, tails 80-88 and culmens (from base) 21.5—24 mm. This race ranges from the littoral of southern Pondoland, eastern Cape Province, north-eastwards to northern Zululand and southern Swaziland, where it merges into M. c. tertius. This latter race is smaller in most dimensions than M. c. vulturnus, having a shorter bill and tail and in being greyer, less saturated brownish olivaceous, on the upper-parts in newly moulted dress—also clearer yellow below in adult males. The wings of adult gg M. c. tertius measure 96—100 (102), tails 74-80, culmens 20.5— 21.5 (22.5) mm. The legs and feet are also smaller than in M. c. vulturnus. This size variation is quite clearly discernible in carefully prepared series without recourse to measuring, the skins of M. c. tertius being from 4—? of an inch shorter than those of M. c. vulturnus (see photograph). As already noted above, there is little or no variation of note within the taxon M. c. tertius, and the race is remarkably uniform, ranging from the northern limits of Zululand, northwards through Portuguese East Africa, eastern Southern Rhodesia, eastern Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland to eastern Tanganyika Territory, coastal Kenya Colony and immediately adjacent south-western Somalia. It is interesting to note that van Someren (1932), working on a series of thirty-nine specimens, demonstrated what appears to be a marked size-difference between coastal Kenya Colony birds (M. c. tertius) and those of Uganda and the Kenya Highlands (M. c. croceus), giving the wings of examples of both sexes from the Kenya coast as 90-96, and of those from the elevated interior as 96-105 mm. The wings of gd 99 of M. c. tertius in the Durban Museum, including a short series from Kilifi on the Kenya coast collected personally in April, 1958, measure 94-100 (102) (the wings of the Kilifi series measuring g¢ 100, 98, 2° 94, 88 mm.) show that the race concerned is not separable from the nominotypical one on size. Compared with M. c. tertius, freshly moulted examples of the nominate race are readily distinguishable on the basis of warmer and redder, less greyish, upper-parts. The brown fringes to the mantle feathers correspond closely to the Tawny-Olive of Ridgway (pl. xxix) as against Isabella Color (pl. xxx) in the eastern race. I did not allude to this distinction in my 1958 report, mainly owing to the fact that the majority of the West African skins then available to me had the upper-parts abraded. In addition to the dorsal character just enumerated, the two taxa are readily segregable on the grounds of a duller yellow abdominal surface in M.c. croceus, which has the yellow of the lower breast and abdomen more sullied or overlaid with buff or bronzy, thereby lacking the vibrancy and clarity of colour- ation present in M. c. tertius of the eastern tropics of Africa. As already noted above, while the dorsal differences are largely lost some two or three months after the completion of the moult, the variation in the tonality of the yellow of the medial ventral surface persists. 1 have seen insufficient material from West Africa to permit of any f ; Vol. 82 : 8 Bulletin B.O.C. generalisations in so far as M. c. croceus is concerned. Specimens from the highlands of Kenya Colony and the eastern Congo do not differ in colour from others from the Moyen Congo, the Gabon, the Cameroons and Nigeria, westwards to Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, although within such populations there appears to be clinal size variation. Western Upper Guinea birds range appreciably smaller in size than those from the eastern sector of the race’s range, most marked in the shorter tails (gg from Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone having tails 68-77, 99 65-68 mm. (all specimens in variably worn dress, and tails in some instances par- ticularly worn, but I do not concede that the demonstrable size difference is entirely due to wear, as the Upper Guinea birds are in addition physi- cally very small (see photograph). The tails in 10 99 of M. c. tertius measure 74-78 mm. A single topotypical male of M. c. croceus from Mbidjem, near Thies, Senegal, in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, is markedly larger than the more southern West African birds just discussed, having a wing of 105.5 and a tail of 82 mm. In these large dimensions it agrees with some of the eastern populations of the same subspecific entity. With the limited material and data currently available to me Iam unable to resolve the mensural variation in the taxon M. c. croceus at the present time, though the indications are that the populations of the humid forested regions of Upper Guinea are composed of smaller sized and more delicate birds than those inhabiting the savannas of the interior of West and north-central Africa. This was also noted many years ago by van Someren (1922). The range of M. c. croceus is from Senegal, Gambia, Sierra Leone and other West African territories, eastwards to the Cameroons, the Gabon, Moyen Congo, the lower Congo R., and northern Angola to the south-west of the Lower Guinea Forests, and north of the same forested. region to the north-eastern and eastern Congo, Uganda, the southern Sudan, Abyssinia and the Kenya Colony highlands. M. c. croceus and M. c. tertius are largely separated from one another by extensive intrusive populations of the closely allied Macronyx filleborni fiilleborni Reichenow and Macronyx filleborni ascensi Salvadori, converging only in the interior of Kenya Colony and immediately adjacent Tanganyika Territory. The material now available in the collections of southern African museums supports the recognition in our formal subspecific arrangement of the populations of two reasonably well-marked races of the Yellow- throated Longclaw in eastern and south-eastern Africa (M. c. vulturnus and M. c. tertius) as distinct from M. c. croceus on both mensural and chro- matic grounds. The latter, however, shows some marked, mainly size, variation within its component populations, which clearly warrants further study and analysis. In the light of these observations, i formally reject the findings of White, and resuscitate both M. c. vulturnus and M. c. tertius from the synonymy of M. c. croceus. Acknowledgements I am very grateful to both Dr. James P. Chapin, American Museum of Natural History, New York, and Mr. Melvin A. Traylor, Chicago Natural History Museum, Chicago, U.S.A., for their kindness in sup- plying information on West African examples of M. croceus held i in the collections of these two institutions. s Bulletin B.O.C. 9 Vol. 82 Photo: Dennis Cleaver Macronyx croceus (Vieillot) Photograph showing size variation in three races of the Yellow-throated Longclaw Macronyx croceus. The smaller overall size of the central group of three specimens (M. c. tertius) comvared with skins of M. c. vulturnus (left group), and the much smaller physical proportions of the Upper Guinea populations of M. c. croceus (right group) (see discussion in the text) can be readily seen. The darker yellow abdominal surface in M. c. croceus when compared with M. c. tertius can also be discerned. Each horizontal division in the photograph represents one inch. Literature Cited: Chapin, James P. 1953. Birds of the Belgian Congo, part 3, p. 82. Clancey, P. A. 1952A. Annals of the Natal Museum, vol. xii, 2, p. 263. _ Clancey, P. A. 1952B Journal of the Scientific Society of the University of Natal, vol. viii, pp. 7-8. Clancey, P. A. 1958. Ostrich, vol. xxix, 2, pp. 75-78. Friedmann, H. 1930. Occasional Papers of the Boston Society of Natural History, vol. 5, pp. 263-266. Gyldenstolpe, N. 1924. Kungl. Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar, Tredje Serien, Band i, No. 3, pp. 81-82. McLachlan, G. R. and Liversidge, R. 1957. Roberts’ Birds of South Africa, p. 376. Ridgway, R. 1912. Color Standards and Color Nomenclature. Washington. Roberts, A. 1940. Birds of South Africa, p. 296. van Someren, V. G. L. 1922. Novitates Zoologicae, vol. xxix, 1, p. 179. van Someren, V. G. L. 1932. Novitates Zoologicae, vol. xxxvii, p. 336. Vincent, J. 1952. Check List of the Birds of South Africa, p. 63. White, C. M. N. 1960. in Peters Check List of Birds of the World, vol. ix, p. 143. White, C. M. N. 1961. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club, vol. 81, 2, p. 34. A revision of Balkan, Aegean and Anatolian Crested Larks by GEORGE E. WATSON Received 15th April, 1961 Geographic variation in the Crested Lark, Galerida cristata, is obscured by a fair amount of correlation between the colour of the bird’s dorsum Vol. 82 10 Bulletin B.O.C and that of the substratum. This seems to be particularly true in areas of fairly constant year-round climatic conditions such as north Africa where the larks are especially sedentary. In Asia, the birds conform less to local soil colour, but still there is a high proportion of localised colour popu- lations (Vaurie, 1951). Overall geographic and evolutionary trends are consequently subverted by local soil conditions which in turn may be due ultimately to local climate. Extreme splitting of such populations is invidious, but so is the lumping of morphologically similar but geographi- cally widely separated convergent forms. One hundred fifty-five Crested Larks were collected from Peninsular Greece, Macedonia, Thrace, the Aegean islands, and Turkey during two On the left, three Crested Larks from Milos (December) compared with three specimens from Naxos (January). On the left, two Crested Larks from Ankara (late February), compared with two (in centre) from Konya (early March) and two (right) from Mersin (early March). Bulletin B.O.C. 1] Vol. 82 On the left, three Crested Larks from Thrace (early March) compared with three specimens from Drama (January). (Photographs by John Howard) recent trips to the eastern Mediterranean for the Peabody Museum. Series of specimens were borrowed from the American Museum of Natural History for comparison. The author is grateful to Dr. Charles Vaurie for loan of specimens under his care. In an effort to clarify the taxonomic and evolutionary status of South Balkan, Aegean and Asia Minor birds, the following notes are presented based on this material. The Crested Lark is one of the most common and characteristic birds of the lands surrounding the eastern Mediterranean. The species occurs in a great variety of habitats from sea level to at least 6000 feet, usually on fairly flat ground. Crested Lark populations may be found breeding wherever cover is sparse and the terrian is arid, in agriciultural and pasture land, steppe, Mediterranean phrygana with scattered small bushes, and semi-desert. In the spring, they feed over damp, almost inundated, fields, and in the late summer on barren and parched wastes. Only forests and the alpine zone lack breeding populations of this ubiquitous bird. Crested Larks become extremely worn by the beginning of the breeding season in April and May so that it is desirable to have freshly moulted autumn specimens for comparison. It is also possible, however, that these may not be members of the local breeding population (Vaurie, 1951). Since there is but one moult per year from July through September, the only seasonal differences are due to wear. Seasonal wear abraids the pale edges of the feathers extremely quickly; even one month can bring about a pronounced change in the appearance of the dark centres of the dorsal feathers (Stresemann, 1920). In addition, the general colouration becomes more bleached and faded to sandy. Streaking on the breast tends to be- come spotting as individual feathers are reduced in length. Spring birds are on the average less heavy, and, of course, slightly shorter-winged. ) Females usually are less heavy and shorter-winged and billed than males from the same locality. The characters to be considered in geographic Vol. 82 12 Bulletin B.O.C. variation are colour of the upper and underparts, amount of dorsal spotting and breast streaking, overall size (wing length and weight), and shape of bill. Greek mainland birds (specimens collected mainly from October to April) are greyish-brown above with light buff underparts. Birds from the west coast may be slightly darker with heavier spotting, but the birds of the whole peninsula are fairly uniform as a population and resemble closely specimens from Dalmatia. Three Dalmatian males, however, are remarkably short-winged. The same colouration is found in Macedonia and Thrace as far as the Evros River. Overall size varies individually as well as locally, with the largest birds found in north-central Macedonia. Bill size and shape are not constant nor do they seem to vary regularly. One local population in Macedonia stands out from those nearby. | Around Drama in northern Greece on dark reddish limestone soil, there occurs a very dark reddish-brown lark. Its underparts are buff and its breast streaking is strong. The upper tail coverts and two central rectrices are nearly uniform in colour whereas in almost all other populations of this region the feathers are dark-centred and pale-edged. Continuing around the Aegean and along the Asia Minor coast, a series of 27 specimens collected between 3rd March and 24th April from Bali- kesir, south and east through Mersin, is fairly uniform in grey-brown colouration of the back, light buff underparts, amount of spotting on the breast and black centres to the dorsal feathers. Populations from different localities vary less than individuals within the populations. No break in the continuity of coastal Asia Minor populations is apparent and it is impossible to draw any line, especially one separating a brownish popu- lation of the Cilician coastal plain from a greyish one of the west coast. Size (wing length and weight) and bill length and shape are uniform in this series. It is also difficult to separate this series on the basis of colour from six specimens from coastal Greek Thrace. In this latter series, however, the black spotting of the back is slightly more obscure and the bill tends to be stouter. Consequently, a fairly uniform series of grey-brown populations occurs along the whole of the south Balkan Peninsula and coastal Asia Minor fringing the Aegean. Inhabiting the central Asia Minor highland are pale sandy larks. Two population samples were collected for the present study. Three late Febru- ary specimens from near Ankara are light brownish sandy above and buffy cream underneath. Further to the south, five early March specimens from near Konya and from the semi-desert sands near Karapinar are paler still, and tinged greyish rather than brown. There is even less back spotting than in the Ankara birds where it 1s relatively obscure. This is a good example of conformity to the even-grained texture of the sandy substratum of the desert (Niethammer, 1940). The underparts are very light, whitish- cream. All these central plateau specimens are long-winged and heavy, with attenuated bills. Four early April specimens from the Elmali highland plain just west of Antalya are much paler than coastal birds and approach the Ankara specimens in colour, but in size and bill shape they are inseparable from coastal specimens and are probably an upland offshoot of the coastal stock. Bulletin B.O.C. 13 Vol. 82 Caucasian birds are much more brownish-grey and somewhat lighter than Asia Minor coastal birds. They are light buff underneath. The birds are somewhat shorter-winged than Asia Minor plateau birds, but larger than the other populations considered. The bill is moderately attenuate. Specimens are lacking from north coastal and north western Turkey. Such material would be of great interest, since the following north eastern Aegean island populations differ markedly from nearby coastal birds. Eight November specimens from Mytilene have the grey tones some- what more emphasized than the browns and the underparts average a little creamier buff. The bill is stout in this population. Samian, Chiote, Limnian, and Samothracian populations probably belong with this grey group, but 23 ee Meridionolrs i083 105 Mu WE ; ‘/ il 04.2 | \ \ SAAN YY \ epee BS HE 03.8 lk : 3 i Capa é Map |. Eastern Mediterranean showing the ranges of the subspecies recognized, ? designates areas from which no specimens have apparently been collected; type localities of named populations mentioned in text are designated by the same letters as in Table 2; locations of two ‘‘soil races’’ (@ Drama and 4 Milos); and the mean wing length of males in millimeters. the specimens available were collected in late May and June and are very worn. The bills, however, are more attenuated. They are most similar to Caucasian birds on the basis of colour. A paler grey form occurs on Rhodes (April) and Karpathos (April) which differs sharply from the nearby brownish populations of the Asia Minor coast. The underparts are very pale. noticeably less buff than in Caucasian birds. The bill is moderately stocky. Fresh specimens from Cyprus are likewise pale and greyish; the bill is attenuate. These two populations are quite short-winged, like the other southern Aegean populations and quite unlike the longer-winger and darker grey Caucasian stock. Vol. 82 | 14 Bulletin B.O.C. The Cretan population, which has often been lumped with the Cypriote and Rhodian populations, does not fit at all into the same colour group. Cretan birds (October, December and May) are sandy grey-brown, paler and less grey than Cypriote and paler and more sandy than Greek mainland or Asia Minor birds. The bill is attenuate. North Cycladian birds are variable, some brownish, some greyish, even from the same island. Although it is difficult to characterize them on the relatively unworn material available (Andros, Naxos, Delos, Ios), they appear to be browner than the Mytilenian birds and in fact are similar to the coastal mainland birds. Specimens from Syros and Paros are too worn to be of much use, although they appear constantly brownish. The bills vary from moderately stout to stout. Specimens from Kythera are similar in colour but have more attenuated bills. | On Milos in the south Cyclades, there occurs a remarkably light-coloured population. The upperparts are pale grey sandy, with the spots on the dorsum large and conspicuous. The underparts are creamy white so that the bird in December appears much paler than any other island population including those of Rhodes and Karpathos. Since Milos is an island of volcanic origin and has very pale, almost white soils, finding such a pale form of lark on the island is not surprising. In fact, the dorsal colouration is fully as light as that in the population from near Konya in central Asia Minor where the substratum is also extremely pale. In the latter population, however, the black dorsal spotting is not pronounced and the bird con- sequently appears overall lighter. The Milos birds are further separable in being smaller and having a stout rather than attenuated bill. These characters are summarized in table | and map |. The map reveals the north-south clinal nature of variation in male wing length over most of the area and the abrupt colour and size discontinuity on the Asia Minor plateau. Past taxonomic treatments of these populations of Crested Larks have not agreed on either the nomenclature or appearance of the birds. The results of the recent major revisions are summarized in table 2. There is general agreement that in Asia Minor, birds of the central plateau are lighter and larger than those of the coast. The status of the northern plateau birds, however, is uncertain and only one author recognizes even a poorly differentiated population. Two forms have been recognized as occurring on the coast, a browner one to the south extending on into the mountains of Palestine, and a grey one on the west which has been as- sumed to be continuous along the north coast into the Caucasus. This ‘separation, initiated by Bird (1937) and endorsed by Meinertzhagen (1951), has been followed by all recent revisers except White (1939) and von Jordans and Steinbacher (1948). Insufficient material has restricted valid judgements on the status of Greek birds, and some authors lump all European Crested Larks into the nominate form. Island populations, when considered, have been combined with either the Asia Minor and Caucasian populations or with the Cypriote. Most of these practices have resulted not only in a welter of names, including some forms with type localities well outside the area under consideration, but have obscured the possible evolutionary history and relationships of these populations. . Bulletin B.O.C. _ 15 Vol. 82 Because of the extreme individual variation even within some restricted populations, any taxonomic separations have to be made on the basis of populations and not individuals. Correspondence between the dorsal colouration of the bird and the colour of the local soil results in the situ- ation that almost every population is different from some nearby popu- lations, but through convergence or parallelism may approach in one or more characters remote populations inhabiting areas with similar edaphic conditions. Trying to work out a useful and meaningful taxonomy for such a series of populations in which general trends are locally obscured is nearly impossible and it would be reprehensible to name additional **soil’’ races, at least on the mainland. Considering south east Europe, Asia Minor, and the adjacent areas however, we can generally note the following major morphological characteristics over broad geographic areas: dark greyish-brown birds inhabit south east Europe; a much greyer form occurs in the Caucasus; a light brownish-grey form occurs on some south Aegean Islands and Cyprus; and a series of large, long-billed, pale populations extends from east central Asia into Anatolia. Locally, colour may be abruptly different from the general trend, such as in the pale population on the island of Milos or in the dark reddish- brown Drama population. But nothing is gained by putting an existing pale tag such as brachyura or subtaurica on the Milian form (size too small anyway) or cinnamonica (a reddish form from Palestine) on the Macedo- nian birds just because that is what they most closely resemble in a museum drawer. Describing such localized races does not solve the basic problem of their evolutionary origin. For a discussion of a similar situation of locally evolved adaptive populations of American Pocket Gophers (Geomyidae), see Davis (1939). His solution to the problem is evolutionary and essentially the same as that presented in this paper. Each of these colour forms has probably developed quite recently in situ and might conceivably change rapidly in response to an alteration in soil colour brought about by climatic change or deforestation. Moreau (1930) showed that strikingly aberrant Crested Lark populations took between 5,000 and 10,000 years to evolve in Egypt. The following taxonomic suggestions are made on the basis of the characters of the various populations. Four groups of populations may be recognized as subspecies in this array. Local geographic variations (‘‘populations,’’ sensu Vaurie, 1958) may be grouped in these subspecies. The following subspecies result: a brownish form G. c. meridionalis, a greyish form with buff underparts; G. c. caucasica, a light greyish form with pale underparts; G. c. cypriaca, and a long-winged pale form G. c. subtaurica. _ The following are their ranges and included populations: Galerida cristata meridionalis Brehm, 1841, Dalmatia. G. c. muehlei Stresemann, 1920, Greece. G. c. ioniae Kollibay, 1912, Priene on Meander River near Izmir, Turkey. Dalmatia, Macedonia, to southern Greece including the Peloponnesus, Cyclades Islands (where some populations show intergradation with the following subspecies), and Crete; Thrace and along western and southern coastal Asia Minor at least to Mersin, Tarsus, and probably to coastal Vol. 82 Hatay province, where Kizil Dag (Mount Amanus) forms an effective 16. barrier, to its meeting the Syrian populations. Galerida cristata caucasica Taczanowski, 1887, Lagodekhi in Caucasus. Caucasus, Transcaucasia, and possibly along the north Asia Minor coast; islands off Asia Minor in the north Aegean Sea (Samothrace, Weight gr. 36-42 101-106.5 | 39-45.5_ (41.4) } og Bulletin B.O.C. Color Back | Color | Breast 33 Wing upper- spots | under- | spots length parts parts mm. Dalmatia | ereyish | 3-4 | light | 3-4 | 3 | 101-104 brown buff (102.3) North x ear ez Sal 3) veres104is Macedonia (108.3) South greyish | 3-4| light | 3-5 | 7 | 103-107 Macedonia brown buff (105.1) and Thrace Drama reddish buff 4-5 6 103-107 brown (105) Mainland greyish 3-4 | light 3-5 4 99-109 Greece brown buff (104.2) Cyclades light 3-4 | creamy |} 3-4 17 | 101-105 grey buff (102.5) brown Milos pale 3 creamy | 3-4 9 97-106 grey white (102.1) sandy Crete sandy 3-4 | creamy | 2-4 8 99-105 | grey buff (102.1) brown Rhodes pale 4-5 | buffy 3 = 99-105 and sandy cream (103) Karpathos grey Cyprus pale 3 creamy i 99.5-104 sandy buff 102.1 grey North brownish 4 creamy } 4-5 14 Aegean grey buff (103.9) Islands Western greyish 3-5 | light 3-4 Asia brown buff Minor —- ee SS oe 21 99-109 Southern greyish 3-5 } light 4-5 (103.8) sia brown buff | Minor Ankara light 2 buffy 2-3 9 *109-113 brownish cream (110.9) sandy Konya pale 1-2 | creamy | 2-3 5 107-111.5 grey white (109.5) sandy Caucasus brownish 4 light 3-4 9 *101-114 grey buff (107.3) ne a a TABLE |. spot definition ratings based on scale of 1—5; number of 33's refers to specimens measured, females were only used in assessment of colour and bill characters; wing measurements marked with an asterisk are taken from Stresemann (1920), von Jordans and Steinbacher (1948), and Vaurie (1951). Characters of various populations of Crested Larks used in this study; back and breast Bill Bill length shape mm. 19-19.5 mod.atten. (19.3) 19-20.5 mod.stout- (20.1) mod.atten. 19.5-20.5 mod.atten. (20) 20-21 stout- (20.4) mod.stout 18.5-21.5 atten.- (19.9) stout 19-—20.3 stout. (19.8) 19.7-21 atten. (20.3) 20-21 mod.stout. (20.5) 18.5—20.7 atten. (19.3) 19-21 stout- (20.2) atten. mod.atten. 18.5—20.5 |< ————— (19.8) mod.atten. 20-21 atten. (20.7) 18.5-—22 atten. (20.5) 19-21 (20) mod.atten. "‘DUSDU = BIA ‘vandyov4ig = N a ‘SLISOANJD = |W ‘DIDISI42 = AD ‘Ipjosiam = AA ‘avavyud = VW ‘bajanvigqns = § ‘uoIz = JZ ‘popidddd = KY ‘vrisvondd = OD ro) ‘yyanu = NW ‘syvuorpiiaiu *2 “H =W ‘kdIe IYI JO SPIIG OY} 1V91] O} S[IBJ JOYING sayBoIPU ,.}MUO,, ‘UOISSNOSIP Ul BIB IOPISUOD > JOU PIP JOYINE soyeOIPUl YURI “sxe ] PISsID URSULIIOIPIA! Ulo}sSed JO SJUSLIVII] SIWOUOXE} JUSdI1 JO SINSAY “TZ PAV M=S J (1961) UOSIE AA A=S e) (0961) $4939d M=S e) (861) a1uNneA (33019 sUIOS) D (1S61) M=I1V s 2 UdSPYZLIOUIO| (Sh61) = Iaydequiaig pue suvplof UOA ~ f= Sn ee ed ee oes ee os Mt i ee eS aa M=4 e) (661) SUM ©) (LE61) Isseg M=4 *. (9€61 “SE61) Pll (0761) UUPLWWOS8.NS v (€£61-£061) O M=tW 5 s}WO I=kQ &Q | OCW JOYoeQuIaS faa] pue V01eH = NLL NvdI}eI[d JOUI] BISY | JOUT\PISY sopoyuy = uvlyoyeuy | ueleyeuy [eIsvoD [eysevoD pur . aj ulo}seq [e1jUsD | snsvoned yinosg ISOM | snUdAD 3}01D | ~saperjoAD “RVolg2 1 Bulletin B.O.C. Limnos, Mytilene Chios and Samos). Intergrades with G. c. meridionallis in some of the eastern Cyclades. Galerida cristata cypriaca Bianchi, 1907, Cyprus. _‘Cyprus, Rhodes, Karpathos. Galerida cristata subtaurica Kollibay, 1912, Eregli, north of Taurus Mountains. G. c. ankarae Kummerléwe and Niethammer, 1934, Ankara. Turkey. G. c. weigoldi Kollibay, 1912, Urfa, Turkey. Central Asia Minor plateau north of Taurus mountains. Steppe popu- lations which are darker than southern desert forms, extend north at least to Bolu and Kastamonu. These subspecific differences are of fairly recent origin, probably due to isolation during the late Wiirm glaciation. Their present distribution may be explained in terms of their post-glacial spread from ice-free refugia. G. c. meridionalis may be the population of the Mediterranean ‘‘pluvial’’ refuge; G. c. caucasica, the result of glacial isolation on the Ukrainian or Volga steppes; S. c. subtaurica derived from a post-glacial invasion by an eastern desert form elsewhere represented by G. c. magna; and G. c. cypriaca, a relatively recent locally differentiated offshoot of the caucasica group. The named populations included under these subspecies and any other local population differences were developed much more recently, and are associated with local edaphic or climatic conditions rather than reflecting distributional history. SUMMARY The recognition of numerous subspecies of Crested Lark based on local conformity to the colour of the substratum obscures the evolutionary relationships within this species. Populations from the eastern Mediter- — ranean are discussed on the basis of 155 recently collected specimens. A revised classification is presented recognizing past evolution in isolation and minimizing recent and local adaptive ‘‘soil’’ populations. References : Bird, C. G. 1935. A visit to the Cyclades, Ibis 77: 236-355. 1936. Crested larks from the Near East. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 56: 55-58. Davis, W. B. 1939. The recent mammals of Idaho : 234-260. Hartert, E. 1903-1933. Die V6gel der paldarktischen Fauna: 226-236, 2085-2089; Erganzungsband (with F. Steinbacher): 113-120. von Jordans, A. and J. Steinbacher 1948. Zur Avifauna Kleinasiens. Senckenbergiana 28: 159-186. Meinertzhagen, R. 1951. Review of the Alaudidae. Proc. Zool. Soc. London 121: 81-132. 4 Moreau, R. E. 1930. On the age of some races of birds. Ibis: 72: 229-239. -Niethammer, G. 1940. Die Schutzanpassung der Lerchen. Journ. f. Orn. 88 (Sonderh.): 75 - 83. Peters, J. L. 1960. Check-list of birds of the world (ed. by E. Mayr and J. C. Greenway, © Jr.) : 55-61. Sassi, M. 1937. Zoologische Ergebnisse einer Dodekanes—Reise von O. Wettstein 1935. Vogel von Rodi und von einigen aigaische Inseln. Verh. Orn. Ges. Bayern. 21: 91-122. | Stresemann, E. 1920. Avifauna Macedonica: 59-62. . Vaurie, C. 1951. A study of Asiatic Larks. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 97: 431-526. "1958. The Birds of the Palearctic Fauna: 43-49. White, C. M. N. 1939. A contribution to the ornithology of Crete. Ibis 81: 106-136. t “ x Bulletin B.O.C. 19 ==. Y Wok $2 An additional race of Buphagus erythrorhynchus (Stanley) from the Somali Arid District by P. A. CLANCEY Received 27th May, 1961 In a recent review of the geographical variation exhibited by the various populations of the Red-billed Oxpecker Buphagus erythrorhynchus (Stanley), it was shown that the northern populations could be grouped into two subspecies on the basis of colour and size differences, one of which would require to be given a name (vide Clancey and Lawson, Antea, pp. 128-131). Study of further material collected at Garissa, on the Tana River, and at Kachileba, Suam River, north-east of Mt. Elgon, Kenya Colony, in January-February, 1961, by Mr. M. O. E. Baddeley, taxider- mist of the Durban Museum, and material from Abyssinia and Eritrea (topotypical of B. e. erythrorhynchus) loaned from the American Museum of Natural History, New York, through the kindness of Dr. James P. Chapin, shows that B. e. erythrorhynchus is a name applicable to the large-sized highland birds (wings in adults of 115-125.5 mm.), and that . the markedly smaller and rather paler form of the Somali Arid District of north-eastern Africa will require to be given a name. Buphagus erythrorhynchus invictus, subsp. nov. Description: Compared with recently obtained B. e. erythrorhynchus (Stanley), 1814: northern Abyssinia, slightly paler on the upper-parts, particularly over the head. Ventrally rather paler over the throat, breast less washed with olivaceous, and with the lower breast, flanks and abdo- men whiter (about Cartridge Buff [pl. xxx], as against Cream-Buff {same pl.| {vide Ridgway, Colour Standards and Colour Nomenclature, 1912)). Markedly smaller in size, thus : wings (flattened) of 11 adult gg 99 108-113 (110.2), as against 115—121.5 (118.1) in 12 gg 99° of B. e. erythrorhynchus (Clancey and Lawson, Joc. cit., give wings of eleven other specimens of this latter race as 115—125.5 [118.4] mm.). Material examined: B. e. erythrorhynchus, 23; B. e. invictus, 11; B. e. scotinus Clancey and Lawson, 16; B. e. caffer Grote, 20. Distribution: Somalia and adjacent south-eastern Abyssinia (Ogaden) and eastern Kenya Colony (west to about 39° E. long.). In the East African littoral south to about the mouth of the Tana R., south of which it intergrades with B. e. scotinus. Type: 3, adult. Garissa, Tana River, eastern Kenya Colony. 20th January, 1961. Collected by M. O. E. Baddeley. In the collection of the Durban Museum. Measurements of the Type: Wing 110, culmen (exposed) 14.5, tarsus 20.5, tail 82 mm. Remarks: The name chosen for the new race is from the Latin invictus, unconquered, and figuratively meaning irrefutable. Study of the geographical variation of B. erythrorhynchus requires to be undertaken almost entirely on the basis of recently obtained material, as the species is prone to fairly rapid foxing. Skins only a few years old become quite buffy over the head, probably as a result of carotenoid Vol. 82 20 Bulletin B.O.C staining from the red bill. As the Durban Museum collection contains very fresh material of the four races of the Red-billed Oxpecker, I propose to list and treat succinctly hereunder the characters and ranges of the forms for the benefit of other workers not so advantageously equipped. (a) Buphagus erythrorhynchus invictus Clancey, 1961: Garissa, Tana R., eastern Kenya Colony. Palest and smallest race. Upper-parts dark greyish olive with buffy overlay; throat and breast light grayish olive, the latter with slight oli- vaceous suffusion; lower breast, flanks and abdomen cartridge buff. Wings of g¢ 92 108-113 mm. Range: A xeric race confined to Chapin’s Somali Arid District (vide Chapin, Birds of the Belgian Congo, part i, 1932, p. 90), ranging from Somalia to adjacent Abyssinia (Ogaden) and eastern Kenya Colony. (b) Buphagus erythrorhynchus erythrorhynchus (Stanley), 1814: northern Abyssinia. Slightly darker above and palpably more richly coloured below than the last race. Markedly larger in size. Wings of 3g 22 115-125.5 mm. Range: Eritrea and northern Abyssinia, southwards to the southern Sudan, Uganda and the highlands of Kenya Colony. Also reaching into — the north-eastern Congo. A mesic race. | (c) Buphagus erythrorhynchus caffer Grote, 1927: Palala R., Zoutpans- berg, Transvaal. Only moderately well differentiated from B. e. erythrorhynchus. Slightly darker over the throat and breast, and paler and less buffy over the lower breast, flanks and abdomen. Ventral surface of tail without any trace of the cinnamon suffusion present in both B. e. erythrorhynchus and B. e. invictus. Wings of gd 99 119-124 mm. Range: Like the nominotypical subspecies, a mesic form ranging from about the southern aspects of the Kenya Colony highlands, southwards through western and central Tanganyjika Territory to Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Bechuanaland Protectorate, Southern Rhodesia, the Transvaal, Orange Free State, and Natal and Zululand (Note: No recent Natal and Zululand specimens are currently available, owing to the widespread extirpation of the species through cattle dipping and game elimination, and the population of the territory concerned is only tentatively assigned to B. e. caffer). (d) Buphagus erythrorhynchus_ scotinus Clancey and Lawson, 1961: Panda, Inhambane, Mozambique. Darkest race. Darker and blacker on the upper-parts than B. e. caffer (about fuscous), and darker over the sides of the head and neck. On under-parts darker over the throat and breast, and more richly coloured over the lower breast, flanks and abdomen (about chamois). Wings of 33 92 115-125 mm. Range: A hygric race of the eastern tropical littoral of Africa, extending from coastal Kenya Colony (population similar mensurally to B. e. invictus) and eastern Tanganyika Territory to northern and southern Portuguese East Africa. The population of Zululand may be referable to the present race and not B. e. caffer. a > PAR 4424 * SPRY Cy g SON fer VE ee hi A aaa ey 59 a ETO: ae APT SY 10% nar t}* hiotbits oy JOM O48 ‘enoan rains ie BOS od T si aaa Yr sinol 7h A SOO “Orth 61 fseenbbes hee S25/' CWE os may oO) ie) 2 ideas 2 cobain} os O62 8 iti ‘i 242 0 00b Yad O10) ta.5b LO 20 het 1% a ee ey ee i ee 3, Pya® BS , a borage yf : MED rr - : Sheri ly 4 sey i! US ae ; ' ; ; (coil aaa ; ng a nA | ai , ~ aie Kull “y ‘s P Origins SAT ioise 2:4. 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Bee ca ' Pg OSH .8te8 27h Tee S be * a ~ a as <3, SH: a, » rs _ ne Pe J on ——- + vi * yi 7 yet f Phy Mei Se, ae r, mn .% TA FA are, ae AAA IAG d blac illic Th 3eG dotdye adi dosed iwi is igo bdimn WM c.We cobrudiosw? cotun Be wali iG oT BS pa RE0C) Oo yond Moti) .nis\iwd adr to csdawne Fase aoe Ww 1.8 Ao O ANTS al eh) Ont MOTEL! \" © ¢) tyfleunns SETS We beat Od Vite whistiuht oA ahaa Ot at) al AO LVBE ou (09 479G ‘VD ai Ee. 5 mobro.] wanioo MM US 4 2 OF) ft prpeny io! Nuon - Bt 2 “SOAIAMOWAS 30D - Roh dh) OF Pivetbhe @d wbiuosiv « Bou : WO so vy isto aie ie Pari V/ yee tt ick whe 9 F4 vue HOE 2OVITaAM GVA 298 id nts is HOC® 29 #37) ic : ; Mp ob “f Volume 82 February No. 2 1962 1962-0 Jer. in. fs 21 Vol. 82 Ae one ~ 5 FEB 196 efi 50 .BULLETIN ae Jur VAL ih ae” OF THE PLAC HA SER BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB Volume 82 Number 2 Published: Ist February, 1962 The five hundred and ninety-fifth meeting of the Club was held at the Rembrandt Hotel, London, on 16th January, 1962. Chairman: CAPTAIN C. R. S. PITMAN Members present, 19; Associate Members (Overseas), 2; Guests 7; Total 28. Some recordings of bird voice Mr. Jeffery Boswall, Producer, of the B.B.C. Natural History Unit, played and commented upon some fifty recordings of sounds, nearly all vocal and some mechanical, made by birds from different zoogeographical regions, the recordings having been made by twenty-five recordists. The reproductions played during the first part of the programme served to explain the various functions of the sounds made by birds—the terri- torial and mate-attracting value of “‘song’’; the sub-song, alarm calls, injury cries, contact notes, ‘‘conversation’’ between adult and young, the echo-location ‘‘clicks’’ of Low’s Swiftlet (Collocalia lowi) recorded in the caves of Sarawak and the call of the Honey-guide, Indicator indicator. In the second part the learning abilities of birds were well demonstrated by examples of vocal mimicry among wild birds and some showing the accurate reproduction of sounds achieved by certain captive ‘‘talking”’ irds such as the parrots (including the Budgerigar) and the mynah Gracula religiosa. _ Lastly Mr. Boswall dealt with the possibility that birds may sing not only because it is biologically advantageous to do so, but also as a genuine, f limited, sense of musical expression. Reproductions of unison song, duetting and a variety of other types of expression were played. _ Some discussion followed upon the programme and brought to an end a very interesting and enjoyable evening. Jacanas and other birds perching on Hippo by C. W. BENSON Received 23rd June, 1961 With reference to the notes in Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl., 81, 1961 : 85-86, I gret that attention was not drawn to Verheyen’ s ‘“Monographie ologique de |’Hippopotame’’ (/nst. Parcs. Nat. Congo Belge, 1954), ees eS ae Vol. 82 pis 6 Bulletin B.O.C. based on work in the Albert National Park. On pages 53-54 Verheyen records no fewer than fourteen species perching on hippo, the Hammerkop (Scopus umbretta) and Pied Kingfisher (Ceryle rudis) apparently both doing so while fishing. Footnote Pie R. Meinertzhagen in The Birds of Arabia (1954), p. 471 writes under Crab Plovers: ‘‘On Mafia Island I have seen them perched on the backs of basking hippopotami who were themselves asleep in seawater on a coral reef.’ A new name for Estrilda astrild angolensis Reichenow by MELVIN A. TRAYLOR Received 26th June, 1961 In his revision of the Estrildinae, Delacour (1943, Zoologica, 28 : 69-86) failed to note that Estrilda astrild angolensis Reichenow (1902, Orn. Monatsb., 10: 173) is preoccupied by Estrilda a. angolensis (Fringilla angolensis Linnaeus, 1758, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, 1: 182) when Uraeginthus is united with Estrilda. For those who follow Delacour’s generic revision, a new name is necessary for FE. a. angolensis Reichenow, and I propose: Estrilda astrild malanje nom. nov. for Estrilda astrild angolensis Reichenow, 1902, preoccupied by Estrilda angolensis angolensis (Fringilla angolensis Linnaeus, 1758). Notes on the taxonomy of the Indigo Birds by C. M. N. WHITE Received 3rd May, 1961 The Indigo Birds are parasitic weavers, sometimes placed in the genus Hypochera, but better included in the genus Vidua since their female and | non breeding male plumages are very similar to those of other species of 4 Vidua. The breeding males are of uniform dark colour varying from matt 4 blackish purple to glossy purple, blue or green with a metallic lustre. The — taxonomy of the Indigo Birds and the number of species has always been | the subject of much doubt. Sclater (1930) arranged them in five species; — Grant and Praed (1949) recognised eight species; Chapin (1954) lists five | as occurring or likely to occur in the Congo but adds that there may only — be three; Wolters (1960) discusses the possibility of only two species. Whatever the number of species, the uncertainty of how to distinguish females and non breeding males is even greater than the separation of males. Only Grant and Praed (1955) claim that their males are associated with distinguishable females. Characters used to distinguish breeding |], males are the colour and degree of the metallic gloss, colour of flight © feathers, and colour of bill and feet. These characters have been used ¥j either separately or in various combinations. The present note arises — _ primarily from an investigation of the position in Central Africa but con- 7} siders data from other parts of Africa. About 170 breeding males and 40 females from South and Central Africa and Tanganyika were available © through the kindness of the Transvaal Museum and the National Museum, | Bulawayo to whom I am greatly indebted for the loan of material. bese |, date is analysed firstly by geographical areas. a. Bulletin B.O.C. 23 Vol. 82 1. South Africa (south of the Limpopo) Roberts recognised three species in this area, but McLachlan and Liversidge consider that there are only two. Seventeen males examined consist of seven dull purplish birds and ten bluish green birds. The former have whitish bills and correspond to V. funerea; the latter have red bills and correspond to V. amauropteryx. Data on the colour of the feet is inadequately recorded on the labels but all birds from this area are believed to have reddish feet. The seven females available from south of the Limpopo appear to be indistinguishable although some are labelled as funerea and others as amauropteryx. Neither Roberts nor McLachlan and Liversidge suggest any means by which females can be separated apart from the assumption that female amauropteryx have red bills. The red bill of male amauropteryx is very persistent in skins many years old, but there is no sign that this is true of females. 2. Southern Rhodesia north to the Zambezi Valley from the Caprivi Strip to about Tete Thirteen breeding males correspond to funerea, all from Southern Rhodesia; 25 from Southern Rhodesia and 18 from the Zambezi Valley correspond to amauropteryx; one from Southern Rhodesia, one from the Zambezi Valley and one from Nata, Bechuanaland correspond to amauropteryx but have whitish bills as in funerea. In this area amauropteryx type males have red feet as in South Africa, but funerea males usually have brown or pinkish or whitish feet. Eleven females were available from this area. One from Melsetter agrees with South African females, the remainder are more tawny above with much better defined black streaking compared with the browner backed and more obscurely streaked South African females. Thus from South Africa to the Zambezi there is evidence of geographical variation in females but no evidence that two apparent _ species of males are associated with distinguishable females. 3. Northern Rhodesia and south Nyasaland Males of the funerea type occur throughout (Northern Rhodesia 25, S. Nyasaland 11). Males of the amauropteryx type occur in the Southern, Central and Eastern provinces of Northern Rhodesia and in S. Nyasaland (Northern Rhodesia 18, S. Nyasaland 7). In addition males resembling amauropteryx in colour but with whitish bills occur—six from Northern Rhodesia and 13 from S. Nyasaland as well as seven from Rukwa in S. W. Tanganyika. These white billed amauropteryx include a few un- usually glossy green individuals, others are like the amauropteryx aggre- gate. Females from the south and centre of Northern Rhodesia and from S. Nyasaland agree with those of Southern Rhodesia except for one dark bird from S. Nyasaland which is like South African females. Females from the north of Northern Rhodesia are however dark and appear indistin- guishable from South African females. 4. Katanga and Kasai No red billed and red footed amauropteryx are known to me from this area but in the Kasai birds of similar colour, often rather more lustrous than many amauropteryx and with brownish feet and white bill, occur. Vol. 82 24 Bulletin B.O.C- - Chapin treated these as a form of amauropteryx under the trinomial camerunensis. It is however doubtful if they can be separated from the white billed amauropteryx of N. E. Northern Rhodesia or Rukwa which often have pinkish or whitish brown instead of red feet. The pattern of variation in Southern and Central Africa We have now seen that two types of male breeding plumage occur throughout this area if a distinction is based on colour of the body plu- mage. One varies from dull matt purplish black to more glossy purple. Grant and Praed with 16 of the more glossy purple males and four of the matt males suggest that these comprise two species, funerea and nigerrima _Tespectively. With 60 such males before me it appears that no such distinction can be made since there is complete intergradation from matt to glossy purple. A few males are exceptionally rich lustrous purple and might on such criteria qualify as yet another species. I conclude that nigerrima must fall away as a species. All these birds may therefore be called funerea; the only geographical variation is that the feet are redder south of the Limpopo, pinker, whiter or browner further north. The second type of male is glossy blue green or green. Its flight feathers are often, especially in more northern birds, blacker than those of funerea, but some individuals differ very little in this respect. A cline of decreasing red in the colour of bill and feet runs from south to north since about as far as the Zambezi valley both bill and feet are normally red, in south Nyasaland and in Northern Rhodesia the bill is often white and the feet sometimes pinkish or brownish whilst in the Kasai no red bills or feet are found. The species known as codringtoni, described from Petauke in the Eastern Province of Northern Rhodesia is such an intermediate bird, having whitish bill, pink feet and rather blackish primaries and a strong green body gloss. Its supposed larger size is not a fact since its dimensions agree with other red billed and white billed amauropteryx. In my view therefore amauropteryx can be used for convenience for all these green birds irrespective of the colour of bills and feet which has clearly no specific significance. Accordingly I consider that codringtoni falls away as a species; for the same reason there is no reason to regard camerunensis as a species. The number of species in Southern and Central Africa On the evidence thus far presented, breeding males in these areas may be thought to comprise two species, funerea and amauropteryx. There is little evidence that these two very similar species have any peculiarities which keep them apart in life. At Chilanga near Lusaka C. W. Benson has found both occurring in the same area without any distinction in habitat, behaviour, voice or other observable features. In Southern Rhodesia M. ~ P. Stuart Irwin informs me that whilst he thought that the scatter pattern — of singing males suggested two species, he feels that further observation is needed to confirm this. The statement in the Southern Rhodesia Check - ‘List that amauropteryx is found about townships must therefore be regarded as requiring further study. No such peculiarity has been noted ~ in Northern Rhodesia. Both “‘species’? where they occur in South and fj Central Africa are alike in size, have no field characters to distinguish them, J; and have apparently identical females in any given locality. Such variation { i H ; a Bulletin B.O.C. 25 Vol. 82 as is found in females is geographical and in view of its pattern of distribu- tion rather difficult to interpret. Statements in the literature which claim differences between females of supposedly different species are highly unsatisfactory. In the first place there is no indication as to how females have been assigned to a given species. Very few Indigo Bird females have been deliberately collected with males, and it appears to be largely an assumption that if a particular type of male has been collected in a given locality a female from the same locality is probably of the same species. Since three types of male may occur together in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland (funerea, amauropteryx and white billed amauropteryx) any such assumption is unjustified. Meise (1937) has recorded of birds from the Matengo highlands that female amauropteryx is greyer and less yellow- ish than females of funerea, whilst in my material females from the Zam- bezi valley areas where only amauropteryx type males have been collected are of the tawny yellowish type. Grant and Praed have claimed that female nigerrima is quite different from all other females, yet it is quite obvious that there is no species nigerrima as it has been defined on male characters. Chapin on the other hand has written ‘‘I must confess that I cannot distinguish between females of some of the species most com- monly recognised’’. Thus there seems likely to be some geographical variation in female plumages though its extent and significance cannot as yet be evaluated. There is as yet no good evidence that the supposed males of different species have distinctive females. In fact all the available data point in precisely the opposite direction. The two species funerea and amauropteryx as now defined extend into West Africa. There they are smaller than in southern Africa but of similar size so that the two species in so far as they vary geographically in size do SO in an identical manner, and remain alike in size where they occur. The evidence for recognising two species thus resolves itself into the fact that breeding males can be divided into two series, of black or purple birds on the one hand and blue green or green birds on the other. The supposed differences in colour of bill and feet as specific characters fall away since as the ranges proceed northwards the two converge in this respect through loss of red in these parts of amauropteryx. Instead of there being two species in southern and central Africa it would from all the evidence appear equally possible that there is only a single species with polymorphic males, or perhaps better, dimorphic males (purple or green in very simple terms). The degree of gloss varies widely within an area, and occasional very lustrous individuals occur; nigerrima represents one extreme of this variation, with very little lustre, whilst the very glossy green nigeriae, of which few specimens are known, appears to be no more than an extreme variation of the green birds in the opposite direction. It may be suggested that the melanisation of the flight feathers in East African populations of amauropteryx type birds, which seems not to occur or to be less marked in funerea type birds points against an ex- planation through polymorphism. But the distinction is less clear cut than much of the literature implies. Thus in East Africa Indigo Birds are often called V. chalybeata orientalis on account of their blackish pri- maries. Yet as Chapin observes orientalis shows a resemblance to amaur- opteryx; again in the Kivu area he found difficulty in drawing a line Vol. 82 26 Bulletin B.O.C. between what he calls funerea purpurascens and chalybeata orientalis. He notes that males from Usumbura, otherwise agreeing with orientalis, have rather brownish primaries. Moreover in East Africa birds with a purplish gloss but melanised primaries occur so that the possibility that only green birds are affected by this character seems to fall away. I have examined males of orientalis from Bagamoyo and the Amala river which agree well with white billed amauropteryx and whose blackish primaries can be matched with individuals from further south. In view of the overlap in characters it is very difficult to believe that orientalis is in fact a form of another species. Further evidence against regarding the blackness of the primaries as a specific character (as distinct from perhaps having significance as geo- graphical variation) is ‘provided by Serle’s collection from south-east Nigeria. He obtained 31 males assigned to camerunensis (greenish), five assigned to wilsoni (purplish) and one assigned to nigeriae (glossy green). Thus his series corresponds to funerea and amauropteryx in Central Africa with one extreme green variant. But in West Africa all these three forms apparently have brown primaries, so that any specific difference there cannot be linked to the colour of the primaries. Unfortunately he only collected a single female. Apart from the question of three forms (chalybeata, neumanni and ultramarina) generally recognised but not examined by me, it would seem that all the other Indigo Birds can be treated as either two species ( funerea and amauropteryx) or as a single polymorphic species. Whilst no categori- cal answer can be given as to which of these alternatives is correct, the evidence to date leans heavily in favour of the latter. An important | question which may throw light upon this is whether the mouth pattern of juvenile Indigo Birds indicates the existence of more than one species, a point upon which I have traced no information. If in fact the variation in Indigo Birds is explicable as balanced polymorphism maintained by a balance of selective agencies which favour such diversity, it is doubtful whether any trinomial nomenclature should be applied to the species until the genetic mechanism involved is better understood, and any trinomials can be given some biological significance. I am greatly indebted to C. W. Benson who examined this material with me, and to M. P. Stuart Irwin for his comments on this paper. On the distribution of the races of the Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone viridis (Muller) in Southern Africa by W. J. LAWSON Received 15th May, 1961 Terpsiphone viridis (Miller) occurs throughout most of Africa, from the Cape Province almost to the Sahara and to Eritrea and south-west Arabia, with about ten races deserving recognition (vide Chapin 1953). It is a highly variable species with some of the races exhibiting phenomenal variation in coloration within the formal taxonomic unit. | Bulletin B.O.C. 27 Vol. 82 In southern Africa this species is confined to the moister eastern and south-western portions, extending westwards in the north to Damaraland, but is absent from the arid interior. In southern Africa only two races are currently recognised, these being 7. v. granti (Roberts) 1948: Swellendam, Cape Province, and T. v. plumbeiceps Reichenow 1898: Malanje, northern Angola (vide McLachlan & Liversidge 1957). Hall (1960) however recog- nises T. v. violacea (Grant & Mackworth-Praed) 1940: Fort Hill, northern Nyasaland, as an additional valid race within southern African sub- continental limits. A fine panel of skins, numbering some 262 specimens was assembled in the Durban Museum for the assessment of variation in the southern part of the range of 7. viridis. For the loan of material and other help I am grateful to the Directors of the Coryndon Museum, Nairobi, (through Mr. J. G. Williams), the Transvaal Museum (through Mr. O. P. M. Prozesky), the National Museum of Southern Rhodesia (through Mr. M. P. Stuart Irwin), and also to Mr. P. A. Clancey, Director of the Durban Museum, and Dr. James P. Chapin of the American Museum of Natural History for much valuable assistance. The south-western Cape Province, through the eastern Cape Province, Natal, Zululand, Swaziland and the eastern Transvaal constitutes the breeding range of the race T. v. granti(Roberts), its distribution correspond- ing fairly well with the area covered by the Cape Region, eastern tropical transitional and eastern temperate transitional of Poynton (1960). The male of this race is characterised by its metallic green head and throat, and in this respect differs from the more northerly races which usually have the head or throat blue-grey or blue-black, but not green. The southern races of T. viridis tend to be somewhat migratory during the non-breeding season (winter), and it is this migratory habit which has in the past con- fused workers, due to the fact that their ranges (in the non-breeding season) overlap, resulting in some of the races of T. viridis being even regarded as discrete species. Mackworth-Praed & Grant (1955) subdivide T. viridis, as here constituted, into no less than four distinct species (T. viridis, T. suahelica, T. plumbeiceps and T. nigriceps). T. v. granti migrates north in the non-breeding season, complete migration taking place in the south-western and southern Cape Province, but in the eastern Cape Province, Natal and Zululand specimens have been recorded during the winter. Whether these wintering birds are local or whether they have migrated there from further south is at present unknown. Specimens of T. v. granti have been examined from southern and northern Mocambique, Southern Rhodesia, southern Nyasaland and Northern Rhodesia, thus showing their wide range during the non-breeding season. North of the range of 7. v. granti, in southern and central Mocambique, northern and western Transvaal, Bechuanaland Protectorate, northern South West Africa and probably southern Angola, Southern Rhodesia, Nyasaland and eastern Northern Rhodesia east of the Muchinga Mtns., occurs a markedly different form of 7. viridis for which the name T. y. | violacea (Grant & Mackworth-Praed) is available. The male of this race }is completely devoid of any metallic coloration on the throat, the throat being grey and the head colour blue. This blue colour of the head has a Vol. 82 28 Bulletin B.O.C. slight metallic sheen, but is clearly not as metallic as in some of the races from further north in Africa. The under tail-coverts of 7. v. violacea are white, as they are in JT. v. granti. The intensity of the blue of the head -appears to be somewhat variable, ranging from a decidedly greyish, non-metallic blue-grey, to a dark, almost black, slightly metallic blue. This variation, however, does not enjoy any definite geographical distri- bution and is best regarded as an unstable character. Exactly where the northern breeding range limits of 7. v. granti are in Zululand or extreme southern Mocambique is at present uncertain, but is presumably somewhere in the region of the Pongola (Maputo) River of | northern Zululand, as well as in the north-eastern Transvaal. A breeding bird reported by Pinto & Lamm (1955) as having been obtained on the Sth February 1949 at Umbeluzi on its nest is certainly assignable to T. v. violacea on the basis of the blue coloration of the head, T. v. granti only occurring in southern Mocambique as a non-breeding (winter) Visitor. . A single male specimen from the eastern Transvaal (Newington) has pity WALVIS Bay Sketch-map showing the approximate ranges of the geographical races of the Paradise i Flycatcher Terpsiphone viridis (Miller) occurring in southern Africa. f Heavy Ruled Area —T. v. granti (Roberts) Light Dotted Area —T. v. violacea (Grant & Mackworth-Praed) Heavy Dotted Area —T. v. plumbeiceps Reichenow Bulletin B.O.C. 29 Vol. 82 the grey throat of T. vy. violacea but has the head a metallic green, indicating that it is probably an interracial hybrid between 7. v. granti and T. y. violacea, as these two races meet in this region of the eastern Transvaal. In addition to this intergrade there are a number of specimens which have the green head of 7. v. granti but which have an incipient metallic colora- tion on the grey throat. These specimens would also appear to be inter- grades between 7. y. granti and T. v. violacea, the hybrid characters expressing themselves in a different manner in this case. All these inter- grade specimens with incipient throat coloration are wintering birds obtained north of their summer range in localities in Northern Rhodesia, Mocambique, southern Nyasaland, Southern Rhodesia and in the eastern Transvaal, so their exact breeding localities are unknown, but which are probably in the regions where the two races meet. There are odd Natal breeding birds which adumbrate the main characters of the contiguous T. v. violacea. T. vy. violacea like T. y. granti is migratory, and it may be found that many of the records of 7. v. plumbeiceps wintering in central Africa may in fact be referred to this race. (cf. Chapin /oc. cit.), as speci- mens attributable to this race have been examined by me from the Uluguru Mtns. and the Luwipa River in Tanganyika Territory, Abercorn in Northern Rhodesia, and also from Pemba Island. The southern popu- lations of 7. v. violacea from the western and northern Transvaal are wholly migratory, and are not to be found during the winter months on their breeding grounds. To the west and north-west of the range of T. v. violacea in Angola, Northern Rhodesia west of the Muchinga Mtns., and the south-eastern Congo occurs a race of T. viridis which resembles T. y. violacea very closely but which differs from that taxon by virtue of its buff under tail-coverts. The colour of the head is blue, with very little tendency for it to be metallic. For this race the name 7. v. plumbeiceps Reichenow is available. Specimens of T. v. plumbeiceps have been examined from eastern Southern Rhodesia (Inyanga). All these austral races of T. viridis are migratory, so the presence of T. v. plumbeiceps in Southern Rhodesia is by no means unexpected. The races which occur in sub-continental southern Africa are therefore: Terpsiphone viridis granti (Roberts) Tchitrea granti Roberts, 1948, Bull. B.O.C., p. 129: Duivenhoek River, Swellendam, Cape Province. Muscipeta perspicillata Swainson, 1837, Bds. W. Afr., ii, p. 59. (pre- occupied). The male of this race is characterised by its glossy metallic green head and throat, on which character it is differentiated from the other races of T. viridis. Measurements: 46 gg wing 78.0—85.5 (82.1) mm. Material: 70 (Cape Province 11, Natal 11, Zululand 2, Swaziland 2, eastern Transvaal 5, Southern Rhodesia 3 (wintering), Mocambique 21 (wintering), Nyasaland 10 (wintering), Northern Rhodesia 5 (wintering). Range: Ranges from the southern and south-western Cape Province through the eastern Cape Province, Natal Zululand, Swaziland and the eastern Transvaal. Intergrades north of its stated range with T. v. violacea. Vol. 82 oA BA , Bulletin B.O.C. Migrates during the non-breeding season as far north as Northern Rho- desia, southern Nyasaland and northern Mocambique. Terpsiphone viridis violacea (Grant and Mackworth-Praed) Tchitrea plumbeiceps violacea Grant and Mackworth-Praed, 1940, Bull. B.O.C., 60, p. 93: Fort Hill, northern Nyasaland. The male of this race is characterised by having a slightly metallic blue head, a grey, non-metallic, throat and white under tail-coverts. Measurements: 10733 wing 76.0-88.5 (83.1) mm. Material: 112+ (Southern Rhodesia 28, Northern Rhodesia 38, Bechuanaland Protectorate 1, Mocambique 9, Tanganyika Territory 4, Nyasaland 9, Transvaal 20 and South West Africa 3.) Range: Southern and central Mocambique, northern and western Transvaal, Bechuanaland Protectorate, northern South West Africa and probably southern Angola, Southern Rhodesia, Nyasaland and eastern Northern Rhodesia east of the Muchinga Mtns. Migrates north during the non-breeding season, i.e. the southern winter months. Terpsiphone viridis plumbeiceps Reichenow Terpsiphone plumbeiceps Reichenow 1898, in Werther, Die Mittleren Hochlander des nérdlichen Deutsch-Ost-Afrika, p. 275: Malanje, northern Angola. The male of this race is very similar to that of T. v. violacea, the only constant difference between the two being the rufous under tail-coverts of T. y. plumbeiceps as opposed to the white under tail-coverts of T. vy. violacea. The blue head of T. v. plumbeiceps appears to be even less metallic than that of 7. v. violacea. Measurements: 1033 wing 79.0-88.0 (83.8) mm. Material: 12 (Northern Rhodesia 8, Angola 4). _ Range: Angola, Northern Rhodesia west of the Muchinga Mtns. and the south-eastern Congo. Migrates, presumably northwards, during the non-breeding season. The races of 7. viridis north of the three dealt with here have been examined, but inadequate material prevents discussion on them here. Bibliography :— Chapin, J. P., 1953, Birds of the Belgian Congo, pt. iti. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 75A. Hall, B. P., 1960, The Faunistic Importance of the Scarp of Angola. Jbis 102, p. 420-442. Mackworth-Praed, C. W., & Grant, C. H. B., 1955, Birds of Eastern and North Eastern Africa vol. 2. McLachlan, G. R., & Liversidge, R., 1957, Roberts Birds of South Africa. Pinto, A. A. de R., & Lamm, D., 1955, Contribution to the Study of the Ornithology of Sul do Save (Mozambique), part ii. Mem. Mus. Dr. Alvaro de Castro, No. 3, p. 149-150. | Poynton, J. C., 1960, Preliminary Note on the Zoogeography of the Amphibia in Southern Africa. S. A. Journ. Sci., 56, (12), p. 307-312. Some breeding and other records from Madagascar by C. W. BENSON AND CHARLES R. S. PITMAN Received 25th May, 1961 The field notes in this paper were made by C. W. B., assisted by his wife and M. Paul Griveaud, during a stay at Tananarive from 13th to 25th | . ° ‘ Bulletin B.O.C. 31 Vol. 82 November, 1958 (see Jbis, 103b, 1960: 9-10). All specimens, including eggs, recorded are now in the British Museum unless otherwise indicated. The Institut de Recherches Scientifiques 4 Madagascar is abbreviated as I.R.S.M. The nomenclature followed is that of Rand (1936), unless otherwise indicated. Ardeola ralloides (Scopoli) On 23rd November a visit was paid to Imerimanjaka, seven miles south of Tananarive, where around an area of about six acres of papryus swamp there were hundreds of individuals of this species. Hidden in the papyrus, at an average of about 1} feet above water-level, several nests were found, flimsy platforms of reeds and sticks, of diameter about 9 inches, depth 3 inches. A C/1 fresh collected measures 38.5 x 28.2 mm., a C/2 fresh 37.1 x 26.8, 38.2 x 26.3 mm. All three eggs are pale blue, and were very nest-stained. A C/3 fresh was left at the I.R.S.M. Five young, out of their nests, were caught by hand, examined and then released. They had wings ranging from 61 to 175 mm., the smallest being still mainly in down. Rand (1936) records specimens in breeding condition from Vo- hemar in September, and from Lake lotry in November and December. Some fifty Egretta ardesiaca and one Ardeola idae (in breeding dress) were also seen in this swamp, but no evidence was obtained of their breeding. Fulica cristata Gmelin A C/4 almost fresh was collected on Lake Mandrosesa, on the outskirts of Tananarive, on 22nd November. The eggs are typical, three being finely, but not thickly, spotted and speckled all over, with purplish brown and chocolate on a rich buff ground, while the fourth is pale creamy stone, and paler and more finely marked than the other three; size 53.0 x 37.0, 52.1 x 36.0, 48.6 x 36.2, 51.2 x 35.0 mm. A pair of adults was seen on the edge of the papyrus swamp at Imerimanjaka, on 23rd November. They were accompanied by a young bird not more than a quarter of their size. Chlidonias hybrida sclateri Mathews & Iredale On 22nd November, on Mandrosesa, there were at least one hundred individuals in breeding dress, three of which were collected. They were around scattered nests (not in a compact colony), shallow platforms of reeds, near the edge of the lake. The egg from a C/1 fresh collected is light greenish tinged brownish, with large blotches of sepia around the large end, but elsewhere superficial markings sparse, on underlying small spots of dull and light grey; size 39.5 x 26.5 mm. Two from a C/3 (the third egg was lost) are light stone-brown tinged greenish, boldly spotted all over with dark brown on underlying dark grey; size 37.2 x 27.2, 37.7 x 27.0 mm. Several other C/3 and a C/2 hatching, were seen. Chicks were also noted: some of which were just able to fly short distances. The stomach-contents of one collected were frogs, as were those of three adults. The foregoing supplements the comprehensive account by Milon (1949). Centropus toulou toulou Miiller Noticed in papyrus at Tananarive, in evergreen forest at Périnet, 60 Vol. 82 32 Bulletin B.O.C. miles east of Tananarive. C. W. B. agrees with van Someren (1947) that the bubbling call is very similar to that of C. superciliosus (and C. senegal- ensis, in Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland). Other calls were a higher pitched variant of the bubbling, and ‘“‘pop-pop-pop-pop-pop, kik-ik- ik-ik-ik-ik-ik-ik-ik,’’ both quite distinct from the call of any Centropus in Northern Rhodesia or Nyasaland. Eurystomus glaucurus glaucurus (Miller) _ A female was collected at Périnet, on 16th November. It contained a fully developed egg, smooth and white, size 36.2 x 28.6 mm. The call of this form was recorded as a low rapid, buzzing ‘‘dza-dza- dza’’, this triplet being repeated about six times. The first ‘“dza’’ in each triplet was more emphatic than the next two. It was quite unlike the hoarse, screechy notes of the breeding forms of this species in Abyssinia or Nyasaland (Benson, 1948). For other renderings of the call, see Rand (1936) and van Someren (1947). The local name at Périnet was ‘gadra- gadra’, certainly an onomatope. Caprimulgus madagascariensis madagascariensis Sganzin A male, now in the I.R.S.M., both testes measuring 5 x 3 mm., was collected in an Eucalyptus plantation, on the outskirts of Tananarive, on 23rd November. The call, also heard in a similar habitat near Périnet, sounded exactly like ‘‘tink, t-r-r-r’’, no doubt the same as the ‘‘ta tarrraa’’ rendering by Rand (1936), and quite unlike that of any species heard in Northern Rhodesia, Nyasaland or southern Abyssinia. Caprimulgus enarratus Gray A chick was caught by hand at Perinet in evergreen forest on 15th November, together with its male parent, apparently shortly to breed again, as it had right testis 7 x 5, left 8 x 7 mm. The chick, for a description of which we have to thank Mrs. B. P. Hall, is still mainly in downy plumage, wing only 95 mm., tail 40 mm. Above it © is pale buffy brown very lightly and irregularly barred with blackish. On — the lower back there are some more solid black markings on a more rufous background, giving a blotchy effect similar to that found in adults, but the outlines less well defined. Below, the throat is only sparsely covered in down, the breast is pale buffy brown fading to grey on the © lower breast and abdomen, the whole with obsolescent grey barring. The ~ wings and tail are in pin-feather, and there are a number such on the head, but very few on the body. . ' Motacilla flaviventris Hartlaub . A nest containing two young almost fledged, similar to adults in colour, was seen in a monkey-puzzle tree, ten feet above the ground, outside the [| I.R.S.M. buildings in Tananarive, on 24th November. Cisticola cherina (Smith) A C/2 fresh was collected near Périnet on 16th November. The eggs agree generally with the description by Rand (1936). : a ~ Bulletin B.O.C. 33 Vol. 82 Ploceus nelicourvi (Scopoli) Four nests were seen over a pool in evergreen forest at Périnet, 16th November. They were ali within a few yards of each other, but grouped into pairs, those of each pair being less than two feet from each other. One nest contained two well feathered nestlings, and two infertile eggs, plain light blue without gloss, both measuring 20.0 x 15.0 mm. The generic name is in accordance with Moreau (/bis, 1960: 299). In addition, at Perinet on 15th/16th November, the following specimens, in or very close to full breeding condition, were collected :— Newtonia brunneicauda (23), Tchitrea mutata (3), Copsychus albospecularis (23, ), Neomixis striatigula (3), Ixocincla madagascariensis (3), Leptopterus chabert (3), Calicalicus madagascariensis (23, 2), Zosterops maderaspatana (3), Spermestes nana (3, 2). These specimens were shared between the British Museum and the I.R.S.M. References :— Benson, C. W. 1948. Geographical voice variation in African birds. Jbis, 90: 48-71. Milon, P. 1949. Notes d’observation a Madagascar. Oiseau, 19: 195-202. Rand, A. L. 1936. The distribution and habits of Madagascar birds. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 72: 143-499. van Someren, V. D. 1947. Field notes on some Madagascar birds. /bis, 89: 235-267. More Snake and Lizard Predators of Birds by CHARLES R. S. PITMAN Received 11th February, 1961 These notes are to a great extent concerned with Africa; ibid 78 (°) (®) (’). Much of the information has been acquired in the course of correspon- dence. PART | SNAKES (i) Arboreal (a) Dispholidus typus (A. Smith), Boomslang. AFRICA: NYASALAND. Mr. R. C. H. Sweeney (Dept. of Agri- culture), in his open-air vivarium with a Cassia tree in the centre, has seen captive boomslangs hoiding in the mouth respectively one Lagonosticta sp., one Uraeginthus angolensis (L.) and one Pycnonotus xanthopygos (Hemprich and Ehrenberg), which they had caught. Many birds landed in this Cassia and it is probable that others were eaten. Though pigeons and doves landed in other Cassia trees in the garden, what was noticeable none came to the tree in the vivarium evidently having detected the resident snakes. Also, Sweeney (1957) shot a 2 D. typus near the entrance to a nest hole in a large breeding colony of some 200 White-fronted Bee-eaters, Melitto- phagus bullockoides (A. Smith) in a river bank some 15 feet above the water level. The snake contained three undeveloped nestlings. The reptile was near the top of the bank and was being vigorously assailed by the bee-eaters which were circling and swooping down towards it. NORTHERN RHODESIA. Mr. Jj. E. Newby has fed small fowls’ eggs Vol. 82 34 Bulletin B.O.C. to D. typus in captivity. Like cobras the boomslang swallows an egg com- plete, and digestion of the shell and its absorption normally takes about two to three days. SOUTHERN RHODESIA. D. G. Broadley (‘: pp. 36-37) records that two stomachs examined contained fledglings, and that captive D. typus will readily take offered birds’ eggs. Mr. B. U. Neuby Varty while watching the nest of a Scimitar Bill, Rhinopomastus cyanomelas schalowi Neum. left it for a few days after it contained two eggs. On his next visit there was a boomslang in the nest (in a hole in a tree) and no eggs. On another occasion he saw a very long boomslang emerge from a barbet’s nesting hole. SOUTH AFRICA. Miss M. Courtenay-Latimer, Director of the Port Elizabeth Museum, writes ‘‘The biggest nest robber in our forests is Dispholidus typus’’. She quotes three instances of its predation of the Cape Canary, Serinus canicollis (Swainson), when respectively young chicks, eggs of five days incubation, and eggs just hatching were taken, and also records that a boomslang took a full fledged family of the Bokmakierie, Telophorus zeylonus (L.) which were ready to leave the nest. According to V. Fitzsimons and C. K. Brain (”*: p. 103), in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, the main food of D. typus includes nestling birds and eggs. GENERAL. The boomslang is one of the snakes which, in captivity, feeds freely on dead birds, though it approaches them more cautiously than it does lizards or chameleons. The mouth is gaped and placed over the body of the bird and a ‘chewing’ motion started. The snake then works to the head and starts to swallow. Bird movement in a tree in a vivarium attracts a boomslang’s attention. (b) Thelotornis kirtlandii (A. Smith), Bird Snake, Twig Snake or Vine Snake. AFRICA: NYASALAND. According to Sweeney birds are one of the chief items of its diet in the Shire Valley region where it is very common. In three years he records three instances of Weaver birds (species not determined) being eaten; one case of Ploceus? intermedius Riippell in the process of being swallowed: two regurgitated Colius indicus Latham (Red- faced Mousebird) from one snake; C. indicus from the stomach of another snake; one regurgitated Serinus sp., believed to be Serinus mozambicus (Miiller), from another; S. mozambicus seen to be stalked and caught; one Lagonosticta senegala (L.) caught; and another snake contained a Passer griseus ugandae Reich. Grey-headed Sparrow. A Lagonosticta sp. was seized when it landed in a tree in an open vivarium. Although many wild birds landed in this tree or even fed on the ground inside the vivarium, this was the only bird seen to be taken by a Thelotornis. Sweeney believes that bird predation by Thelotornis is not a rarity under some ecological conditions and then birds may be one of the main items in its diet. In a Nyasaland region where this species is common 40 per cent had fed on birds in the many cases in which the prey was known. It is possible that when lizards are relatively scarce Thelotornis feeds more commonly on birds. Cis Bulletin B.O.C. 35 Vol. 82 NORTHERN RHODESIA. Mr. C. D. Simpson graphically describes how a 3 ft. 8 in. T. kirtlandii stalked a small Zebra Finch, Estrilda subflava (Vieillot), which was perched in a tree. ‘‘The snake hung, head downwards from a branch, swinging gently to and fro, coming closer to the bird at each swing. When in striking distance, it struck out swiftly, held onto the bird for a moment or two, then released it. The bird died in 84 minutes and the snake came down and ate it on the ground, starting at the head.’’ SOUTHERN RHODESIA. Broadley (': p. 38) records that a captive _ Thelotornis kirtlandii oatesii Giinther consumed two birds’ eggs, and that captive T. k. capensis A. Smith seem to prefer cold-blooded prey ‘‘although birds and their eggs were occasionally taken’’. At the Regent’s Park Gardens of the Zoological Society of London Thelotornis specimens are very difficult to keep at winter time as usually they feed exclusively on lizards. (c) Chrysopelea ornata (Shaw), Gold and Black Tree Snake. This is one of the so-called Asian ‘flying’ snakes, which is adapted for gliding and which may in one movement descend as much as 20 ft. S. E. ASIA. It is presumably a bird eater, for in captivity (?°: p. 312) it takes sparrows. (d) Coelopeltis (Malpolon) monspessulana Hermann, Montpellier Snake. This is a back-fanged species which attains a length of 7 ft. EUROPE: S. SPAIN. Guy Mountfort (?) writes that he was reliably informed that this big snake, in the Coto Dofiana, sometimes raids the heron colonies, taking eggs and nestlings from the nests in the bushes. But he was not able to verify this by first hand observations. PORTUGAL. Vide (?: p. 523) Jennifer Owen, with reference to the 1957 autumn migration through south-west Portugal ‘‘Twice, a large snake, probably Celopeltis monspessulana, was seen to take a small bird, once a Whitethroat and once a Nightingale’’, from a hedge. (ii) Mambas (a) Dendroaspis polylepis Giinther, Black Mamba. AFRICA: TANGANYIKA. Mr. Myles Turner, a Warden in the Serengeti National Park, describes how a black mamba over 8 ft. long lived in the roof of a house at Banagi in 1957, feeding on the Square-tailed Swifts, Apus affinis (Gray) which were nesting in the verandah eaves. NYASALAND. Sweeney in /itt. has found (1958) the remains of a pigeon, Treron sp., probably Treron delalandii (Bonaparte), in a mamba _ near Sorgin; and he further records that in captivity D. polylepis readily devours dead doves, Streptopelia spp. _ (b) Dendroaspis angusticeps (A. Smith), Green Mamba. AFRICA: KENYA. Mr. J. G. Williams, of the Coryndon Museum, Nairobi, (1959) at Kilifi on the Kenya Coast, killed a green mamba which had a Greenbul, Andropadus importunus (Vieillot) in its stomach. - Vol. 82 36 Bulletin B.O.C. NYASALAND. According to Sweeney, green mambas in captivity readily devour dead doves, Streptopelia spp. - (c) Dendroaspis jamesoni (Traill), Forest (Green) Mamba. AFRICA: UGANDA. In the Bwamba Forest, on the Congo border at the edge of the Ituri Forest, Mr. T. Mathews shot an unidentified green tree snake believed to be a mamba (it could have been the boomslang, Dispholidus typus C.R.S.P.), which had two mannikins, Spermestes sp. in its stomach. (111) Cobras General. INDO-PACIFIC REGION. Loveridge (7°: pp. 149 and 151) mentions how cobras, Naja spp., in their fondness for chicks and eggs, invade hen-houses. The eggs are swallowed whole, and the gastric juices take two days and nights to dissolve the shell of a fowl’s egg. He further records that birds are also taken. AFRICA: KENYA. Mr. W. P. Keller (in itt.) when in Masai Land ‘‘a point of interest in regard to snakes is that cobras especially are sometimes found in huts and houses where poultry are kept. I have never heard of a single instance where either the birds or eggs had been molested, while the snakes seem intent only on rats that frequent such places.’’ COMMENT. The cobras concerned are Naja haje and Naja nigricollis, and this freedom from predation of the poultry and their eggs is contrary to what is usual from the Sudan to the Cape. C.R.S.P. SOUTHERN RHODESIA. Mr. P. St. J. Turnbull-Kemp, Senior Warden of the Rhodes-Inyanga Estate, National Parks Department, saw an engorged cobra leave the nesting hole of the Giant Kingfisher, Mega- ceryle maxima (Pallas). SOUTH AFRICA. Lieut-Colonel J. Stevenson-Hamilton ('*: p. 117) ‘‘Fowl-houses must be protected by small wire mesh against cobras; the local type, known as mfezi is very fond of young chickens, and if one succeeds in effecting an entrance, it is sure to kill several of the fowls, whether it finds any chicks or not.”’ (a) Naja haje (L.), Egyptian Cobra or Banded Cobra. AFRICA: SOUTHERN RHODESIA. Neuby Varty writes that a ban- ded cobra for a while raided a hen-run every day and stole eggs. (b) Naja nigricollis Reinhardt, Black-necked or ‘Spitting’ Cobra. AFRICA: GHANA. Mr. G. T. Crellin describes how one of these cobras was killed, in a fowl-run, coiled amongst a broken sitting of eggs after it had killed three hens. TANGANYIKA. Myles Turner has twice seen the ‘spitting’ cobra about to strike a bird. Once he came on one poised over two juvenile Coqui Francolins, Francolinus coqui (A. Smith); and another time saw a very large example ‘*‘.. . about to strike a small bird. The bird was on the ground staring up at the cobra whose head was not one foot away . . . the bird made no movement to escape’’. Bulletin B.O.C. 37 Vol. 82 NORTHERN RHODESIA. Mr. P. S. M. Berry (1959) shot a 5 ft. ‘spitting’ cobra, Naja nigricollis crawshayi Ginther in a fowl-run ‘‘where it was presumably searching for hens’ eggs’’. Newby (1960) describes how a 43 ft. Naja n. crawshayi captured in a fowl-run near Kitwe disgorged 12 hen’s eggs while in transit, and then within 24 hours had reconsumed eight of these eggs which were returned to it. According to Newby, Naja nigricollis when in captivity will take small fowls’ eggs, which are swallowed whole. Digestion of the shell and absorption takes about two to three days. SOUTHERN RHODESIA. Broadley (!: p. 63) records that these “cobras are persistent raiders of poultry runs... A 6ft. cobra killed at Irisvale contained two well-grown chickens.’’ Mr. J. Bennefield writing from Bulawayo ‘‘We have shot several ‘spitting’ cobras in our fowl-run, but have never caught them in the act of removing the eggs.”’ (c) Naja flava (Sparrman), Cape Cobra or Yellow Cobra. SOUTH AFRICA. Miss Courtenay-Latimer in /itt. ‘‘Yellow cobra is responsible for eating plover, korhaan (bustard) and sandgrouse eggs and chicks.’’ Quoting specific cases:— Cape Dikkop, Burhinus capensis (Lichtenstein), three eggs devoured at Waverley, Cape Province (6th October, 1928): Blue Korhaan, Eupodotis caerulescens (Viellot), three eggs taken at Thebus, C.P. (9th August, 1925); and at Teviot, in Septem- ber 1923, a Cape cobra ate 20 sets of three eggs before it was killed, out of 35 nesting Namaqua Sandgrouse, Pterocles namaqua (Gmelin) on a ridge of rocky hills. ; According to Fitzsimons and Brain (78: pp. 103-104), in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, small birds are included in the food of the Cape Cobra. (d) Naja melanoleuca Hallowell, Black-lipped or Forest Cobra. UGANDA. Vide (*: para. 346) a cobra consumed a sitting of duck’s eggs at the Kajansi Fish Farm. (e) Naja tripudians (Merrem), Indian Cobra. S.E. ASIA. Colonel F. Wall (*°: p. 470) ‘‘Sometimes birds are attacked and killed, especially poultry ... hen and six chicks killed one night.’’ A cobra which got into a quailery killed thirteen quails, but only one was swallowed. Wall records that a guinea-fowl egg taken from a cobrae stomach was set under a hen and hatched out, and on another occasion the same was done with a hen’s egg. Also, six guinea-fowl eggs swallowed out of a sitting of fifteen, which were recovered were set and three hatched. Experiments indicate that the gastric juices of a cobra take 48 hours to dissolve egg-shells. (f) Pseudohaje goldii (Boulenger), Gold’s Arboreal Cobra. CONGO. Professor R. Laurent (°: p. 126) ‘“‘An example which lived three months in captivity . . . fed exclusively on batrachians: it invariably refused mammals and birds.”’ Vol. 82 38 Bulletin B.O.C. (iv) Sea Snakes BORNEO. According to Mr. Tom Harrisson, Curator, Sarawak Museum (°: p. 220) ‘‘Sea snakes often eat the eggs of the Black-naped Tern, Sterna sumatrana’’ Raffles. In litt. Harrisson informs me that these ‘‘sea snakes’’ attain a length of ‘‘5 ft. or so’’, and regularly come ‘‘onto the islet and I once found three there in one day. Apparently it cannot break eggs (some snakes do, of course, like the racers) but swallows them and digests them slowly. I once found one with three egg swellings along its length, lying in the scrub above high water mark. I fancy they concentrate on the smaller eggs of the Black-naped, which nest exclusively on the lower levels, whereas the larger Brown-winged (Sterna anaetheta Scopoli) nest higher up’’. The identity of this sea snake is believed to be Laticauda (Platurus) colubrina (Schneid.), Common Banded Sea Snake or Amphibious Sea Snake. The sea snakes of this genus are the only ones which habitually come onto dry land, and which grow to so large a size, with a maximum length of 9 ft., though the average is about 3 ft. See (2°: p. 167). (v) Notechis scutatus (Peters), Australian Tiger Snake. AUSTRALIA: TASMANIA. Mr. John Warham (’: p. 607) suggests that the venomous tiger snake, N. scutatus probably preys on the eggs and small chicks of the Little Penguin, Eudyptula minor (Forster) breeding on Cat Island (Bird Sanctuary) in the Bass Strait. (vi) Vipers (a) Vipera berus (L.), Adder. EUROPE: BRITAIN. Maxwell Knight (®: p. 86) ‘‘Adders will also take nesting birds. I have seen a wren’s nest in a tree some four feet from the ground where an adder had taken several young in broad daylight— adders can climb well.”’ . Mr. G. D. Lake (in Jitt.) found a linnet’s nest with four eggs and when next day he had a look at it an adder was descending from the empty nest. — The presumption was that the adder had taken the eggs. Mr. Max Wenner took a photo of a young Ring Ouzel, Turdus torquatus — L. being ‘mesmerized’ by an adder. The snake was unfortunately disturbed — and departed before the end of the act. (b) Vipera latastii Bosca, Latastes’ Viper (attains 2 ft.). : ‘ EUROPE: SPAIN. According to Guy Mountfort (?), in the Coto | Dofiana, this is a ‘‘local species which preys on ground-nesting birds’’. — (c) Vipera lebetina (L.) (attains 43 ft.). CYPRUS. The Bannermans (°: p. 148) referring to the Cyprus Wren, | Troglodytes t. cypriotes (Bate) ‘‘Hughes had the good fortune to see these tiny birds mobbing one of the ugly thick vipers, the only dangerous snake ~ in the island. ’’ af Such bird behaviour is indicative of this snake’s predatory habits, as j : the birds were evidently treating it as an enemy. : . Bulletin B.O.C. 39 Vol. 82 (d) Bitis arietans ( =lachesis) (Merrem), Puff Adder. AFRICA: NYASALAND. By night, on the Port Herald road, Sweeney (1958) killed a 3 ft. 4 in. puff adder which had swallowed an unidentified species of nightjar (Caprimulgidae). A road constitutes an open space onto which rodents stray and, in consequence, particularly in enclosed country puff adders at night frequent roads to hunt for prey. Similarly, the nocturnal nightjars find the open space of the road provides a wide arc of vision in their search for flying insects. SOUTH AFRICA. Vide (4: p. 27), in the Kruger National Park ‘‘A large puff adder was seen to catch a full grown Kurrichane Button Quail, Turnix lepurana and swallow it, starting with the head.’’ (e) Bitis gabonica (Duméril and Bibron), Gaboon Viper. AFRICA: TANGANYIKA. Mr. C. J. P. lonides made a young Gaboon viper, which had a feather sticking on one side of its mouth, dis- gorge an unidentified bird about the size of a Kurrichane Thrush. He is now prepared to believe those Africans who claim that this snake does **take young chicks on occasion’’. NORTHERN RHODESIA. At Ndola, Mr. D. Campbell (1959) caught a large Gaboon viper when in the process of swallowing a chicken. Newby records the shooting of a 4 ft. Bitis gabonica in a fowl-run near Kitwe while it was swailowing a full-grown fowl. SOUTHERN RHODESIA. Turnbull-Kemp has given me three records (1956, 1957 and 1960) of domestic poultry taken by Bitis gabonica. COMMENT. It is unlikely that Gaboon vipers deliberately raid -fowl-runs, to which they are probably attracted by the rodents which frequent such places. C.R.S.P. (vil) Pit Vipers (a) Ancistrodon acutus (Ginth.), Long-nosed Pit Viper. Attains a length of 5 ft. ASIA: CHINA and FORMOSA. Vide Loveridge (}°: p. 179), a bird was disgorged by one of these snakes. (b) Ancistrodon rhodostoma (Boie), Malayan Pit Viper. MALAYA and ARCHIPELAGO. Tweedie (7°: pp. 114-115) says it takes birds. NORTH AMERICA. (c) According to Albert and Anna Wright (7), four of these pit vipers prey on birds :— p. 906 Ancistrodon contortrix contortrix (L), Southern Copperhead. p.913 A. c. mokeson (Daudin), Copperhead. p. 920 Ancistrodon piscivorus piscivorus (Lacépéde), Water Moccasin or Cotton-mouth Moccasin. Mr. B. S. Wright, Director North-eastern Wild Life Station, New Brunswick, Canada (in /itt.) also lists A. p. piscivorus as a bird-eater. p. 924 _ A. p. leucostroma (Troost), Water Moccasin. A ita te ay Vol. 82 3 \ 40 Bulletin B.O.C. - (d) Trimeresurus wagleri (Boie), Wagler’s Pit Viper. Attains 980 mm. ASIA: BORNEO (and MALAYA and ARCHIPELAGO). According to Harrisson, this snake occurs on the Turtle Islands, one of which is five miles off shore. It is known to take baby turtles and might take the young and eggs of sea birds. Loveridge (7°: p. 187) describes it as a “‘climbing’’ snake, whose food consists chiefly of lizards and birds. Perhaps it should have been included with the arboreal species. Tweedie (7°: p. 117) says its food includes birds. Wall (?°: p. 559) referring to genus Trimeresurus (Lacép.), food also birds. (e) Crotalus viridis (Rafin.), Prairie Rattlesnake; attains a length of 54 ft. CANADA: ALBERTA. See Wishart, with reference to Pituophis catenifer. The Wrights (71: p. 1005) include ‘‘some birds’’ in its food. (f) Rattlesnakes. -~UNITED STATES and CANADA. According to Albert and Anna Wright (#4), eight rattlesnakes of the Genus Crotalus are known to prey on birds, including Crotalus viridis (pp. 939-1033). B. S. Wright (in Jitt.) lists Crotalus spp. as bird-eaters. (g) Ground Rattlesnakes. UNITED STATES. Vide (**), two of these snakes are known to prey on birds :— (p. 1046) Sistrurus catenatus catenatus (Rafin.), Prairie Rattlesnake. (p. 1054) Sistrurus miliarius miliarius (L.), Ground or Pigmy Rattlesnake. (viii) Egg-eater Dasypeltis scabra (L.), Egg-eater. AFRICA: SUDAN. At Lake Keilak, Kordofan, Sweeney (1954) collected specimens in two weaver-bird (Ploceus) nests. TANGANYIKA. On the Mkulumuzi river, Tanga, (1949) Sweeney found an egg-eater in a weaver-bird (Ploceus) nest. NYASALAND. During 1956 and 1958, Sweeney found specimens in four weaver-bird (Ploceus) nests along the Shire and Ruo rivers. NORTHERN RHODESIA. Newby describes how an unusually large (1100 mm.-+) egg-eater was seen by Africans being attacked so determinedly by birds of the ‘‘thrush type’’, whose nest it was raiding, that it fell 20 ft. to the ground. Its right eye shield and oculars had been damaged by the ~ birds’ pecking. The snake was brought to him, and in captivity it fed on fowls’ eggs. SOUTHERN RHODESIA. Broadley (': p. 59) records that captive egg-eaters would only take birds’ eggs, and hatchlings consistently refused — gecko eggs. (to be continued ) » met » REC anes « A | Y \ 8 21S i ee cee ¥ Respten ce I i“ see = , a a A ~) fn ; “A * paore JAS TOD as bt Oy botointes 30M S16 choiludring> 1ooS dt -banilesY adol aM soiiba ot os b watt 28 - 2s t worl aeodT WV obrotd Ate e° 3; n9g25 1 nobsol 1 g & div besaqe-old sob sqeY 13 io obiz 9nd no be ave bn es ‘arrense Otursi: hey eS fy) HShO ANON zi esic te 8 Sint Je iL fo boon onan ote oct (ins psedu2 .bsbuloni sd re Siar lati sit be seni g 916 Zommes oBMsie® .eonoy ols to Asiiol aay od bidode esonsistsA Agqnoesqyt oft ai bonilisbn « ate he ‘ 2 First winter. _ Of the four Tufted Duck which we have recorded as showing this type _of variant, one was not sexed, but the other three were all females moulting ‘into or in first winter plumage. It will be noted that of these three Scaup One is a juvenile male, one a first winter female and one an adult female. In this respect it is to be noted that Bryan Sage’. in his paper on Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca (Giildenstadt) x Tufted Duck A. fuligula hybrids records a similar type of plumage in one such hybrid collected in ‘Holland, this bird apparently being an adult female. _ The fact that the hybridisation of these two white-bellied species can ‘result in a dark-bellied hybrid brings this character into the same category s the bimaculated facial pattern revealed in hybrids involving the Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus; Wigeon, Anas penelope Linnaeus; Teal, Anas crecca Linnaeus, and Shoveler, Anas clypeata Linnaeus’, and also in Variants of the Teal resembling in this pattern the Baikal Teal, Anas formosa Georgi®, in which there is no question of hybridisation. While confirming our views as to the probable evolutionary significance yf the dark flecking in female Tufted Duck, Sage (/oc. cit.) remarks that e occurrence of such characters in other Aythya species would strongly upport this theory. It is of interest therefore to be able to record this iriant as occurring in the Scaup. eferences :— . Harrison, James M. and Jeffery G. ‘*On varieties of the Tufted Duck, with an account _ of an unrecorded type of variation’’. Bull. B.O.C. Vol. 80. pp. 25-28. 1960. Harrison, James M. and Jeffery G. ‘‘Further remarks on female plumages of the Tufted Duck’’. Bul/. B.O.C. Vol. 80. 141-2. * Harrison, James M. and Jeffery G. *‘ Variant winter plumage of the female Tufted Duck’’. Bull. B.O.C. Vol. 81, 103-105. * Sage, Bryan L. **‘ Notes on some Ferruginous White-eye x Tufted Duck hybrids’’. ~ Bull. B.O.C. 1n press. 5 arrison, James M. *‘Comments on a Wigeon x Northern Shoveler hybrid’*. Bu/l. - B.0.C. Vol. 79. pp. 142-151. 1959. * Harrison, James M. ‘‘ The Baikal Teal in the British Isles; a new record and a note on ihe **Bridled’’ Face Pattern’, Bull, B.O,C, Vol. 78, pp. 105-107. 1958, es * Ee ae Vol. 82 44 Bulletin B.O.C Comments on the typical race of Eremomela icteropygialis (Lafresnaye) by P. A. CLANCEY Received 20th June, 1961 Lafresnaye described the small warbler species Eremomela icteropygialis (Lafresnaye), 1839: lower Orange River, north-western Cape Province, on a specimen presumably collected by Levaillant towards the close of the eighteenth century. The label on the specimen bears in the handwriting of Lafresnaye the locality ‘‘des Elephants”’ (i.e., Olifants R.., western Cape), corrected in the same handwriting to ‘‘d’Orange’, and this same worker states in the original description that the specimen: was ‘*said to have come from the Orange River.’’ Macdonald (1957) cast: doubt on the stated provenance of the 7ype, and doubted if the species occurred on the lower reaches of the Orange River and as far south as the Olifants R. in the west, and based his taxonomic findings on such a mistaken belief. Winterbottom (1958) and Clancey (1959) have both show thai the species occurs widely throughout much of the western Cape, from at least the Richtersveld south to Doornbaai, south of the Olifants Rive mouth, and on the basis of the observations of the two workers named it is evident that no valid objection can be advanced to preclude the lower® Orange River being accepted by researchers as the correct type-locality of E. i. icteropygialis on the grounds that the species does not occur there. Further, as there are cogent reasons for believing that the Type was col- lected by Levaillant, it is reasonable to assume that it was not obtained to the north of the Orange River, because, while it is known that this traveller- cum-naturalist did reach the lower Orange River in the neighbourhood of Pella Drift, it is still extremely doubtful if he penetrated any distance into what is now Great Namaqualand, and Forbes (1958) has recently producec¢ a heavy weight of evidence to show that Levaillant did not enter Great Namaqualand at all (cf. Grant (1957)) .The possibility that the Type was not collected by Levaillant likewise raises no difficulty, as the hinterlanc¢ of what is now South-West Africa was terra incognita at the time the Type of E. i. icteropygialis was collected (certainly long before 1839). ' Macdonald, Joc. cit., records that of a series submitted to Mr. J. C Greenway an old Andersson skin from Otjimbingwe, Swakop River” Damaraland, in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) collection, most closeh resembles the Type specimen of E. i. icteropygialis, now in the collection) of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A | the latter specimen being probably well over 150 years old at the time the comparison was undertaken. I do not believe that subspecific taxonomy 1s” ever adequately furthered by comparisons between such antediluviar locality of E. i. icteropygialis serves other than to confuse that which is in effect quite straightforward, and, moreover, irrefutable on the basis ¢ the fine fresh series now available in South African museums (cf. Whit (1961)). : In my revisionary notes on the Yellow-bellied Eremomelas of southern Africa (Ciancey, Joc. cit.), I showed that the populations of the westefi Cape Province (Richtersveld, south to Doornbaai), the north-wester .. Bulletin B.O.C. 45 Vol. 82 Cape (east to Bushmanland and Kenhardt), and southern Great Namaqua- land (all topotypical of E. i. icteropygialis) and those of the Asbestos Mountains, north of Prieska on the central Orange (topotypical of E. i. perimacha Oberholser, 1920: Asbestos Mountains, northern Cape), are not separable in any way. On the basis of this finding I placed FE. 7. perimacha in the synonymy of E. i. icteropygialis. In the light of White’s criticisms, I have re-studied the good series in the Durban Museum, and confirm that EF. i. perimacha is a straight synonym of E. i. icteropygialis. White based his findings on a study of the British Museum series, but I submit that his material was inadequate, as by “Macdonald’s telling this collection does not contain any topotypical -E. i. icteropygialis, whereas the Durban Museum collection possesses series from both the north-western Cape and the Asbestos Mountains. The material in the Durban Museum reveals graded change in South- West Africa from the typical race to paler backed, whiter throated and breasted and clearer yellow bellied birds in Damaraland, to which the name E. i. sharpei Reichenow, 1905: Windhoek, is applicable. A further study of our material confirms my earlier view that this is a good race, which ranges from south-western and southern Angola, southwards through the Kaokoveld and Ovamboland to Damaraland, northern Great Namaqualand, and the western, central and southern Bechuanaland Protectorate. As stated, it grades into the nominotypical race to the south of its ascertained range in South-West Africa and to the eastward, as shown by a good series in the National Museum of Southern Rhodesia from just north of the Molopo R. (discussed by White, /oc. cit., under **The Bechuanaland form’’). _ Literature cited :— Clancey, P. A. 1959 Durban Museum Novitates, vol. v, 16, pp. 204-206. Forbes, V. S. 1958 Ostrich, vol. xxix, 2, pp. 79-85. ' Grant, C. H. B. 1957 Ostrich, vol. xxviii, 2, pp. 83-97. Lafresnaye, F. de 1839 Rev. Zool., p. 258. Macdonald, J. D. 1957 Contribution to the Ornithology of Western South Africa, p. 136. White, C. M. N. 1961 Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club, vol. 81, 5, pp. 90-91. Winterbottom, J. M. 1958 Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club, vol. 78, 7, pp. 132-133. More Snake and Lizard Predators of Birds by CHARLES R. S. PITMAN 4 PART II (ix) Constrictors (a) Python sebae (Gmelin), African Python. AFRICA: SUDAN. Sweeney (1954) records an 8 ft. python swallowing a Guinea-fowl Numida meleagris (L.); three specimens (1953), between 3 and 4 ft., each containing bird remains—the only identifiable bird, in ‘two of them caught on the same day within 100 yards of each other, being the Chestnut-crowned Sparrow Weaver, Plocepasser superciliosus (Cretz- schmar); 44 ft. specimen (1953) when caught disgorged three Guinea- fowl chicks; 3} ft. specimen (1953) contained an unidentified sparrow; 3} ft. specimen (1953) disgorged an adult Rock Bantam, Ptilopachus - Vol. 82 46 | Bulletin B.O.C ~ petrosus (Gmelin); and 4 ft. specimen (1955) disgorged two unidentified Ploceidae. KENYA. Mr. D. D. Reucassel came across a number of Black-winged Stilts, Himantopus himantopus (L.) hovering over the water and creating a terrific din above a huge python which was constricting an Egyptian Goose, Alopochen aegyptiacus (L.) some 30 ft. from the bank. UGANDA. Vide (*: para. 212) a python shot in Karamoja was ‘‘found to have a partially decomposed knob-nosed goose in its stomach’’. TANGANYIKA. Sweeney (1950) records a 5 ft. specimen in the Usam- bara Mountains which contained an unidentified thrush. NYASALAND. Sweeney (1959) describes how a 10 ft. specimen, - caught in a village hen-house, disgorged three large domestic chickens; and in the same village a few days later another python, when captured, disgorged two chickens. In 1957 two specimens, 3 and 34 ft. in length, killed by the Ruo river contained unidentified small birds (Ploceidae?) A 9 ft. specimen (1957) disgorged two Guinea-fowl, N. meleagris. A 3 ft. specimen taken (1957) in an African hut contained an adult Red-eyed Dove, Streptopelia semitorquata (Riippell). In the same region (1959) a 4 ft. specimen contained two Collared Doves, Streptopelia capicola (Sundevall). | NORTHERN RHODESIA. Mr. J. B. Shenton, Game Ranger, records that one of three pythons varying in size from 7 ft. to 12 ft., when caught © regurgitated a fresh Guinea-fowl, N. meleagris. | Newby describes three cases of bird predation by pythons—in 1959, ~ at Chingola, an 11 ft. specimen raided a fowl-run and consumed two laying fowls; and in 1960, near Kitwe, a 4 ft. specimen entered a fowl-run and swallowed a pullet, and a 10 ft. example swallowed two full-gro fowls. Simpson records how a 23 ft. python climbed a tree to seize a fledgling sparrow and immediately constricted it with 13 coils. The bird was eater on the branch. (b) Python regius (Shaw), Royal Python. SUDAN. Sweeney (1954) writes that a 3 ft. specimen caught at Kadugli, in the Nuba Mountains, Kordofan disgorged a Galago (or Bush Baby), | Galago senegalensis E. Geoffroy, and an unidentified Ploceid. | (c) Python reticulatus (Schneid.), Reticulated or Malay Python; which | is the world’s greatest snake. , S.E. ASIA. M. W. F. Tweedie (2*: p. 32) says it preys ne on birds” and mammals. (d) Python molurus (L.), Indian Python. : S.E. ASIA. Wall @®: pp. 57-58) ‘‘a peacock in the coils of a python” in Ceylon’’; also, ‘‘eat a pheasant* (Gennaeus lineata)’’. He furthe records one killed swallowing a chicken; another swallowed three ducks and in Assam in a fowl-run one made a meal of five ducks, four fowls an¢ one pigeon. a a a Te * Lineated or Burmese Silver Pheasant, a ee ae y ta A Bulletin B.O.C. 47 Vol. 82. Bet! (x) Others Solid Toothed. - General. According to Albert and Anna Wright (7) who quote relevant references, the following common, harmless snakes of the United States and Canada have been known to prey on birds and some- times their eggs :— mol. I. p. 58 Charina bottae utahensis Van Denburgh, Great Basin Rubber Snake. p. 98 Arizona elegans eburnata Klauber, Desert Glossy Snake. ; p. 141 Coluber constrictor flaviventris (Say), Blue Racer. 3 p. 202 Drymarchon corais couperi (Holbrook), Indigo | Snake. pp. 221-269 Eight species of Elaphe, including Chicken Snakes. p. 300 Heterodon nasicus nasicus Baird and Girard, Hog- : nosed snake. r p. 309 Heterodon platyrhinos platyrhinos (Latreille), Hog- k nosed Snake or Spreading Adder. x pp. 351-394 Seven species of Lampropeltis, King Snakes. : pp. 429-465 Eight species of Masticophis, including Whip Snakes. Vol. Il. pp. 595-618 Six species of Pituophis, including Gopher Snakes. J p. 651 Salvadora grahamiae lineata Schmidt, Texas Patch- 3 nosed Snake. pp. 777-841 Three species of Thamnophis, Garter Snakes. = 3B. S. Wright writing from Canada lists as bird-eaters the following ens: — Coluber constrictor constrictor (L.) Black Snake or Racer. ~ Lampropeltis getulus getulus (L.) Eastern King Snake. 4 Pituophis melanoleucus sayi (Schleg.) Bull Snake. Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis (L.) Garter Snake. (a) Xenopeltis unicolor Reinw. in Boie, Sunbeam Snake, attaining a gth of 4 ft. INDO-PACIFIC REGION. According to Loveridge (*°: p. 124), Pihoueh this species is a burrower its prey includes ‘‘occasionally even a ed”? = _ (b) Natrix natrix (L.), Grass Snake. SUROPE: BRITAIN. Wenner photographed a grass snake just after wallowing a Meadow Pipit, Anthus pratensis (L.). _ Mr. G. D. Lake, in The Field (11: p. 494) ‘‘I have caught a (grass) snake with its head in a willow wren’s nest swallowing the last of a brood of five . Like adders they can climb to nests in gorse and low bushes.’’ __L. Styles, in The Field (}?: p. 30), ‘‘Once caught a grass snake devouring a young chaffinch’’. The parents were attacking the snake. Vol. 82 48 Bulletin B.O.C. In the Sea Swallow (#8: pp. 22-23), Lieut. Comdr. T. Emanuel, R.N. describes how a grass snake raided a pied wagtail’s nest and consumed the two newly hatched chicks it contained and then took possession of the nest, which also held two eggs, for about a day and a half. When the snake eventually departed one egg had been broken and the other had disappeared —presumably with the snake. (c) Thamnophis sp. Cope, Garter Snake. NORTH AMERICA: BRITISH COLUMBIA. W. Earl Godfrey, - Curator of Ornithology, National Museum of Canada (Ottawa), in 1953, killed one of these snakes with a nearly-dead juvenal Vesper Sparrow, Pooecetes gramineus (Gmel.), capable of flight, in its mouth. The bird was held by the neck. (d) Elaphe taeniura Cope, Marbled Cave Snake or Stripe-tailed Racer. Attains a length of 5 ft. BORNEO. Lord Medway, at one time Technical Assistant, Sarawak — Museum, says (®: p. 69) this harmless black and white snake (which is primarily a bat-eater) roams freely through the dark passages of the ‘birds’ nest’ Swiftlet, Collocalia nesting caves and feeding on the fallen young. Harrisson, referring to the ‘Cave Racer’, E. taeniura (in litt.) ‘‘at Niah ~Caves and elsewhere lives inside the caves and is known to me and all there to climb to the nests of Collocalia spp. and take the eggs. I also have a film... of one taking a swiftlet fallen to the cave floor in failing to fly out from its initial ex-nestling take-off in darkness. It breaks the eggs and — digests quickly.’’ Loveridge too (*°: pp. 128-9) describes it is an active climber which | subsists mainly on bats. It is a constrictor. Re) Pituophis catenifer (Blainv.), Bull Snake; up to 44 ft. in length. : CANADA: ALBERTA. Mr. William Wishart, Game Biologist, Province of Alberta, suggests that this snake is one of three species—there are only seven species of snakes known in Alberta—which prey on the eggs and occasionally on the young of the ground-nesting species of birds that occur on the prairies. The Wrights (#1: p. 595) include ‘‘birds’’ in its food. (f) Philothamnus hoplogaster (Giinther), South-eastern Green Snake. SOUTHERN RHODESIA. Turnbull-Kemp shot one of these snakes when raiding a nest, with an egg of the Cape Turtle Dove, S. capicete in its mouth. (g) Philothamnus semivariegatus (A. Smith), Spotted Wood Snake or Bush Snake. AFRICA: NYASALAND. Sweeney, at Chiromo (1958), found one aa these snakes in an arboreal bird’s nest, species not known. { “j 3, Bulletin B.O.C. 49 Vol. 82 — (h) Ptyas mucosus (_.) Greater Rat Snake, which attains a length of 10 ft. -§.E. ASIA. According to Loveridge (2°: p. 128) its skill in climbing enables it to capture birds. Wall (2°: p. 171) describes an attack on a nest of young birds and a fledgling being devoured. This snake does not constrict, but presses down its prey with a loop of its coils. (j) Heterodon nasicus Baird and Girard, Hog-nosed Snake; attains a length of 2 ft. 2 CANADA: ALBERTA. See Wishart, with reference to Pituophis catenifer. The Wrights (7!: p. 300) include ‘‘sparrows’’ in its food. (k) Dendrelaphis tristis (Daud.), Seba’s Bronze-back. INDIA and CEYLON. Wall (*°: pp. 221-222) records it raiding the nest and eggs of the Black-backed Robin, Thamnobia fulicata (L.). (1) Oligodon purpurascens (Schleg.), Brown Kukri Snake. MALAYA. According to Tweedie (?°: p. 46), eats birds. Back Fanged. (a) Telescopus dhara (=Tarbophis obtusus) (Forskal), Blunt-nosed Cat Snake or Large-eyed Snake. AFRICA: SUDAN. Vide (1+: p. 7) ‘‘Two specimens of the Blunt-nosed Cat Snake (Tarbophis obtusus Reuss), the commonest snake in the houses and gardens of Khartoum, were found to contain partly-digested house sparrows.’’ (b) Telescopus (= Tarbophis) semiannulatus A. Smith, African Tiger Snake. SOUTH AFRICA. Stevenson-Hamilton (1°: p. 122) “‘the tiger snake (Tarbophis semiannulatus), which is often discovered living among a colony of weaver birds at nesting time, presumably preying mainly on. their young.”’ (c) Boiga blandingii Hallowell, Blanding’s Tree Snake. EST AFRICA: NIGERIA. Dr. S. F. Woodward (1960) found four birds in the stomach of one of these snakes. _ (d) Boiga dendrophila (Boie), Mangrove Snake. Attains a length of 7 ft. ‘ASIA: BORNEO. According to Harrisson, this snake occurs on the ‘Turtle Islands, one of which is five miles off shore. It is known to take baby turtles and might take the eggs and young of sea birds. Loveridge (7°: ‘Pp. 132) says birds are eaten. Mr. N. S. Haile, Hon. Curator of Reptiles, Sarawak Museum, has found hen’s eggs in this Boiga. - _(e) All the Asian Cat Snakes of the genus Boiga (formerly Ddisapa- a) kill by constriction and are bird, nestling and egg-eaters. Wall refers to :— Wao 50 ome: Oe re (29: p. 272) Dipsadamorphus trigonatus (Schneid.) from India and © Transcaspia. A Robin, Thamnobia cambayensis (Lath.) was found in one specimen. ‘‘In captivity feeds freely on small birds.”’ | (2°: p. 279) D. ceylonensis (Ginth.), from S. India and Ceylon; ‘‘de- vours birds’’. One got into an aviary and ate a canary, and was probably | responsible for previous loss of six other canaries and Java sparrows. (?°: p. 287) D. forsteni (Dum. and Bibr.), from India and Ceylon; grows to 7 ft. ‘A voracious poultry eater’’; “‘also robs pigeon houses, ascending by the one smooth supporting post’’. One was caught in the act of swal- — lowing a fowl. Paso. see (7°° p. 14). (f) Dryophis nasutus (Lacép.), Long-nosed Whip Snake, attaining a length of 5 ft. S.E. ASIA. Loveridge (2°: p. 135), ‘‘Small birds are also eaten’’. Wall (?°: p. 295) *‘Several records of birds being eaten’’; and Tweedie (*°: p. 79), Dryophis, Whip Snakes ‘‘feeding on small birds”’ (g) Psammophis sibilans (L.) Hissing Sand Snake or Sun Snake. AFRICA: NORTHERN RHODESIA. Newby (1960) records a 34 ft. specimen which entered an aviary near Kitwe and seized and swallowed a tame canary. This snake was subsequently kept in captivity and fed on rodents. Also, ‘‘Occasionally P. sibilans will constrict (dead) birds after seizing should their relative size be larger than is perfectly comfortable’’. (xi) General ADEN. Capt. H. E. Ennion (1960) in The Field (}*: p. 250) describes seeing an unidentified snake with three coils of its body round a Little Stint, Calidris minuta (Leisler), by a brackish pool near Zingibar, 30 miles N.E. of Aden. As he approached, the snake abandoned the freshly killed” bird and disappeared into the long grass. The date, 30th July, 1960, is” interesting, being rather early for this palearctic migrant. Vide Newby ante, P. sibilans in certain circumstances is known to con- strict birds, and the identity of Ennion’s snake is probably Psammophis sibilans schokari (Forskal), a relatively large species attaining a length of 1480 mm. The other possibility is the back-fanged Coelopeltis (Malpolon) moilensis (Reuss) which is rather small (480 mm.) to tackle so relatively large a bird. NOTE. Certain species of back-fanged African snakes, for instance Dispholidus typus and Psammophis sibilans appear definitely to associate a bird’s nest as a source of food supply. ] LIZARDS | (a) Varanus exanthematicus (= albigularis) (Bosc.), Savanna Monitor. AFRICA: SUDAN. Sweeney (1952) captured a specimen in Kordofa which was eating a young francolin (probably Francolinus clappertoni Child). SOUTH AFRICA. According to Stevenson-Hamilton (??: p. 113) this monitor is a forest dweller which is often found many miles from the near est water. It is an expert climber and ‘‘an inveterate hunter of birds’ eggs’’. pel Se ee | - Bulletin B.O.C. 51 Vol. 82 In African Wild Life (**) there is a description of a Harrier Eagle, - Circaetus in the last stages of exhaustion in the grip of a 24 ft. bush leguan (V. exanthematicus). The lizard which was uninjured had evidently seized the bird (and not the bird the reptile) and had it on its back, with a deadly grip on the bird’s leg. Newby (in /itt.) ‘‘more partial to bird prey than V. niloticus. Dead birds, up to the size of a half-grown fowl are taken with avidity. They are normally swallowed whole. Fowls’ eggs are crushed and swallowed whenever given.’’ (b) Varanus salvator (Gray), Common Water Monitor. PACIFIC REGION. This large lizard, which sometimes attains a total length of 8 ft., should more appropriately have been included with “*Aquatic Predators’’. Loveridge (1°: pp. 61-63) records that in captivity it eats birds and eggs, the eggs being swallowed whole and gulped in rapid succession. In the stomach the eggs are crushed by muscular action and the shells dissolve in about a couple of days. (ce) Varanus indicus (Daud.), Australasian Monitor; and — (d) Varanus dumerilii (Gray), Duméril’s Monitor. -INDO-PACIFIC REGION. According to Loveridge ('°: pp. 64-65), _ both these monitors prey on birds. (e) Agama cyanogaster (Ruppell), Black-necked Arboreal Agama. AFRICA: NORTHERN RHODESIA. Mr. Johann Gouws (1959), near Kitwe, saw one of these lizards more than a foot long catch an _ African Pied Wagtail, Motacilla aguimp Dumont in a small tree near the - ground. Both fell and were watched struggling for about one minute _ when the observer rescued the bird, but it died a few minutes later. It would have been interesting to see whether the lizard was capable of swallowing so relatively large a bird. | Vide (4: p. 23), in the Kruger National Park, with refereace to Agama _ atricollis (now Agama cyanogaster), ‘‘A fight between one of these and a White-crowned Shrike, Eurocephalus anguitimens was seen to end un- decided after a few furious rounds’’. t (f) Calotes sp., Variable Lizards: an Agamid. “PACIFIC REGION. Loveridge ("°: p. 83), *‘Has been known to devour _ nestling birds’’. (g) Gekko gecko (L.), Tokay Gecko. ~INDO-PACIFIC REGION. Loveridge (!°: p. 71), even small birds are _ said to be taken when opportunity offers. — (h) Lacerta lepida Daud., Ocellated Lizard. EUROPE: S. SPAIN. According to Mountfort (*) this lizard, which grows to a length of three feet on the Coto Dofana, preys frequently on _ Bee-eater, Merops apiaster L. colonies, taking both eggs and birds from Vol. 82 53° Bulletin B.O.C. the nests, which locally are tunnelled in flat ground. Congreve, too, ‘assumed the large-sized lizards of S. Spain must be eating Bee-eaters because one found them in Bee-eater nest-holes’’. (j) Gerrhosaurus major grandis Boulenger, Zululand Great Plated Lizard. AFRICA: NYASALAND. Sweeney found that in captivity this large lizard fed readily on dead weaver birds and other small birds, which suggests that birds may be a normal item in the diet of this swift moving species. (k) Tiliqua nigrolutea (Gray), Giant Skink or Blue-tongued Lizard. AUSTRALIA: TASMANIA. Warham (’: p. 607) suggests that this relatively massive lizard probably preys on the chicks and eggs of the Little Penguin in the Cat Island Bird Sanctuary, in Bass Strait. Loveridge (7°: p. 98) states that in the wild state young birds are included in its food. (1) Mabuya perrotetii (Gray), Perrotet’s Skink. AFRICA: CAPE VERDE ISLANDS. According to Bannerman (°: p. 106), on Branca islet (one of the small Rombos islands) of the Cape Verde Archipelago, Alexander’s Little Shearwater, Puffinus baroli boydi Mathews ‘*The birds are troubled in their nest-holes by a species of skink which, in (Boyd) Alexander’s view, had been responsible for driving the petrels — away from Raza where they formerly bred’’. COMMENT. The only large skink on these islands capable of creating such disturbance is M. perrotetii, and in view of the next two notes (m) and (n) one can reasonably suspect that this skink is an egg- eater. C.R.S.P. (m) Mabuya wrightii Boulenger, Wright’s Skink. AFRICA: SEYCHELLES. Vide (°: p. 44 and 20: p. 582), this skink, which attains a length of 307 mm., is found, sometimes abundantly, on seven of the Seychelles group of islands where sea-fowl breed. It eats the eggs of the Sooty Tern, Sterna fuscata L. and the Noddy, Anous stolidus (L.), and if an egg is left unguarded the lizards at once get it. The eggs are broken by rolling them onto rocks or by biting the pointed end. This skink causes considerable damage to the bird population especially on those islands where it is abundant. It also eats nestlings not more than a few days old. (n) Mabuya sechellensis (Dum. and Bibr.), Seychelles Skink. AFRICA: SEYCHELLES. Vide (#°: p. 44 and 20: p. 582), this skink, — which is slightly smaller (242 mm.), is an egg-eater like M. wrightii. But it is seldom strong enough to bite an egg open. It occurs on six of the Seychelles Islands, on three of which M. wrightii is also found. Both these skinks are very abundant on Aride Island where they do considerable damage to the bird population. | M. sechellensis has been seen to climb a tree and successfully bite open the egg of the White Tern, Gygis alba (Sparrman), and twice it was watched rolling this Tern’s single egg off a branch to be broken on the ground. It cannot tackle a chick more than a few days old. _ Bulletin B.O.C. 53 Vol. 82 NOTE. It is possible that other species of skinks—and also some other lizards—are addicted to egg-eating and this might help to explain some of the very high percentage of loss sustained by the eggs of many of the smaller species of African birds. (0) Chamaeleo melleri (Gray), Giant One-horned Chameleon. Sweeney, near Ngomeni (20 miles from Tanga), Tanganyika, found one of these chameleons eating a Fire Finch, Lagonosticta senegala ruberrima Reich. TORTOISES Testudo sp., Galapagos Giant Tortoise. PACIFIC: GALAPAGOS ISLANDS. According to Loveridge (7°: p. 37), some species of these giant tortoises, which need meat in their diet, will catch and eat birds if given the opportunity. HOW A BIRD IS SWALLOWED Several correspondents have described how certain African snakes, for instance Python sebae, Dispholidus typus and Thelotornis kirtlandii, stalk and seize living birds. They also mention how these snakes at first carefully examine dead birds which are offered them in captivity, before accepting them. Once caught, a bird is swallowed head first, tail first or sideways, according to how it has been seized. Tail first evidently presents no difficulty, but attempts to swallow prey sideways usually fail, and the victim has to be regurgitated, and is then swallowed head first. _ Simpson observed that of six small birds consumed at various times by a 24 ft. python, four were swallowed tail first, one head first, and the other stuck sideways, was regurgitated and then swallowed head first. | am greatly indebted to all those who have so generously provided me with information based on their own experiences—and in particular to Mr. R. C. H. Sweeney for his numerous carefully compiled observations— or who have invited my attention to relevant references. SUMMARY There is ample confirmation that the African arboreal snakes Dispholi- dus typus and Thelotornis kirtlandii are habitual bird predators, though in the case of the latter its choice of diet may be affected by ecological conditions. The large, back-fanged Coelopeltis monspessulana, in Spain, preys on small birds and nestlings. A black mamba, Dendroaspis polylepis lived in a house roof to enable it to feed on the colonial swifts nesting in the eaves. Cobras (Naja spp.), both Asian and African, are relentless raiders of the fowl-run in their quest for eggs. A Cape cobra, Naja flava devastated a nesting colony of sandgrouse. The arboreal forest cobra, Pseudohaje goldii is a doubtful bird predator, _ for in captivity it feeds on batrachians. On islands off Borneo the sea snake, Laticauda colubrina preys freely on terns’ eggs. Vol. 82 54 Bulletin B.O.C. The venomous Australian tiger snake, Notechis scutatus is suspect as a predator of the Little Penguin. Many species of viper on occasion will prey on birds, mainly nestlings and juveniles; the British adder is a skilful climber and a nest raider. Those vipers—and other snakes—which feed primarily on warm- blooded prey will presumably, when hungry, always seize the opportunity of catching birds. But Bitis gabonica, on the evidence seemingly a raider of the fowl-run, is more likely after rodents. Some of the pit vipers of the genera Ancistrodon, Trimeresurus (T. wagleri is a climbing species), Crotalus (rattlesnakes) and Sistrurus (ground rattlesnakes) prey on birds. African pythons of all sizes prey on ground birds and aquatic species to a far greater extent than is generally known; Asian pythons feed freely on birds; and Python regius, too, sometimes takes a bird. In North America many harmless species of snakes are bird predators, some are egg-caters. Xenopeltis unicolor and Chrysopelea ornata of the Far East, the large Asian Ptyas mucosus (rat snake), Dryophis nasutus, Dendrelaphis tristis, Oligodon purpurascens and Boiga dendrophila—these last four also from Asia, all prey on birds, as do all Asian Boiga. The British grass snake, Natrix natrix is a nest raider. In Borneo, a harmless colubrid, Elaphe taeniura haunts a vast, dark cavern where the swiftlets Collocalia breed in myriads, to raid the nests and to feed on the fallen nestlings. It is established that Psammophis sibilans is a bird-eater; and there is further confirmation that snakes of the genus Telescopus regularly prey on birds. The African bush monitor, Varanus exanthematicus is probably more — addicted to preying on birds and their eggs, than are other African and Asian species of Varanus. There is a remarkable account of Agama cyanogaster preying on Motacilla aguimp, and also of a fight between one of these agamas and Eurocephalus anguitimens. The giant Chamaeleo melleri is evidently an opportunist where waxbills — are concerned. Two species of skinks—Mabuya wrightii and M. sechellensis—cause havoc amongst terns’ eggs on some of the Seycheiles islands. The giant — skink, Tiligua nigrolutea of Australasia is another bird predator. Other lizard, bird predators include the Asian Gekko gecko, Calotes sp. (an agamid), the European Lacerta lepida and the African Gerrhosaurus © major. Some species of the giant Galapagos tortoise which need meat in their diet are known to catch birds. Various aspects of reptilian behaviour in relation to bird and egg predation are described. 1, Broadley, D. G. The Herpetology of Southern Rhodesia. Part !. Snakes. Bull. — Mus. Comp. Zool. 120 (i), March 1959. a 2, Mountfort, Guy. Portrait of a Wilderness. 1958. | 3. Owen, Jennifer. ibis {00 (4), Oct. 1958. = Uganda Protectorate. Annual Report of “ Game and Fisheries Department. Ist July, 1957 to 36th June, 1958. . +~ * — \ ~ Bulletin B.O.C. 55 Vol. 82 5. Laurent, R. Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr. LVIII, |st—2nd October, 1958. 6. Smythies, Bertram E. The Birds of Borneo, 1960. 7. Warham, John. Ibis 100 (4), October, 1958. 8. Knight, Maxwell. The Field, 14th July, 1960. ® Bannerman, David A. and W. Mary. Birds of Cyprus, !958. 10 Loveridge, Arthur. Reptiles of the Pacific World, 1946. 1 Lake, G. D. The Field, 17th March, 1960. 12 Styles, L. The Field. Sth January, 1961. 18 **Sea Swallow’’, Annual Report of the Royal Naval Bird Watching Society, 12, 1959. 14 University of Khartoum, Natural History Museum. Annual Report, Ist July, 1956 to 30th June, 1958. 16 Stevenson-Hamilton, J. ‘*The Low Veld’’, 1929. 16. Ennion, Capt. H. E. The Field, 11th August, 1960. 7 African Wild Life | (2), March, 1947. 1% Bannerman, David A. The Birds of the British Isles VIII, 1959. 1 Ridley, M. W. and Percy, Lord Richard. The Exploitation of Sea Birds in Sey- chelles. Colonial Research Studies No. 25. H.M.S.O., 1958. 20. Vesey-Fitzgerald, D. Ann. Mag. Nat. His. 11 (14), 1947. 21. Wright, Albert Hazen and Wright, Anna Allen. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University. Vol. J], 1957 and Vol. II, 1957. #2. Uys, C. J. ‘Bokmakierie’, 12 (1), June, 1960. 23. ‘Koedoe’. Journal for Scientific Research in the National Parks of the Union of South Africa, (1), 1958. 24 *Koedoe’. ibid, (3) 1960. 26) Wall, Col. F. The Snakes of Ceylon, 1921. 26. Tweedie, M. W. F. The Snakes of Malaya, 1954. Notes on some Ferruginous White-eye x Tufted Duck hybrids by BRYAN L. SAGE Received 21st August, 1961 _ As stated by Gray (1958) hybridization between the Ferruginous White- eye Aythya nyroca (Guldenstadt) and the Tufted Duck Aythya fuligula (Linnaeus) has occurred in both directions, and hybrids have frequently been reported both in the wild and in captivity. I do not propose to list in detail all the published records of crosses between these species. However, it is of interest to note that at the Zoo- logical Society of London this cross occurred on some seventeen oc- casions from 1848-1861, the hybrids continuing to breed either inter se or with one of the parents (see Sclater Proc. Zool. Soc. 1880: 524). Accord- ing to various authorities the hybrids are fertile, and so are their progeny. De Selys-Longchamps (1856) gives details of the further cross :— Ferruginous White-eye x Tufted Duck Ferruginous White-eye the progeny of which exhibited characters that were 75° Ferruginous White-eye and 25° Tufted Duck. H. Wormald, following a visit to Lord Grey’s collection at Fallodon in 1925, remarked that there was quite a flock of these hybrids and that ‘‘apparently they all come alike whether bred as above (i.e. Ferruginous White-eye x Tufted Duck) or inter se.”’ Recent examples of this cross occurred at the Wildfowl! Trust at Slimbridge in 1952, and a male was seen in Regents Park, London, by Mr. D. I. M. Wallace in April 1961. Z Vol. 82 ,' 56 Bulletin B.O.C. In spite of the numerous. occasions on which these hybrids have been - reported, detailed descriptions appear to be lacking. The present paper is based upon two specimens of this cross, a male and female as follows :-— (1) Ferruginous White-eye x Tufted Duck. Sex of hybrid—male. Specimen in the British Museum (Natural History Reg. No. 71.3.20.3. This bird was bred at the Zoological Society of London and presented to the museum, it is presumably the specimen listed in the B. M. Cat. Birds. xxvii: 349. Head and neck—dark reddish-chestnut, richest on the crown which is of normal White-eye shade; cheeks and remainder of the face and neck — are browner and darker in shade than in the male White-eye, and there is — less contrast between the neck and the colour of the back; the feathers of the nape are slightly loose and elongated; auricular area blackish with a metallic-green gloss; tiny white chin spot. Upperparts—back and mantle blackish-brown with an olive gloss just discernible; mantle and scapulars with faint bay freckling; upper mantle contrasting slightly with lower mantle and back. Wings—primaries dark brown with olive gloss on distal portions, inner webs shading to whitish; secondaries white with dark brown tips glossed with olive; innermost secondaries entirely blackish-brown, also glossed with olive-green; primary coverts similar; underwing white. Underparts—breast rich reddish-chestnut, much darker and blacker than in male White-eye, with small darker blackish-brown tips to some feathers giving a faint and obscure spotted effect in places; very faint trace of blackish collar separating neck from breast; sides of lower breast and flanks paler cinnamon-brown, faintly freckled with whitish; vent and belly ashy-brown freckled and vermiculated with whitish-brown on the terminal parts of the feathers; under tail coverts white; remainder of under- parts silky white. In addition to this specimen there is a mounted and unregistered male example of the same parentage bred at the Zoological Society of London in 1858. The whole head and neck with the exception of the crown and forehead are blackish with a strong metallic-green gloss as in Baer’s Pochard, the mottling on the fianks is less cinnamon, and the back and mantle are more uniform, otherwise the plumage is identical to that described above. (2) Tufted Duck x Ferruginous White-eye. Sex of hybrid—female. A wild-taken specimen shot at Nieuwkeep, — Holland, on 8th September, 1905, now in the Leyden Museum. Reg. No. 255. This bird was recorded by Van Oort (1908) and the parentage given — above is taken from this paper, from the morphology of the bird it seems probable that the male parent was in fact the Tufted Duck. Upperparts—generally of the appearance of a female Tufted Duck, but there is no contrast between the mantle and back as in that species, and the vermiculation of the feathers is nearly absent; nuchal crest present; white patch on each side of the base of the bill, this also extends across the forehead above the culmen; slight olive gloss on the primaries and secon- daries, a Bulletin B.0.C. | 57 3 Vol. 82 Underparts—chin white; throat and neck dark brown; feathers of the remainder of the underparts pale brown with small or broader buff or white edges and tips. Soft parts—iris yellow; bill grey-black; feet yellowish-grey, webs black. Measurements TABLE 1 Measurements in Millimetres of Hybrids and Parental Species Ferruginous Tufted Duck Hybrids White-eye 3 3 2 3 2 3 e Wing 178 — 195 178-193 172-185 | 198-208 189-202 Culmen from feathering 40 47 38 40-43 36-40 38-42 38-41 (from skull) Width of bill at nostrils 20502722 : ~20 20-21 19.5-21 22-24 20.5-21 Depth of bill Sta. - 19 15-18 16-17 18 18.5-19 at nostrils Maximum width Bb 28) 2A 22-23 22.5—23 25-25.5 23-24.5 It can be seen from the above table that the male hybrid is a small bird with the wing and culmen measurements at the minimum for the male Ferruginous White-eye. The width of the bill at the posterior border of the nostrils is much the same as in the male White-eye, but it is a little more spatulate as indicated by the greater maximum width which approaches that of the female Tufted Duck. The depth of the bill is also closer to the Tufted Duck and considerably less than that of the male White-eye. In the case of the female hybrid the wing measurement is well within the range of that for the female Tufted Duck; the culmen measurement is within the range of the female of both the parental species. It may be noted that, as in the male hybrid, the maximum width and depth of the bill at the posterior border of the nostrils is in excess of that of the White-eye and agrees with the Tufted Duck. DISCUSSION Interspecific hybrids in the Anatidae frequently exhibit characters that are not referable to either of the parental species, and which may have a phylogenetical significance. Harrison (1953) has suggested the term **heterophoric reverse mutation’’ to cover such cases. The recombination of genes at the species level has produced in the male hybrid under dis- cussion just such a character, namely the blackish coloration glossed with metallic-green, which is noticeable on the head, particularly in the auricular region. | have compared this hybrid with specimens of Baer’s Pochard Aythya baeri (Radde), and the colour of the auricular region of the head is absolutely identical in both species. Baer’s Pochard is the only species in the White-eyed Pochard group to have the head so coloured. The colour and pattern of the vent of the hybrid is also identical to that found in Baer’s Pochard. A character common to the Tufted Duck, Vol. 82 58 7 Bulletin B.O.C. Baer’s Pochard and the Ferruginous White-eye is the white spot on the chin, in the male hybrid this is present but considerably reduced in size. Among the characters found in this hybrid are some that are plainly referable to one or other of the parental species, as is to be expected. The occipital crest of the Tufted Duck is present, and the olive gloss of the primaries, secondaries, and wing coveris of the White-eye is equally evident in this individual. The female hybrid also exhibits some interesting characters, namely the colour and pattern of the underparts and the white at the base of the bill. The former character agrees closely with that described and illustrated for the Tufted Duck by the Drs. Harrison (1960 a & b and 1961), the left hand bird in their first plate and the upper plate in the 1961 paper being the closest match; this subject is also commented upon by Gillham (1960). It is of particular interest to note that the examples of mottled underparts so far recorded by the Drs. Harrison have all been of first winter females. The Dutch bird, however, appears to be an adult female in winter plumage and there are no traces of moult in evidence. Whether or not the condition is of more frequent expression in first winter than in adult plumage remains to be seen, further research will no doubt elucidate this matter. The second character, that of the white at the base of the bill, and also on the chin, has been the subject of discussion before, i.e. Harrison (1954) and Sage (1955), where its possible importance as a reversionary character towards the Scaup Aythya marila (1) is stressed. It is desirable to consider the above characters further in view of their — probable evolutionary importance. In their discussion of the significance of the mottled underside pattern of the Tufted Duck Harrison & Harrison (op cit) touch upon the fact that this character may represent a phylogenetic link towards some of the dark-bellied species that are included in the Tribe Aythyini, such as the Red-crested Pochard Netta rufina (Pallas), — the South American and African Pochards Netta erythrophthalma, and — the Rosy-billed Pochard Netta peposaca (Vieillot). However, in the present paper I wish to draw attention to the possible significance of this character as illustrating close relationship with a North American species of the genus, the Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris (Donovan). Plate 3 of this paper should be compared with the upper part of plate 2 in Mendall (1958). It will be seen that not only does the female Ring-necked Duck possess a plumage phase in which the underparts resemble those of the female Tufted Duck x Ferruginous White-eye hybrid, but that a white chin spot and some white around the base of the bill are also a normal character in this species. The fact that the Tufted Duck and the Ring- necked Duck are closely related has long been recognised, Mendall on page 2 of his valuable monograph writes ‘‘The duck most closely related to the ring-neck, however, appears to be the tufted duck, Aythya fuligula, — an Old World species’’. | The question of the significance of white at the base of the bill. and white under-tail coverts in the Tufted Duck has, as already mentioned. been the subject of previous papers. In addition to those already quoted — Gillham (1957) has dealt at some length with the matter and apparently — tends to the opinion that they are normal plumage phases. However, whilst admitting that more evidence is required to clinch the matter, | Bulletin B.O.C. 59 Vol. 82 PLATE 1. Ferruginous White-eye x Tufted Duck, underside of male. PLATE 2. Ferruginous White-eye x Tufted Duck, side view of male. PLATE 3. Tufted Duck x Ferruginous White-eye, underside of adult female. concur with the Drs. Harrison in considering these characters, as found in the Tufted Duck, to be of evolutionary significance. The same remark applies tc their occurrence in hybrids where they obviously appear as a result of polygenic action. It would greatly help in confirming this theory if either or both of these characters were found to occur occasionally in some other Aythya species where they are not normally found, such as white under-tail coverts in A. affinis, A. collaris, or A. marila; or white at the base of the bill in A. nyroca, A. baeri or A. australis. In this connection Vol. 82 60 Bulletin B.O.C it is not without interest that a juvenile male of the cross Tufted Duck x Pochard has a considerable amount of white at the base of the bill (see Sage 1961), one also recalls the fact that the females of both races of Netta erythrophthalma have some white at the base of the bill and on the sides of the face. The pattern of evolution in the Aythyini is still far from clear, and there are a number of problems awaiting final solution. There is, for instance, the curious geographical distribution of the two races of Netta erythroph- thalma, the typical race in northern South America and N.e.brunnea in East and South Africa. How has this come about? These two races are apparently very closely related to the Rosy-billed Pochard also a South American species, but at the same time they appear also to have affinities with the Red-crested Pochard, a species with a wide Palaearctic distri- bution. As has been shown earlier in this paper the Tufted Duck some- times exhibits characters that suggest genetical affinity with the Ring- necked Duck which is a North American species, and possibly also with the dark-bellied species of Nefta. It will be of extreme interest if it can ever be established where Baer’s Pochard fits into the pattern of evolution; it may well prove to be an archaic form and as equally important phylo- genetically as the Baikal Teal Anas formosa Georgi is considered to be relative to the genus Anas. (see Sage 1960 and references quoted therein). Acknowledgements I am indebted to Mr. J. D. Macdonald of the British Museum (Natural History) for allowing me access to material in his care, and for kindly arranging the loan of specimens. The female hybrid was lent by Dr. G. C. A. Junge of the Rijksmuseum V. Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden, to whom I am very grateful. Dr. James M. Harrison has again lent me comparative material from his collection. References :— Gillham, E. H. (1957) Field-Notes on white feathering at the base of the bill and white under-tail coverts in the Tufted Duck. Brit. Birds. 50: 389-393. Gillham, E. H. (1960) Remarks on the female plumages of the Tufted Duck and a comparison with the Ring-necked Duck. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 80: 140-141. Gray, Annie P. (1958) Bird Hybrids. Harrison, Dr. James M. (1953) On the Significance of Variations of Pattern in Birds. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 73: 37-40. Harrison, Dr. Jeffery G. (1954) On an Unusual Tufted Duck and Smew. ibid 74: 53-54. Harrison, Dr. James M. & Dr. Jeffery G. (1906a) On varieties of the Tufted Duck, with an account of an unrecorded type of variation. ibid 80: 25-28. Harrison, Dr. James M. & Dr. Jeffery G. (1960b) Further remarks on Female Plumages of the Tufted Duck. ibid 80: 141-142. Harrison, Dr. James M. & Er. Jeffery G. (1961) Variant winter plumage of the female Tufted Duck. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 81: 103-105. Mendall, Howard L. (1958) The Ring-necked Duck in the Northeast. Univ. Maine Bull. No. 16. Sage, Bryan L. (1955) Comments on the Relationship of some Ducks in the Genus Aythya Boie. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club 75: 53-54. Sage, Bryan L. (19€0) Notes on some Pintail x Teal Hybrids. ibid 80: 80-86. Sage, Bryan L. (1961) A note on the immature plumage of Tufted Duck x Pochard hybrids. Brit. Birds 54: 399-402. Selys-Longchamps, E. De. (1856) Additions a la récapitulation des hybrides observés dans la famille des Anatidées. Bull. Acad. Brux. 23 (2): 6-23. van Oort, E. D. (1908) Contribution to our knowledge of the avifauna of the Nether- lands, being a list of all the species of birds hitherto observed Rais 3 a “ mH om % = / Aix 9 a vents ro , J. a9 . ieee: 4 | 9 ey MITC CLS : .. ee G7 et Ch Be A 2 A. .. mM. $f ‘ene td 2isdst od Des? ei oe | 4 AY o 7 fT -hboesissY A: SLAdRP of Hips S 4 Phos a ‘ 5 ’ 4 mie Seand .1.W.4 obi . os" sUiw gare Slay pay ; » a e tie ¢ « hb { e544 : + uli ZF Oris id wie oil ba ~ / Wiz j art | tie been erasn onan els y wsedue Mom beisod 215 e2nkn aie ye z . ‘ wig Cj bho Ori he ~) > oh 1 6 Seite fotatiga W3a au On! ELM EE Ce r eng PHILS 5 ai - nok WA ! RICIAEED Se jij is f A. € qox}qa 48.70 .QZOM. .. WOK YOR . iM bivotle eten odd to noitouboutni 3 rik. 6 SERS Are 7 ores, Pe Mee fi t mon PICGTITIFI ; - ti' Siar ft Tests vp’ bine bepirenaxs leinsinh a Q 4 F / _ J P] re . ; . 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Fae 1 Mio? 2201! sishrs , . . « i 3 iA r As 4 a | ’ : f - 4 Ji soe f ; ’ tid , . L« , , rT - * ve - ‘ = ’ - “ wo ' els 2G i. ¢ ; i 5 +s Bee : 4 ‘ : F . ‘ . 1 7 2' <6 7 2" ‘ 423 > : : - ¢ * 4 ais ‘ ¢ ie + o é ‘ "i ’ ry ? ’ 7 * ai : 3 a! rs IR ¥ ic] r > r *? ‘i : ; : sy * ' . - ’ » ‘ Mati 5 V? > ‘ ‘ 4 - ' hd & - * - 7 - : . { : ‘J 7 . fs ; - 7 ; A - 4 ’ > cy ’ 7 CONTRIBUTORS Contributions are not restricted to members of the B.O.C. and should be addressed to the Editor, Mr. John Yealland, The Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, N.W.1. These should be concise and typed on one side of the paper, double-spaced, with a good margin. The first time a species is mentioned, the scientific generic and specific names should be included. Subsequently the same name need only have the initial letter of the genus. Scientific names are printed in italics and should be underlined in the typescript. References should be given at the end of the paper. Authors introducing a new name or describing a new species or race should indicate this in their title and display the name prominently in the text followed by nom. nov., sp. nov., subsp. nov. as appropriate. In these descriptions, the first introduction of the name should be followed by paragraphs for ‘‘Description’’, ‘‘Distribution’’, ‘‘Type’’, ‘‘Measure- ments of Type’’, ‘‘Material examined’’ and further sub-headings as required. Proofs must be returned without delay. No changes may be made at this stage, other than corrections. At the discretion of the Editor, the Club will pay for a reasonable number of monochrome blocks, which the contributor may retain for his own use. Contributors are entitled to a maximum of fifty free copies of the Bulletin, supplied only as specifically requested by authors. Those con tributing to a meeting should hand in their MS. at that meeting; otherwise a note will be inserted mentioning the contribution. BACK NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN Applications for back numbers which cost 4s. each, should be made to N. J. P. Wadley, 58 Ovington Street, London, S.W.3. Members who have back numbers of the Bulletin, which they no longer require are requested to send them to N. J. P. Wadley. SUBSCRIPTION TO BULLETIN The Bulletin may be purchased by non-members annually for 30s. (payable in advance) or per copy 4s., payable to the Hon. Treasurer, C. N. Walter Finsbury Pavement House, 120 Moorgate, London, E.C.2. CORRESPONDENCE Other correspondence should be addressed to the Hon. Secretary, Miss E. Forster, The Double House, Wiveton, Holt, Norfolk. | DINNERS AND MEETINGS FOR 1962 | 20th March, 17th April, 15th May, 18th September, 16th October, 20th November, 18th December. (The October or November meeting will be a joint one with the B.O.U.) | | Published by the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB and printed by The Caxton & Holmesdale Press, South Park, Sevenoaks, Kent. BULLETIN OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB 2% vA PURC Mae nist Edited by JOHN J. YEALLAND Volume 82 April No. 4 1962 1962 61 Vol. 82 BULLETIN OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB ~2 APR 1962 Volume 82 ST To Ac Number 4 ie ei” PURCHASED ! Published: 30th March, 1962 VW, The five hundred and ninety-seventh meeting of the Club was held at the Rembrandt Hotel, London, on Tuesday, 20th March, 1962. Chairman: CAPTAIN C. R. S. PITMAN Members present: 39; Guests 17; Total 56. The Chairman welcomed Dr. Jean Dorst, Mr. and Mrs. D. S. McChesney and Mr. Melvin A. Traylor. Exhibition of a hybrid duck Dr. J. M. Harrison exhibited and briefly commented upon a Wigeon x European Green-winged Teal shot at Hayling Island during December 1961. A paper on this specimen is to be published in the Bulletin. An ornithologist in Australia ‘Mr. John Warham recently returned from Australia where, with his wife, he has spent nine years, travelling to many parts. He addressed the meeting on some of his bird observations, the talk being illustrated with many superb coloured photographs. A new race of Myioparus plumbeus (Hartlaub) by P. A. CLANCEY Received Ist July, 1961 Geographical variation in the aberrant flycatcher species Myioparus plumbeus (Hartlaub), 1858: Casamance River, Senegal, affects the colora- tion of the under-parts and under tail-coverts, the amount of white on the outermost rectrices and the physical proportions. At the present time two faces are recognised by specialists, namely, M. p. plumbeus and M. p. orientalis (Reichenow and Neumann), 1895: Kibwezi, south-eastern Kenya Colony, mainly on the basis of variations in the ventral coloration, the former race having Light Pinkish Cinnamon (vide Ridgway (1912)), the latter off-white, under tail-coverts. In the populations currently embraced within the taxon M. p. orientalis it has recently been ascertained that there is quite considerable size variation, the eastern humid coastal birds being markedly smaller-sized than those occurring on the plateaux Vol. 82 Ge at Bulletin B.O.C. of the interior, from central Angola, the southern Congo (Katanga), Uganda and north-western Tanganyika Territory, southwards in the interior to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, most of Southern Rhodesia and the western Transvaal. The variation in size is of such a nature as to justify the division of the present race M. p. orientalis into two taxa, one of which will require to be given a name. Topotypical material of M. p. orientalis idth south-eastern Kenya © Colony seems to be limited in museum collections, and I have only been able to examine one specimen: a 2 from Teita with a wing of 61 and tail of 55 mm. Sclater, in Jackson (1938), gives the wing of the Kenya ¢ as 65 mm. In these small proportions Kenya topotypes agree with other material from the eastern parts of the species’ range at my disposal, and I have determined M. p. orientalis as ranging from eastern Kenya Colony and eastern Tanganyika, southwards in the tropical coastal lowlands of eastern Africa to the eastern Transvaal, eastern Swaziland and Natal and ~ Zululand. To the west of the range of M. p. orientalis occur subspecifically discrete population which may be known as Myioparus plumbeus grandior, subsp. nov. Description: Similar to M. p. orientalis but differs in averaging slightly paler and more powdery neutral grey on the upper-parts, and somewhat deeper and clearer grey over the breast and flanks, and with rather broader — white edges to the outer webs of the tertials. Significantly larger in size, — thus: wings of 12 3¢ from Northern Rhodesia, South-West Africa and northern Bechuanaland 70—73.5, tails 63-69, 12 92 wings 65-69.5, tails 58-63 mm., as against 12 g¢ of M. p. orientalis with wings 63.5—68, tails — 57-62, 5 92 wings 61-65, tails 55-58 mm. (Kenya Colony, Tanganyika Territory, P.E.A., and Southern Rhodesian specimens). Material examined: M. p. plumbeus, 2; M. p. orientalis, 35; M. p. grandior, 50. Distribution: Occurs south and east of the range of nominate M. plumbeus in Uganda (Mubende), the Lake district of northern Tangan- yika Territory and immediately adjacent Kenya Colony, south and south-westwards to Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia, the southern Congo (Katanga), southern and south-eastern Angola, northern and north- eastern South-West Africa, northern and eastern Bechuanaland Pro- tectorate, the western and northern Transvaal and most of southern Rhodesia (in the south M. p. orientalis ranges west to Nuanetsi, and a single specimen from the Matopos (25th May) is likewise referable to it). Intergrades to the east of its range with M. p. orientalis, as shown by a series from eastern Southern Rhodesia. Type: 3, adult. Mashi I, Barotseland, south-western Northern Rhodesia. 24th July, 1952. Collector’s name not given. In the collection of the National Museum of Southern Rhodesia, Bulawayo. N. M. Reg. No. ak: Measurements of the Type: Wing (flattened) 71.5 (slightly worn), culmen from base 15.5, tarsus 19, tail 66 mm. Remarks: 1 am extremely grateful to Mr. M. P. Stuart Irwin and Mr. J. G. Williams for kindly lending me the series of this small flycatcher from the collections of the National Museum of Southern Rhodesi Bulawayo, and the Coryndon Museum, Nairobi. For the benefit of Bulletin B.O.C. 63 Vol. 82 workers I detail hereunder the mensural data of the samples studied of the various groups of populations now placed in the taxa M. p. orientalis and M. p. grandior: Myioparus plumbeus orientalis (Reichenow and Neumann) Males Females Populations No Wings Tails No Wings Tails Tee ne ee S. E. Kenya Colony | — --- — 1 61 55 mm. E. Tanganyika Z| 63,302 58.61 — — — mm. Portuguese East Africa 4 | 63.5-66 57-62 — — — mm. (64.6) (59.5) E. Southern 6 | 65-68 58-62 4 | 61-65 56-58 mm. Rhodesia (66.3) (60.3) (62.9) (57.0) E. Transvaal, 10 | 63-67.5 57.5-60.5 | 6 | 60.5-64.5 | 55.5-57.5 mm. E. Swaziland, (65.9) (59.4) (62.1) (56.6) _N. Zululand : Wings of 22 3¢ 63-68, tails 57.5-62 mm. Wings of 11 9° 60.5-65, tails 55-58 mm. Myioparus plumbeus grandior Clancey : Males Females . Populations No Wings Tails No Wings Tails Uganda, W. 4 70 63-64 I 67 59 mm. Tanganyika (70) (63.4) _N. Rhodesia, 12 | 70-73.5 63.5—-69 12 | 65-69.5 58-63 mm. S.W. Africa, (71.8) (66.2) (67.3) (61.0) _N. Bechuanaland _W. Southern 4} 70-71 63-65 7 | 65.5-69 59.5-63 Rhodesia (70.5) (64.0) (67.4) (61.6) - Wings of 20 33 70-73.5, tails 63-69 mm. Wings of 20 99 65-69.5, tails 58-63 mm. The generic placing of Hartlaub’s Stenostira plumbea has recently figured quite prominently in the periodic literature. On the basis of the findings by Vaurie (1957) and Clancey (1957), the species is now placed ‘in the Muscicapidae in the genus Myioparus Roberts, 1922, and divorced from the forms Parisoma subcaeruleum (Vieillot) and Parisoma layardi Hartlaub, now believed to be aberrant warblers and not flycatchers, with which it has generally been associated. References :— Clancey, P. A. Ibis, vol. 99, 3, 1957, pp. 512, 513. Ridgway, R. ‘ ‘Color Standards and Color Nomenclature.’ ’ Washington. 1912. Sclater, W. L. in Jackson, ‘‘The Birds of Kenya Colony and the Uganda Protectorate’’, vol. ii, 1938, p. 908. Vaurie,{C.: /bis, Any ,99, 1, 1957, pp. 120-122. Vol. 82 64 Bulletin B.O.C. Waterfowl predation in Canada by the Northern Pike (or Jackfish) Esox lucius L. by CHARLES R..S. PITMAN Received 5th July 1961 The pike is a well-known predator of juvenile waterfowl in Europe, and in Canada the same species is so plentiful in those waters which are ideally suited to waterfowl breeding—where the depth is about three feet and the aquatic vegetation abundant—that' ‘‘It is evident that millions of ducklings (and muskrats) are lost every season to jackfish’’. This means that the annual duckling loss in the delta regions of northern Canada far exceeds the greatest total of ducks that is ever at any one time in the British Isles. The greatest destruction occurs in the shallows where 2 lbs. to 4 lbs. pike, which are the worst offenders, are most plentiful, though 1 lb. pike, too, readily take ducklings, as also will pike up to 10 Ibs. Entire broods are wiped out by the pike. The larger fish (up to 10 Ibs.) frequent deeper water and to some extent prey on the diving species. Particularly widespread and wholesale destruction occurs during June and early July shortly after spawning which coincides with duckling hatching time (and the first crop of young muskrats). Pike have often been watched pursuing ducklings and catching them on the surface when trying to escape; they are swallowed tail first. The majority of young waterfowl taken are less than one week old, probably because these spend — most time in the shallows where pike abound. Also, small waterfowl — cannot move as rapidly, nor for as great a distance when pursued, as the larger ones. The very young of all species tend to dive when pursued while the older ones flee on the surface from a pursuer. The pike from an early age is dangerous to ducklings and it grows rapidly, at the rate of about 1 lb. per annum. It takes a pike at least three days, or a good deal longer, to digest a duckling (or muskrat), after which it will feed again. A 1 lb. duckling has been found in a 2% lbs. pike; a 7 Ibs. pike contained three ducklings and another two well-grown duck- lings; an 84 lbs. pike had eaten a 10 ozs. Blue-bill; another contained a full grown coot and one died trying to swallow a Horned Grebe. Seven goslings were seen to be taken in succession by large pike. Twelve pike, averaging 3-8 lbs., contained a total of ten ducklings and three muskrats. | In a batch of 23 pike examined, 15 contained food and of these four had taken birds—three each a young coot, the other a Lesser Scaup. According to Mr. Dudley R. Foskett of Edmonton, Alberta ‘‘In 1958 I took a pike — while angling in Pudge Lake, Riding Mountain National Park, which had ~ four ducklings in its stomach’’. These are but a few examples of pike — predation. In the Prairie Provinces of Canada in the past 40 years the tremendous increase in the acreage of cereal crops has resulted in a great contraction — of the water areas in which the ducks once bred. From 1900 to 1940 there was an elevenfold increase in crop area—from 34 million to 40 million acres. This reduction of the available nesting area on the prairies has focussed attention on the alarming extent of duckling predation by pike in the important duck breeding grounds in the Saskatchewan and Athabasca _ delta regions. Observations made 35 years ago indicated the seriousness . | Bulletin B.O.C. 65 Vol. 82 of this pike predation. In 1939, 1940 and 1941 a series of investigations, ‘supplemented by the reports of a host of expert observers, were carried out in these deltas during the 60 to 80 days’ period in which ducklings -are available to pike. Determinations were made of the age, sex, length, weight and stomach contents of the pike; captive pike were examined at ‘intervals after having been fed on chicks, ducklings, young grebes, pieces of muskrat, etc., to determine the rates of digestion of different types of food; and intensive fishing was carried out to obtain data concerning the total pike population. A study was made of waterfowl brood sizes, ‘nesting habits, times of broods reaching the water and susceptibility to destruction by pike. It has been estimated that for each of the six years 1936-1941 (inclusive) ‘the annual average duck population, of all ages, in the 900,000 water and marsh acreage of the Saskatchewan and Athabasca deltas, amounted to about 144 millions. In these regions destruction of young waterfowl by pike probably totalled 14 million per annum or 9.7 per cent; but this loss is only about 3.2 per cent of the total duck population of the Prairie Provinces at breeding time. These figures are of staggering proportions. _ Predation by pike may destroy one young waterfowl per 0.5 acre— ‘it can be as much as 1.7 per acre—per season. Pike between 19 and 30 inches (14 to 6 Ibs.) are responsible for 71.5 per cent of all predation, although during two seasons’ (1940-41) investigations, when 3,000 pike were caught, this size range was represented by only 23.3 per cent (620 ‘out of 2,658) of all the pike examined which were large enough (over 14 inches) to prey on waterfowl. As a rule, female pike contained three times the weight of food found in males, although averaging but 14 inches longer. Female pike constituted 47. g per cent of the population, though responsible for 56 per cent of the predation. Diving ducklings are taken ‘three times as often as surface-feeders, probably because of the greater ‘proportion of time spent by divers underwater, and their consequent ‘greater accessibility to pike. The highest estimated duck population, in a lake of eight square miles, was 3,350 per square mile or 5.2 ducks per -acre—a figure 50 per cent higher than in any other area investigated. In another area of eight square miles of water and marsh it was estimated ‘there were some 20,000 pike and 18,742 ducks: yet another of two square held 10,000 pike and 4,300 ducks. Four sample counts in a water area of 60, 800 acres suggested a total duckling loss, from pike predation, of 182, 000 or three per acre, The average loss in three areas studied was reckoned to be 34.1 per cent of the hatch, but the total loss in a selected area where the loss was most severe was as high as 57 per cent. _ In Northern Alberta several months’ study in one area indicated a 40 cent loss of the total duckling hatch; there is evidence of similar losses im the Athabasca delta in the same Province. _ Imtwo lakes of similar extent, the brood count of the one which was badly infested with pike was only 2.7, but in the other which was free from this predator it was 8.9. The best time for making these counts is the _ eventide. The abundance of other food of the pike—either animal or plant— appears to have no bearing on the predation of the pike on ducklings. - Vol. 82 66 : Bulletin B.O.C. Often it was not possible to determine the pike population accurately, but it is at least as great, and sometimes many times as great, as the duck population on all the lakes studied. Depredations can be very variable, for 0.42 per cent of pike examined in one large lake contained ducklings, yet in another 7.5 per cent of those caught had eaten ducklings, and in another the proportion was three per cent. Pike abundance is well illustrated by a catch of 445 small pike taken in a one hundred yards long 24 inch mesh gill-net which was set for eight hours. In a water area of 18 acres the population density of pike capable of preying on young waterfowl was 27 per acre. 3 Investigations over a period of 26 days showed 68 broods of ducklings totalling 457, an average of 6.7; on another lake in 35 days 80 broods were counted totalling 447, an average of 5.56. Other counts record 43 broods totalling 225—an average of 5.2, and 121 broods averaging 5.8. In pike infested waters the average of 32 broods of dabbling ducks was 5.5, and of 32 broods of diving ducks (Canvas-back and Lesser Scaup) 5.4. While in waters not infested with pike (though it was possible that the broods might have access to infested waters) 24 broods of dabblers averaged 5.9, and nine broods of divers (Canvas-back and Lesser Scaup), 9.0. Pike not infrequently contain more than one young waterfowl; the most recorded seems to be four. In an investigation in 1940 in the Athabasca delta, 1,758 pike were examined; 13 or 0.74 per cent contained young ducks, nine or 0.51 per cent young coots, and two or 0.16 per cent young muskrats. Of this predation 77 per cent was by pike of 22 to 27 inches and weighing 2 to 4 lbs. Again, of 2,658 pike large enough to prey on young waterfowl, 29 or 1.08 per cent had eaten ducklings, and five or 0.20 per cent young coots and grebes. Of these 34 pike, 29 each contained one young waterfowl, three contained two, one had three and the other four waterfowl. A juvenile Yellow-headed Blackbird, Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus (Bong parte) was found in one pike stomach. The five species of ducklings taken most frequently, i.e. 70 to 75 per cent :— Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos L., Lesser Scaup or Bluebill, Aythya affinis (Eyton), Canvas-back, Aythya valisineria (Wils.), Pintail, Anas acuta L., Blue-winged Teal, Anas discors L. Five species taken less frequently, i.e. 28 per cent:— Redhead or Pochard, Aythya americana (Eyt.), Ruddy Duck, Erismatura jamaicensis (Gmel.), American Golden-eye or Whistler, Bucephala clangula america (Bonap.), White-winged Scoter, Melanitta fusca deglandi (Bonap.), Shoveler or Spoon-bill, Anas clypeata L. Very few taken, four species:— Baldpate or American Wigeon, Anas americana Gmel., Buffle-head or Spirit Duck, Bucephala albeola (L.), Gadwall or Grey Duck, Anas strepera L., Green-winged Teal, Anas crecca carolinensis Gmel. Rarely taken, three species:— Black Duck, Anas rubripes Brewster, Wood Duck, Aix sponsa(L.), Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris (Donov.) ch . “Bulletin B.O.C. 67 Vol. 82 Also taken, three species of Grebe :— Red-necked or Holboell’s Grebe, _ Colymbus grisegena holbollii (Reinh.), Horned Grebe, Colymbus auritus L., Pied-billed Grebe, Dabchick or Hell Diver, Podilymbus podiceps podiceps (L.) and American Coot or Mud- Hen, Fulica americana americana Gmel. According to information received in /itt. some 20 species of dabbling and diving ducks commonly nest in Alberta and the Northern Pike, Esox _lucius and Arctic Char, Salvelinus alpinus malma (Walbaum) prey oc- _casionally on ducklings. Pike occur sporadically in the warmer waters of the prairies and parklands where most of these ducks nest. The Golden- eyes, Bucephala spp., the Mergansers, Mergus spp. and the Harlequin ~ Duck, Histrionicus histrionicus (L.) breed in the range of the Arctic Char, _i.e., the cooler waters of the foot-hills, mountains and north. _ The latest information received from Ducks Unlimited (Canada) indicates that “‘little research work has been done on pike predation on - waterfowl in recent years’’, and though this wastage continues *'the ~ overall losses are small in comparison to losses suffered from raccoon and _skunks’’ = 1 am most grateful to those Canadian correspondents—particularly Mr. W. Earl Godfrey, Mr. Leslie M. Tuck, and Mr. Bruce S. Wright— who have so kindly assisted me with information and references, as well as to Dr. V. E. F. Solman and Ducks Unlimited (Canada) for the loan of literature. Beferences : 1 1940 Bajkov, A. D. and Shortt, A. M. Northern Pike as Predator on Waterfowl and Muskrat. Pub. by Ducks Unlimited (Canada). 1940 Ross, D. A. Jackfish Investigation, 1940. Athabaska Delta, Alberta. Pub. by Ducks Unlimited (Canada). 1940 Solman, V. E. F. Jackfish Report, 1940. Pike Study, 1940. Lower Saskat- | chewan Delta, Manitoba. Pub. by Ducks Unlimited (Canada). 1945 Solman, Victor E. F. ‘‘The Ecological Relations of Pike, Esox lucius L. and “ Waterfowl’’. Ecology, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 157-170, April, 1945. j 1954 Wright, Bruce S. High Tide and East Wind, pp. 51-—53. Notes on the African Lily-trotter Actophilornis africanus (Gmelin) by G. R. CUNNINGHAM-VAN SOMEREN AND C. ROBINSON For several years African Lily-trotters, Actophilornis africanus (Gmelin) have frequented an eight-acre dam at Karen, near Nairobi, Kenya, at an altitude of 6,000 ft. The birds were first recorded when blue water-lily -(Nymphea capensis) invaded the dam and provided a suitable habitat. Later, when a planted bed of an exotic water-lily spread, this formed the breeding focus for the birds as the pads were generally denser and formed a more secure base for the flimsy nests. Incidentally, the leaves of the yellow lily have a purple-brown under-surface and these with the yellow flowers form a striking similarity of colour to the plumage of the Lily- trotter. Certainly cryptic, and the sitting bird was extremely difficult to spot even with the aid of field glasses. Several pairs of Lily-trotters have nested during the last few years, but previously we failed to see chicks. This season, June/July, 1961, a pair nested among the yellow lilies and from a permanent floating ‘‘hide’’ many hours of observations were made and the hatching of an egg and the Vol. 82 68 Bulletin B.O.C. brooding of chicks was witnessed with, finally, the chick-carrying by the parent birds. Many photographs, ciné ‘and still, in both black-and-white and colour, were secured by us. The notes confirm, to some extent, and add to those of Pitman (Bull. | Brit. Orn. Cl. 80 (6), 1960: 103-105 and Simpson (op. cit. 81 (5): 82-85). : The area of lily-pads at Karen has supported one pair (and on occasions two pairs) of Lily-trotters over the last five years, but this year, 1961, only one pair has been in residence and this may have been due to the presence _ of a sub-adult believed to be the 1960 offspring of the pair under obser- vation in 1961. When two pairs are in residence there is some evidence of territory sharing, both pairs using the whole area, but when breeding commences there is a marked change in the disposition of the birds. The — breeding pairs showed antagonism to any intruder into the nest area, either of its own kind or another species. This reaction was more pro- nounced in the female, which will even leave its nest to drive off an in- truder. Observations over several years suggest that the male normally fed somewhere close to the sitting female, but in 1961 the male seldom visited the nest area nor took part in attacks on intruders. Other males have been known to assist the female in repulsing intruders. Attacks are usually vicious and sustained, particularly if the intruder resists attack. This was particularly the case when the female, in 1961, drove off Coot (Fulica cristata Gmelin), Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus meridionalis Brehm), © Black Crake (Limnocorax flavirostris Swainson) and the White-rump Diving Duck (Zhalassornis leuconotus Eyton). All these species were breeding in a clump of papyrus within fifty yards of the Lily-trotter, which took particular exception to Moorhen coming into the yellow water-lily area, and the bird was seen to plunge into long grass in pursuit. Recently an attack on a Squacco Heron (Ardeola ralloides Scopoli) lasted a full ten minutes. The birds struck at each other repeatedly; the Lily-trotter with feet and bill and with wings raised, while the Squacco stood slightly crouched forward, crest and hackles raised with wings slightly fanned while making sudden stabs with its bill. When the Squacco broke off the engagement and flew to other patches of lilies the Lily-trotter followed striking at the back of the bird in flight and would then settle down beside it, walking round and round while making quick sorties. During these attacks the Lily-trotter uttered repeatedly a loud, rather raucous ‘‘chur- ring’’ call. At Karen nests have been found in the months of December, January, February (the hot dry season) and May, June, and July (the end of the rains in July is usually cold). + The incubation period at the Karen 1961 nest appeared to be 26 days approximately. The bird was observed building the platform on 4th June — in the late afternoon and on examination it appeared substantial and © complete. On the 8th June it was found to contain four eggs. Two chicks © were observed on the 3rd July at midday, already dry, but not very active, _ while a third chick was struggling between two halves of an egg-shell (one egg remained, later proved to be infertile). - All nests examined at Karen consisted of small quantities of water-lily _ leaf and debris with bits of other vegetation, Potamogeton, etc., which formed a slightly raised platform usually built on the top of a living - Bulletin B.O.C. 69 Vol. 82 water-lily leaf or several leaves. The raised area is about nine to twelve inches in diameter, one or two inches above water level. The vegetation rapidly disintegrates and the bird constantly adds new material obtained in the vicinity of the nest or gathered and brought in her bill a distance away. After two weeks of incubation the nest becomes waterlogged as the surrounding water-lily leaves have been pressed down by the comings and goings of the bird. At Karen the clutch has been hivatiabily four eggs. In one clutch there were two eggs with abnormal markings. One had pale buff-sandy back- _ ground with a few black-brown blotches and the second egg was of similar ground colour but almost immaculate; while the remaining two eggs were the usual dark khaki colour heavily marked with fine interwoven black scrolls. During incubation the hen sits rather hunched up with the wings lowered and held close to her sides, the legs and feet spread well out on either side. The eggs are held against the bird’s side by the wings, which appear to ‘‘scoop’’ them up as she sits down. The eggs are not in contact with the nest during incubation. She may sleep for short intervals or peck at odd objects around her, such as bits of vegetation which may be added to her nest; small creatures in the water or on a leaf nearby are sometimes consumed. Flies worried the bird at one nest, and she was an adept at _ catching them. At one nest a head of papyrus (Cyperus), used to camou- flage the hide, was ‘‘stolen’’ and partly incorporated into the nest in such a manner that the sitting bird was hidden when viewed from the ‘‘peep- holes’’ in the hide. At other nests the birds have used lily leaves to screen themselves from observation. Periodically sitting birds would, suddenly and for no apparent reason, _ leave the nest protesting loudly, running a few yards to tug at water-lily ~~ a leaves. At other times they would move off the nest only a foot or two to peck at leaf debris which would be flicked back towards the nest. Whether this was a form of displacement reaction or not is uncertain, but it occurred at all nests we have observed. Another reaction on leaving the nest and having run a few feet away across the pads, the bird would suddenly _ raise her wings ‘‘butterfly fashion’’ perpendicularly above her back, at the same time calling loudly as if in protest. This reaction has been described by Pitman (op. cit.) and has also been observed in the non- breeding season. The male bird indulged in this action on the only - occasion it was seen to approach the female on the 1961 nest. The female would, at odd times, leave the nest to feed, which she might do up to a _ considerable distance away. Occasionally she would join the male. At most nests the male was a regular visitor to the nest vicinity and often _ enough would give the alarm call if some danger threatened such as the _ appearance of a raptorial over the dam. At the 1961 nest the female, in the last week of incubation, would not readily leave even on the approach of the boat to the floating hide. If she did leave she returned as soon as the observer entered the hide. Once on the nest even considerable disturbance, such as waving hands outside and banging on the sides of the hide, would not make her get up or change her position. —_ Vol. 82 70 ~ Bulletin B.O.C. The most extraordinary piece of datum recorded during the 1958 season concerned a nest containing four eggs one evening, and on the following morning was found empty. However, there were four eggs on a newly constructed nest some twelve to fifteen feet away. This bird had been visited regularly, and it made a new nest during the evening and the following early morning, transporting the eggs over to the new nest. The question that arises is how the eggs were carried—in the bill or under her wings? We have a record of another nest that was rebuilt when it was in danger of submerging. The new nest was within 12 to 18 inches of the original and the eggs could have been rolled from one to the other. THE CHICKS. The chick, on hatching, appears naked and is a grey-black colour tinged with blue. The feet are not conspicuously large. The egg-tooth is quite pronounced and the eyes remain closed for several hours. The chick is extremely weak and only just able to wriggle about. The female picks up the chick in her bill and pushes it under her wings. Two chicks were cared for in this way, but the third chick received very little attention and lay struggling, out in the sun, or just in the water, within reach of the parent’s bill. She appeared to take little notice of it, perhaps because she was brooding the two earlier hatched chicks which were dry, though not very strong, and could only just stand up. The plumage of the chicks was as described and illustrated by Benson in Pitman (opp. cit.) and for the first twenty-four hours at least the feet did — not appear to be so exaggerated as those depicted by Benson. On 3rd July when first disturbed this female ran off the nest which was found to contain two eggs, one of which was hatching. It was not for some — minutes that two chicks were noted on a lily-pad below the standing ~ parent. When the observer had settled down into the hide and all was quiet the female, all the while uttering a low rather plaintive ‘*‘churring”’ call, gradually coaxed the two chicks to her breast and helped them, by pushing with her bill, into her sides holding them in position with her wings—one chick on each side. She then returned to the nest to incubate the egg and brood the third chick. It was only after some minutes that she allowed the two dry chicks to leave the security of her wings though the watcher could see the pale grey toes and legs below the primaries. The fourth egg proved to be infertile and was removed from the nest by the bird, being found some feet away. On one occasion Robinson disturbed the parent, which promptly left the nest with the chicks which she deposited — on a lily leaf. After a time he watched her deliberately flatten out the rather wind ruffled leaves with her feet so as to make it easy for the chicks to cross to her side (all the time she called quietly to the chicks). Both chicks have been noted under one wing; usually they are carried one under each wing. ~ When carrying the chicks our bird assumed a rather crouched lowered posture and repeatedly squatted on a pad for a few seconds before pro- ceeding again. She pushed her bill under her wings from time to time as if to assure herself the chicks were in position or to adjust their, and possibly her own, comfort. At 24-36 hours old the two chicks were fairly agile and could stand upright while at 48 hours they could follow their parent, — though somewhat haltingly. At three days old they could run quite swiftly over the pads. At ten days old they foraged for food well away from the ST 6 3 ~ Bulletin B.O.C. 71 Vol. 82 parent but would, on a call from her, either quickly return to her, or hide by squatting down low on the pads. Occasionally when disturbed the chicks would submerge almost completely in water and at 12 days old they were observed to swim readily, again almost completely submerged with only the head above water. The female parent at this stage would still carry the chicks, about with her when alarmed; the chicks’ legs below her _ wings were very conspicuous (see Simpson, op. cit.). (We suggest his chicks were about ten days old. This is judged by the size of the chick in his photographs compared with our pictures taken when chicks were a few hours old to 21 days old.) At 16-20 days old the chicks’ reaction was to run, and suddenly squat or hide if disturbed. The parent appeared to control reaction to some extent as she called repeatedly as soon as we approached, but once the boat was still the parent would either call to the chicks to run or would come over to them calling. At the time of writing these notes, with the chicks away from the nest, the distraction behaviour so well described by Simpson had not been seen but the 1961 bird and others have often gone through the pattern of *“wing fluttering’’, ‘“‘broken wing’’ and ‘broken leg’’ actions supplemen- ted with ‘‘crawling’’ along the pads to almost lying on the pads while pushing themselves along by their legs. These reactions have often been seen during the last week or so of incubation when the nest has been approached. A December hatched sub-adult bird seen in March was able to swim very strongly indeed and, though chased in a boat, with the object of taking ‘‘close-up’’ photographs, defied all efforts as it would swim and hide readily under lily-pads and then suddenly disappear only to reappear some distance away. One swim followed was almost 100 yards in length, across the width of the dam over the very deep weed-free water. All that _ could be seen of the swimming bird was its neck and head with the two *“knees’’ well up above water level paddling furiously. FOOD AND FEEDING. While feeding, the birds are very active _ turning over lily leaves and other vegetation and poking here and there into _ the water to catch small creatures. At the nest the birds have been observed to catch flies and on several occasions I have seen them catch bees flying ‘about in the water-lily flowers. In every instance the bee has been dipped into the water prior to being swallowed. From the hide, with binoculars, we have identified the following food: snails from off the lily-leaves (probably Bulinus, Biomphalaria and Lymnaea with which the dam abounds); gelatinous substance taken from the pads (probably snail egg masses); and larvae of Odonata; as well as smaller creatures which could not be identified. CALLS. We have failed in attempts to record the various calls which we can only define as ‘‘churring’’ sounds. _ SIZE AND SEX OF BIRDS. Mackworth-Praed and Grant (Birds of Eastern and North-eastern Africa 1, 1952) state: ‘‘Sexes alike but the male is smaller than the female’’, while Austin Roberts (McLachlan & Liver- Vol.82 2 Bulletin B.O.C. sedge) Birds of South Africa 19 states ‘‘Sexes alike, the female slightly larger but size variable’’. Cave and Macdonald, Birds of the Sudan 1955 do not comment on the size. It is our experience at all the nests at Karen that the female, the bird that incubates the eggs, is the smaller bird. A number of local observers have checked on this point in recent years at Karen and we are unanimous in our decision. The male is a larger bird, rather obviously so; also brighter in plumage with apparently a greater extent of yellow on throat. A resident young bird now between six and seven months old, is con- spicuously smaller than the breeding birds, while its plumage is rather a ’ dull warm brown on the wings and back and not the rich rufous-chestnut of the mature birds. The whole plumage is generally duller and the yellow on the throat and blue on the culmen are lacking. Pitman (op. cit.) raises the subject of the posture of the head and neck in flight and our observations tend to confirm that generally the head and neck are somewhat extended when in flight, but we have seen the bird © with neck held back, head down, and drawn into the shoulders. This latter posture may be part of a display pattern and often enough we have seen the birds adopt this posture over the pads during part of what might be described as a mating display, when the wings are raised and the birds tend to jump up in short flights. On the other hand because the head and neck are somewhat extended in flight the reader must not compare the | extent and formation as being similar to that of a stork; yet the head and neck are not drawn in and hunched after the manner of a heron. Erythropygia quadrivirgata and allied species by C. W. BENSON AND C. M. N. WHITE Received 17th July, 1961 : Clancey (1960) recognises E. g. rovumae and E. q. wilsoni as distinct | from E. g. quadrivirgata. We have examined part of the material studied by Clancey, and a considerable body of further material, as listed below under measurements. Except for that of this species under (d) below, in which there is a tendency for the olive of the upperside to be slightly paler, but not sufficiently well differentiated to be worthy of subspecific recognition, we are unable to discern any colour-difference. That under (g) certainly shows a marked tendency to smaliness, but we see no par- ticular advantage in recognising E. g. rovumae as distinct from E. q. guadrivirgata on this basis alone, especially as we are unaware of any discontinuity in distribution. Wing and tail-measurements in mm. of material examined by us are as follows :— Wing Tail E. signata tongensis False and Kosi Bays, and north-east Sibayi, Zuiuland 3g ~85, 85; 86 68, 72, 73 Bulletin B.O.C. 73 Vol. 82 Wing Tail 100 x tail wing E. q. quadrivirgata (a) Zululand, Swaziland, Transvaal 43 81, 83, 83, 84 74, 76, 76, 76 \ 88.9 2, 79,79, 86 68, 68 ; (b) Eastern Southern Rhodesia (Nuanetsi to lower Pungwe) 73 83, 85(4), 86, 88 72. Fzs Ta, 13, 10, 10, EF 42 =—76, 78, 80, 82 68, 69, 71, 75 88.0 Hoy” 83 72 - (c) Zambesi Valley below Victoria Falls; Luano Valley (Northern Rhodesia) 7$ 82, 84(3), 85, 86, 88 Teale fo, boy dos 1380 87.7 x» §©=- 16, _78, 79,81, 82 68, 69, 70, 70 ; (d) Zambesi Valley above Victoria Falls, west to Sesheke; plateau country in Southern Province of Northern Rhodesia. é lig 81, 83, 85(4), 87, 89(3), W139 163). Th OZR; - 90 83 90.0 TE 78, 79, 80, 80, 81, 85 67,68, 70,73, 73 ‘ (e) Nyasaland (Chiromo southwards) = 1g 716, 76, 77, 82, 86, 87, 89 66, 66, 69, 75, 75, 76, 79 87.5 ‘ myst F315 63, 64 ; : (f) Tanganyika (75 miles north of Songea; Pugu Hills) 2g ~=—«79, 81 72, 74 91.2 F; (g) Coastal Kenya (Sokoke) » 43 75, 79, 81, 81 63, 67, 72, 72 86.7 = 22 £74, 76 65, 65 % E. barbata Northern Rhodesia; two specimens from near Kigoma, ¥ Tanganyika 153 78, 82(3), 83(3), 84(4), 61, 64(4), 65(3), 67, = 85(3), 86 68(4), 70 162 =«=«76, 78(3), 79(2), 80(3), 60(2), 61, 62, 63(3), 79.1 z 81(4), 82, 83(2) 64(3), 65(2), 66(2), 67 30 «=: 79, - 83, 85 61, 65, 66 > Tail-measurements are rather fewer than wing-measurements in some cases, due to the tails of some specimens being incomplete or in moult, _ and are therefore unrecorded above. Tail/wing ratios are of course _ calculated from the averages of tail and wing-measurements. The sample of E. signata tongensis is very small, so that the smaller ratio than in E. _ quadrivirgata may not be significant. Clancey indicates that the size- difference in Kenya birds from other populations of E. quadrivirgata is most marked in the much shorter tail-length. Certainly the ratio is lower _ than in any other population, but not markedly so, and all the figures are a - om Vols ee, Bulletin B.O.C. in this respect relatively even. On the other hand, the ratio for E. barbata is significantly lower than in the E. quadrivirgata samples. The number of specimens available in all has been sufficiently large for it to be possible to — assert with confidence that E. barbata has a proportionately shorter tail. A few of the specimens of both E. quadrivirgata and E. barbata appear to have been mis-sexed, and in reality there is probably little overlap in measurements. Thus of 15 specimens of E. barbata from the Northern Province of Northern Rhodesia, practically all personally sexed by C.W.B., nine males have wing 82-86, tail 64-70 mm., six females have wing 78-83, tail 60-64 mm. Wing-length maxima for EF. barbata are not quite so high as in most of the E. guadrivirgata samples. E. signata and E. quadrivirgata appear to replace each other almost — entirely geographically, but the colour-differences are so marked that they can hardly be regarded as conspecific. But we have in fact examined specimens of both collected by T. Oatley at False Bay, Zululand, and in — addition a male from there which is clearly a hybrid, resembling £. — quadrivirgata on the underside but with the rufous paler, with a greyish wash. On the upperside it resembles rather E. signata, but with the rump almost as rufous as in E. quadrivirgata. in the extent of white in the tail it is intermediate between the two. Its measurements are not included above. It has wing 85, tail 76 mm. Oatley tells us that in Zululand, from St. Lucia estuary north to the boundary with Portuguese territory, E. signata typically inhabits dense undergrowth in coastal dune forests. By contrast, FE. quadrivirgata is found in the undergrowth of isolated stands of closed forest west of this littoral area. In the south, at False Bay, where the hybrid was obtained, EF. quadrivirgata invades in places the habitat of E. signata, while in the north, near the Portuguese border, E. signata invades to some extent that of E. | quadrivirgata. There is no evidence of hybridisation in the samples of E. quadrivirgata and FE. barbata. In Northern Rhodesia, although there is no lack of suitable — habitat, there appears in fact to be a gap between the two. Apart from the two specimens from the Luano Valley, E. quadrivirgata has been collected as far north as Lochinvar Ranch, only some 60 miles from a specimen of E. barbata, from 15 miles south-east of Mumbwa. Further west, in the Kafue National Park, FE. quadrivirgata has been collected at Nakabula (16° 30’ S., 26° E.), E. barbata at Chunga, 100 miles due north. — In Nyasaland, they overlap to the extent that FE. barbata occurs in the - littoral of Lake Nyasa at Kota-Kota and again in the Karonga District, with intervening country in the Chinteche District occupied by E. quad- rivirgata(Benson et al., 1959). While £. quadrivirgata is confined to dense forest and thickets, E. barbata is frequently also found in open Brachystegia woodland. As there are no published records of the breeding of E. quadrivirgata in Northern Rhodesia, it is worth mentioning that a specimen still in spotted juvenile dress was collected near the Kariba Dam on 12th December 1960. Also, J. M. C. Uys saw a nest containing two eggs in the Luano Valley on 27th November 1960. The nest was in the top of a stump, about four iat above the ground. Bulletin B.O.C. 75 Vol. 82 : We are most grateful to Mr. M. P. Stuart Irwin, for the loan of the - extensive material in the National Museum, Bulawayo; to Mr. P. A. Clancey, for the loan of material from the Durban Museum, including all the Kenya specimens; and to Mr. T. Oatley, for the loan of the speci- mens of E. signata and of E. quadrivirgata from Zululand. To conclude, EF. signata, E. quadrivirgata and E. barbata may be re- garded as distinct species forming a superspecies, in which E. /Jeucosticta can probably also be included. References :— Benson, C. W., Irwin, M. P. Stuart and White, C. M. N., 1959. Some aspects of speci- ays i the birds of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Proc. First. Pan-Afr. Orn. Congr: Clancey, P. A., 1960. Notes on geographical variation in the South African sub- continental Erythropygia quadrivirgata (Reichenow) populations. Durban Mus. Novit. 6 (2): 36-38. A record of Dunn’s Lark in the Lebanon by JAMES M. HARRISON Received 6th October, 1961 On 20th April, 1961, Dr. R. E. Lewis, of the American University of Beirut Museum of Natural History, obtained an example of the southern and south-western Arabian lark, Ammomanes dunni eremodites Meinertz- _hagen, which had been shot on that day on the sands of Beirut Inter- national Airport. Recognising the fact that this was an unusual bird, Dr. Lewis prepared the skin and brought the specimen with him to this country, generously _ presenting it to me. The skin was compared with a_good series of this species in the British _ Museum, Natural History, and was identified as belonging to the above _ form. E The specimen is an adult female and has the following measurements :— 2 W. = 88.5 (Type specimen = 86 mm.) 2 b., length from skull = 15.5 mm. depth = 8.5 mm. t* = 21.5 mm. tl. = 51 mm. This form was described by Colonel Meinertzhagen! in 1923, under _ the name Pyrrhulauda eremodites from a single specimen, an adult female _ obtained on 15th January, 1922, from Sheik Othman, Aden Protectorate. In his later work? the bird is placed by him in the genus Ammomanes as _ A. dunni eremodites. This example would appear to be the first record for the Lebanon and the most northerly record for the species to date. I would express my very grateful appreciation to Dr. Lewis for asking me to identify the specimen and for presenting it to me, and to Mr. J. D. Macdonald of the British Museum, Natural History, for facilities for comparing the specimen with series in the National Collections. 7 ee een, R., 1923. Pyrrhulauda eremodites, sp. nov. Bull. B.O.C., XLIIL., Meinertzhagen, R., 1954. The Birds of Arabia, 131. r) a . Vol. 82 16 Bulletin B.O.C. A mass migration of Pelicans in Israel by JAMES M. HARRISON, HAIM HOVEL AND Davin L. HARRISON Received 28th August, 1961 When motoring to Beersheba and passing through Ramla just south of Lod on 20th April, 1961, our attention was attracted to a distant flight of large black and white birds which we at first thought were Storks, Ciconia ciconia ciconia (Linnaeus). However, as they drew nearer we at once saw that we were witnessing an unusual mass migration of pelicans. As far as we could tell, the birds were all White Pelican, Pelecanus onocrotalus Linnaeus, and they were flying due south-east in strict formation in V’s and long sinuous lines, flying on fixed pinions at a height of from about 1,500 to 3,000 ft. and losing altitude steadily. The birds passed over Ramla to a point about a quarter of a mile to the south-east as apparently conditions were un- favourable for continuing their journey, for here the formations broke up and the vast cohort, in all we judged about 3,000 birds, milled around in a huge circle, some flying clockwise, others anti-clockwise, all intermingling in a vast cloud of pelican. | We were unfortunately unable to stop to see their subsequent behaviour. We thought that the birds were probably making their way south-east to the Persian Gulf, one of the breeding stations for this species. There does not seem to be much known about such mass movements, but Meinertzhagen! records seeing a mass migration of ‘‘many hundreds of birds—over Jerusalem and Beisan on 19th April, birds flying in ragged V-formation at about 3,000 ft. and passing north’’. He continues ‘‘There must have been two distinct movements, for they passed Jerusalem at 9.30 a.m. and Beisan at 2 p.m.”’. The different directions of these two mass movements of the pelican, both in spring, suggests of course that those observed by Meinertzhagen were, in all probability, proceeding to the Black Sea, Caspian and Aral Sea areas where there are extensive breeding colonies of the species. 1 Meinertzhagen, R., 1954. The Birds of Arabia, Addenda, No. 33. p. 429: see p. 595. A new Pipit from Angola by MELVIN A. TRAYLOR Received 27th June, 1961 In her recent excellent review of the pipits, Mrs. Hall (1961, Bull. Brit. Mus. (N.H.), Zool., 7: 261) has shown that the race of Anthus similis — inhabiting the plateau region of central Angola is schoutedeni, charac- — terized by its short bill and the comparatively long streak of white on the — penultimate rectrix. A series of 14 gg and 9 99 from Angola in the Chicago Natural History Museum and American Museum of Natural History — show the characters ascribed to schoutedeni. However, three specimens _ from the summit of Mt. Moco in the highlands of the Huambo District differ strikingly from the populations of schoutedeni found on the lower slopes of the same mountain. They are darker and larger, with a dis- proportionately longer tarsus. Since this distinct population occurs within a few miles of schoutedeni — without any sign of intergradation, it seems to behave biologically as a letin B.O.C. 17 Vol. 82 _ distinct species, although in all characters it is a typical similis representa- _ tive. The two forms appear to be kept separate by ecological preferences, _ schoutedeni for clearings in Brachystegia woodland, and the montane form for the grassy slopes of the summit. However, even though the _ montane form appears specifically distinct from schoutedeni, it approaches _ hararensis of north-east Africa in size and differs from that form only in ; minor size and colour differences. In fact the most aberrant form of all the _ African races of similis is schoutedeni, (Hall, /.c.) and were it not for the fact that schoutedeni intergrades with nyassae it would be simpler to “consider it the separate species. Considering the uncertain relationships _ within the species I prefer to keep this new race in its natural ally similis, _ but I put the specific name in parentheses to show that it behawes as a ‘species with the nearest geographical representative. I therefore, name it: Anthus (similis) moco subsp. nov. Type: adult 3 from the summit of Mt. Moco, Huambo, Angola. Col- lected 10th October 1954 by Gerd Heinrich, collector’s number 15975. _ Chicago Natural History Museum number 225300. Description: nearest to hararensis of east and north-east Africa (see hite 1957, Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 77: 30) in general size and colour, but iffers from that form in having heavier streaks on the breast, and average _ longer tarsus and a shorter bill. Differs from the adjacent schoutedeni in _ being darker and more heavily streaked on the breast, and in being larger in all dimensions, with a disproportionately longer tarsus. Agrees with eucocraspedon of Damaraland only in tarsal length, differing in shorter _ bill and tail and slightly longer wing and in being heavily streaked while eucocraspedon is the least streaked of all. In the much reduced white on the penultimate rectrix it agrees with all races of similis except schoutedeni which has a long thin triangle. Measurement of type: wing 100; tail 72; bill 17.5; tarsus 28 mm. _ Range: confined to grassy slopes on the summit of Mt. Moco. Remarks: Comparative measurements of our material of the various faces are: Wing Tail Culmen Tarsus ~ hararensis 6 SS 94-104 (98.5) 72-83 (76) 18-20 (19.0) 25-28 (26.3) 999 87-94 (90.7) 67-75 (71.1) 18.5-20 (19.5) 24-27 (25.2) schoutedeni 14 3d 90-98 (94.1) 67-74 (69.0) 15-17.5 (16.6) 23-25 (24.0) e 999 86-90 (88.9) 62-68 (65.6) 16-17 (16.2) 22-25 (23.2) - moco 233 100,103 72, 75 17.5, 18 28, 28 x 19 95 70 16.5 27:5 ~ leucocraspedon 4.33. 91-101 (97.0) 73-79 (76.8) 20-21 (20.8) 26-28 (27.1) La ‘ . _ In size moco is characterized by its long tarsus and comparatively short l, the latter relating it to the adjacent schoutedeni. 5 Mrs. Hall examined a specimen of moco, but only after her paper was s press. She made a number of helpful suggestions for which I am very grateful, but agreed that its relationships are beyond the reach of our _trinomial nomenclature. __ The three specimens of moco are those listed by Heinrich (1958, Jour. f, Orn., 99: 340) as A, richardi bocagei from the summit of Mt. Moco, {e i. ry > e ££ _ - fF Gs BRITISH ORNI’ INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCO! EXPENDITURE ‘*Bulletin’’ Vol. 81 Cost of publication, distribution, etc. Less: Sales Ay Notices, etc. for Meetings Postages, Projectionist and Miscellaneous Ex- penditure Audit Fee .. Contribution ‘‘ Zoological Record” Excess of Expenditure over Income, brought down Ns x ve al 2 BALANCE SHEET GENERAL FUND: As at 31st December 1960 BULLETIN FUND: As at 3lst December 1960 A Added re Ten Year Scientific Index :- — Grant from The Royal Society Donations from Members . Less: Transfer to Income and Bau aint Account * fe ‘ o SUBSCRIPTIONS 1962, paid in advance CREDITORS me Ea At TRUST FUND: (The Capital of this Fund may not be used. The income from it is General Revenue.) F. J. F. Barrington Legacy Ae +2 CHARLES PITMAN, Chairman C. N. WALTER, Hon. Treasurer 525 11 4 j 130 6 5 _ ee a 33.7 51 2 2 5. 5a 5 5 0 £489 5 0 60 7 5 £60 7 5 1,353 0 4 100 0 8 100 0 0 104 15 0 304 15 8 | 10 611 294 8 9 80 4 3 80 7 4 1,808 0 8 1,000 0 0 £2,808 0 8 2 She £ 8. & We have examined the above Balance Sheet and Income and Expendi accordance therewith, and in our opinion correct. . FINsBuRY Circus Housz, BLOMFIELD STREET, LONDON, E.C.2. 30th January, 1962. IGISTS’ CLUB YEAR ENDED 3ist DECEMBER, 1961 agp INCOME SUBSCRIPTIONS : 251 Members 5 Associates F Income Tax recovered under Deeds of Covenant 1960/61 Pa ‘ ‘ 15 Entrance Fees gs & 103 INVESTMENT INCOME: General Fund Trust Fund Balance, Excess of an over Income, carried down é me 7 so Sales of ‘‘Bulletin’’ for previous et less expenses } Transfer from ‘‘Bulletin Fund’? 31st DECEMBER, 1961 GENERAL FUND, INVESTMENTS : 44 % Defence Bonds, at cost .. ky 3% Savings Bonds 1960/70, at cost . Less: Reserve .. (Market Value £1 079) PROJECTOR, LANTERN & SCREEN—Nominal Value STOCK OF “s BULLETIN’’—Nominal Value DEBTORS ve o 493 - CASH AT BANK *.* TRUsT FUND, INVESTMENTS 34% War Stock £1,399 11s. Od. .. "e . (Market Value £729) 263 11 O > are 54 6 6 323") 2246 56-12, 20 48 19 8 105 15 1 428 17 7 1 a ae £489 5 0 50 0 6 10 6 11 £60 7 5 1,000 0 0O 100 0 0 1,100 0 0 20 0 0 1,080 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 726 0 8 1,808 0 8 1,000 0 0 £2,808 O 8 2 it with the books and records of the Club and certify them to be in W. B. KEEN & Co., Chartered Accountants. Vol. 82 80 | Bulletin B.O.C British Ornithologists’ Club REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE he 7 ae ey "a one an - Rien U nf P heh eek as of ua iJ MEETINGS Lp Ra te oy The Club held seven meetings during the year at which the total atten- — dance was 310. In addition there was a meeting in October in conjunction with the British Ornithologists’ Union. A joint Meeting was not held in March because of the B.O.U. Conference at York. At a Special General Meeting held on 19th September 1961 a Special Resolution was passed stating that any member of the Club who had had — an unbroken membership for fifty years should become a Life Member and be exempted from paying any further subscriptions. Under it, Major — Anthony Buxton, Dr. David Bannerman, Capt. Collingwood Ingram, Sir Philip Manson-Bahr, Colonel R. Meinertzhagen, Mr. D. Seth-Smith and Dr. N. F. Ticehurst become Life Members. MEMBERSHIP The Committee very much regret to record the death during 1961 of Lt. Colonel H. G. Brownlow. There were 13 resignations and 26 new members were elected, bringing the total membership to 257. FINANCE The Accounts for the year 1961, submitted herewith, show that the © Expenditure exceeded the Income by £60, and after setting-off against this, — £50 received from sales of old ‘‘Bulletins’’, there was a net deficit for the year of £10. A transfer from the ‘‘Bulletin Fund’’ has been made to meet this. Commencing with November, 1961 printing charges were increased ~ again, by 5%. In addition, the Committee feels that the Club should be — prepared to contribute towards the expenses of Lecturers. Unless some very material increase in the number of members occurs, the result for 1962 is, therefore, likely to show an excess of expenditure of about £130. >So tae _ The rate for members subscriptions has remained unchanged at £1 1s. 0d. — per annum from 1934; it is now evident that an increase is necessary. The ~ proposals of the Committee i in respect thereof are given with the Notice of g the Annual General Meeting. . - C. R. S. PITMAN, Chairman. Bcomitn.ys a, Pe, ao! beorqusnre> we 0.81 $13 to ersdntom of bejorrien: ton sin ano BudintnbO: lo hon bostiseY not ..M. 0b sit of be eembba od ipt0s ad Bivoxde seodT A.W nobao) eT 2 jsc9eA .cobno io 3 aon b bog & sliw beveqe-siduob 13G8q ‘ont to shia sno 10 Db: Se, B Die airensy oitmsime sii? gbonoilaem ci estsoqe & uid $212 ad vino bostr oben mise of} yilnsw poadiue .bobu ont od birrosie RS 2olissi ni bainng sin.eaman aitivrsivd .2uasg od! to iste : ma pets sd biderie asofesisA Jiqiss2oqvi on} of boniliebey tes ‘ Phaee ) a na He io 5 Sei seq wit W edi bound Agta h T1019 Shika ocd} yslqeib bua 21219 tissi..oi bid aisscibni bivode “sit BRGOIGS 2h On qudwe von aE «LOT STS ¥d bewolict x33 pit) x bivorde einsa sili notoubouni tarit silt enotiqinaeab moe ood)», feiidinad’ " aogtioes(** 10t adqeigsiag deot-dire volt bas **b onimsx4, dagirsie M’*. ““sayT to. 2nsen Bete: + fae | DSP a ee ; ers -eouitatto oVf .velsbh wa be fue od teus voor pe St Yo noiteiseih,onf iA M09 HelPonto .sonid i & old snoiloonbm te idea A didgsnozss: 2.10? Yat Hiw dul pe as “2 BENTO. ei 1} cieto Vath 10sNdinInoD BokjOO sot! vile fovinixshn £°o! bebiias sin ciotudinno’ od” pO Dwsouper yilssitiosce es in | boliqqua sivslsh ort Jee he 2M ated? oi base bluorte endsom & 63 gitinel; 13 ‘oft | pinay si} gaitotinem borweani sd Hiw sion 2 Pavan Wari AG 2s4aMUM WAG § blvod ape 2h Hoos doistw e1odimun tond 13 ee pe oA sodinsh . CW. obo Werte nomgnivO 38 Seaibe' WF b4 ib Tinps tognol on vorlt “doidve wtislve off toaisiigua. aoed yolbsW TV. 6? mratid base a} = pe SOWA OF “MOrrainDesue i501 A iiteosel Aiaicle Sao bacedoig od yom woslive of T nh peiamnen: t0H of of sidpyaq 2+ yqoe tsa to (somevbs Gb eee robot stagidoM 0f1 2ucH 119 in viadenttd ‘Ss ‘ } oe, SQMAAMOIwI AHO aa 101) 3H} OF bebanbbs od bidade sonsbnod-s02 ywO py “Nohowt DoH malsvivl, peor! olduoth) oft asieT .A ot & i “ " 630) 204 POVATHAMOOMA 2a5iittc pn aedaxs0 fits)! aadmore y3} veM size irae svt dass 187 p welt a ty 400 iG} 9 ad: ive giileun iwdmavo4, tw datoO wit) } . ne a sas a esi ks ee Bae. MID "2TAIDOIJOHTAM FO. HerTy si adr vel butaildud S. ‘Soe stent tbe ges wlabeoriots 2 noua oT Pas TOR i _ CONTRIBUTORS Contributions are not restricted to members of the B.O.C. and should be addressed to the Editor, Mr. John Yealland, The Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, N.W.1. These should be concise and typed on one side of the paper, double-spaced, with a good margin. The first time a species is mentioned, the scientific generic and specific names should be included. Subsequently the same name need only have the initial letter of the genus. Scientific names are printed in italics and should be underlined in the typescript. References should be given at the end of the paper. Authors introducing a new name or describing a new species or race should indicate this in their title and display the name prominently in the text followed by nom. noy., sp. nov., subsp. nov. aS appropriate. In these descriptions, the first introduction of the name should be followed by paragraphs for ‘‘Description’’, ‘‘Distribution’’, ‘‘Type’’, ‘‘Measure- ments of Type’’, ‘‘Material examined’’ and further sub-headings as required. Proofs must be returned without delay. No changes may be made at this stage, other than corrections. At the discretion of the Editor, the Club will pay for a reasonable number of monochrome blocks, which the contributor may retain for his own use. Contributors are entitled to a maximum of fifty free copies of the Bulletin, supplied only as specifically requested by authors. Those con- tributing to a meeting should hand in their MS. at that meeting; otherwise a note will be inserted mentioning the contribution. BACK NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN Applications for back numbers which cost 4s. each, should be made to N. J. P. Wadley, 58 Ovington Street, London, S.W.3. Members who have back numbers of the Bulletin, which they no longer require are requested to send them to N. J. P. Wadley. SUBSCRIPTION TO BULLETIN The Bulletin may be purchased by non-members annually for 30s. (payable in advance) or per copy 4s., payable to the Hon. Treasurer, C. N. Walter, — Finsbury Pavement House, 120 Moorgate, London, E.C.2. CORRESPONDENCE Other correspondence should be addressed to the Hon. Secretary, Miss E. Forster, The Double House, Wiveton, Holt, Norfolk. DINNERS AND MEETINGS FOR 1962 17th April, 15th May, 18th September, 16th October, 20th November, — 18th December. (The October or November meeting will be a joint one with the B.O.U.) ; Published by the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB and printed by The Caxton & Holmesdale Press, South Park, Sevenoaks, Kent. BULLETIN OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB Edited by JOHN J. YEALLAND 10 MAY 1952 part * PUR CH, SED oy, Se 8A Sey 09) Kae rile of Volume 82 Hig | No. 5 eo : ae, b 19628: gt Vol. 82 BULLETIN OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB Cee NTE Volume 82 LO MAY’ qo; fiw 2 es face © Number 5 Bet ‘ = leg Slag od y dj Published: 7th May, 1962 PURCH i. TASED UR =e Sel Annual General Meeting The seventieth Annual General Meeting of the British Ornithologists’ Club was held at the Rembrandt Hotel, S.W.7 at 5.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 17th April, 1962. Captain C. R. S. Pitman took the chair. (1) The Minutes of the last Annual General Meeting, held on 18th April 1961, were read and confirmed. (2) It was proposed by Mrs D. Bradley, seconded by Miss P. Barclay- _ Smith and Resolved that the Report and Accounts for the year 1961 be _ duly adopted. (3) It was proposed by Miss P. Barclay-Smith, seconded by Mr P. A. D. Hollom and Resolved that the following Special Resolution be duly _ passed :— “*Rule 4 in paragraph I, second line, delete ‘‘a subscription of £1 1s. Od. per annum’ and substitute ‘‘a subscription of £1 10s. Od. per annum’ (4) It was proposed by Miss P. Barclay-Smith, seconded by Mr P. A. _ D. Hollom and Resolved that the increase in the subscription of Members _ shall not apply to Members who have given a Deed of Covenant until the _ expiry of their existing Deed. (5) It was proposed by Mr C. W. Mackworth-Praed, seconded by _Mr J. J. Yealland and Resolved 7 (a) That Major General C. B. Wainwright, c.B. be elected Chair- man vice Captain C. R. S. Pitman, C.B.E., D.S.o., M.c. who retires under Rule 1. (6) That Mr R. S. R. Fitter be elected Vice-Chairman vice Mrs B. P. Hall under Rule 1. (c) That Mr Peter Hogg be elected to the Committee vice Mr I. J. Ferguson-Lees who retires in rotation. (d) That Mrs B. P. Hall be elected to the Committee vice Mr R. S. R. Fitter on his election to Vice-Chairman. (e) That Dr J. G. Harrison be elected Hon. Secretary vice Miss Elizabeth Forster who is retiring after having held this post for two years. (f) That Mr P. Tate be elected Hon. Treasurer vice Mr C. N. Walter who is retiring after having held this post for twelve years. On behalf of the Club the Chairman expressed his gratitude to Mr Walter for his twelve years devoted service as Treasurer, during which time he had safely guided the Club through numerous difficulties thus —— Vol. 82 82 Bulletin B.O.C. enabling him to hand over its affairs, notwithstanding the necessity to increase the annual subscription, in what can be considered a satisfactory and encouraging state; and to Mrs Hall, not only Vice-Chairman but also Programme Secretary who, despite frequent disappointments and frus- trations, has at the monthly meetings, provided entertainment in consider- able variety and originality—its appreciation being reflected in the greatly increased attendances. Mr John Yealland was welcomed as the new Editor of the Bulletin and Dr Jeffery Harrison, the former Editor—un- fortunately not present—was gratefully thanked for all he has done to maintain the Bulletin at so high a standard during the ten years in which he held this onerous office. Miss Forster’s services, too, as Honorary Secretary had been greatly appreciated. Mr C. W. Mackworth-Praed asked that this testimony should be recorded in the Minutes. Miss Phyllis Barclay-Smith paid generous tribute to the outgoing Chairman. (6) It was proposed by Mr C. N. Walter, seconded by Mrs B. P. Hall and Resolved that a vote of thanks be given to Messrs W. B. Keen & Co., the auditors. The five hundred and ninety-eighth monthly meeting of the Club was then held. Chairman: CAPT. C. R. S. PITMAN Members present, 28; Guests, 12. Total 40. Filming Wild Nature—fair means or foul Mr Max Nicholson took the chair for this discussion and the principal speakers were people concerned with the production of nature films for television programmes. The chairman, in his opening remarks and later introduction of indi- vidual speakers, endeavoured to inject controversy into the debate, but though there was some divergence of outlook, the speakers found them- selves in agreement on all the major issues. There was an ‘‘other side’’, but it was not represented at the meeting. Bruce Campbell opened the discussion with an excellent summary of the issues involved. Short film extracts showed such points as the use, in ~ a single item, of film taken on different occasions; the cutting from natural habitat to an artificial scene; the filming of events in a season — different from that in which they naturally occur and the use of tame animals to illustrate behaviour. He questioned the justification of major — manipulation of habitat, contrived confrontations of different species in a confined space and the reconstruction of unverified behaviour. Colin Willock ably defended the contriving of film shots in docu- ~ mentary and feature films, but emphasised that these were justified only — if they were necessary to re-create a story. Peter Scott spoke of the objectives in such work—the need to make people share our appreciation of what we believe is worthwhile and to © awaken their sense of wonder. He criticised contrived situations and — faked filming and claimed that direct filming without contrivance or ~ manipulation evoked greater appreciation. Treating animals as expendable during film-making he considered indefensible—with possible reser- vations tm the case of flies and worms. Bulletin B.O.C. — | 83 Vol. 82 Aubrey Buxton defended the documentary approach on the ground that _ the need was to reach and interest the general public. His claim that sounds could be added afterwards was later challenged. Jeffery Boswall summed up the general feeling by advocating a code of conduct ensuring that no cruelty or unreasonable disturbance were involved in film-making and that nothing inaccurate was shown on the screen. _ The addition of a sound-track later, especially where bird-calls were - concerned, was aired in the general discussion. A plea was made for film _ producers to bear in mind the effect that discovery of deception could 3 have on the young naturalist. The size of the sexes in the African Lily-trotter Actophilornis africanus (Gmelin) by C. J. O. HARRISON \ Received 6th April, 1962 In a paper on the African Lily-trotter Actophilornis africanus, Cunning- _ ham-Van Someren and Robinson (1962) disagree with other authors ' concerning the sizes of birds of different sexes. They state ‘*. . . the female, _ the bird that incubates the eggs, is the smaller bird’’. Miller (1931) found _ that in the American Jacana Jacana spinosa the smaller male incubates the eggs and cares for the young. Hoffman (1949) describes this for the Water Pheasant Hydrophasianus chirugus which is a polyandrous species. An - examination of the skins of Actophilornis africanus in the British Museum _ (Natural History) reveals that in sexed specimens the males are the _ smaller birds. It would appear that in this species, as in other Jacanidae, the females are larger and more brightly coloured, and the male incubates the eggs and cares for the young. References : Cunningham-Van Someren, G. R. and Robinson C. 1962. Notes on the African Lily- __._ trotter Actophilornis africanus (Gmelin) Bull. B.O.C. 82: 67-72. Hoffman, A. 1949. Uber die Brutlpege des polyandrischen Wasserfasans, Hydro- phasianus chirugus (Scop.) Zool. Jahrb. (Systematik) 78: 367-403. Miller, A. H. 1931. Observations on the incubation and care of the young in the Jacana. Condor 33 : 32-3. Abnormal white, yellow and fawn plumages by NoBLe ROLLIN : Received. 6th September 196] A pale Blue Tit, Parus caeruleus, observed at close quarters in the field, was found to have the head, wings and tail white, the back, rump, scapu- ars and under parts yellow. Apart from some very small marks near the _ bill, the plumage was devoid of melanin pigment. The bird was dark-eyed. As the normal Blue Tit is largely blue and white on the head, blue on the wings and tail, absence of melanin in these parts simply left white in the abnormal bird. The back of the normal being green, due to the suffusion _ of brown and black melanins with yellow, in the abnormal bird without _ melanin, only yellow remained. The normal under parts having no melanin __ to begin with, the breast of the abnormal bird remained as before, yellow, Vol. 82 84 Bulletin B.O.C. This bird being dark-eyed, was neither an albino nor a lutino and was in fact a combination of a dark-eyed white and a dark-eyed yellow. This Blue Tit can be compared profitably with a relatively recent mutation in the Budgerigar, Melopsittacus undulatus (Shaw), the Yellow- faced Blue which combines both white and yellow grounds. It is almost certain that the pale Blue Tit was the result of a single mutation, as it is _ extremely unlikely that separate mutations for the blue areas and for the yellow areas should have chanced to take place at the same time. The mutation was therefore simply to a dark eyed white, the yellow which was separately inherited occuring in certain areas. This is as would be expected as it is quite usual for carotenoid pigments to persist in the absence of melanin. Under domestication the self yellow canary, Serinus canarius (Linnaeus), which lacks melanin, is a good example. This has been hybri- dised with the Hooded Siskin, Spinus cucullatus (Swainson), resulting in hybrids which combine the red carotenoid pigment of the Hooded Siskin with yellow carotenoid of the canary in the total absence of melanin from either species. One point which was particularly looked for in this pale Blue Tit was as to whether it had dark pigment at the basal or proximal part of the feathers. In normal Blue Tits this can frequently be seen as a dark line at the junction of the breast feathers. There was no sign whatever of basal pigment in the pale bird. In plumage examinations undertaken by the author the presence or absence of basal pigment has proved over and over again a vital distinguishing mark between normal and abnormal plumage. Its absence at the base of the breast feathers on the Blue Tit | showed that these feathers although superficially appearing as in the normal bird (i.e. yellow), were in fact mutant in the same way as the rest of the plumage. The pale Blue Tit first appeared at the feeding tables of Mrs. A. Hardy of Alnwick, Northumberland, who kindly gave me facilities for watching it. The bird was first seen on Ist December 1959 and became a regular attender through the winter. A letter about it was published in the Field © (Hardy, 1960) where it was stated to be pale creamy yellow but the presence and extent of the white areas was not described. This Blue Tit — appeared to be as strong and healthy as any of the many normal birds coming to feed, and was later reported to be nesting. It reappeared the © following autumn at the beginning of Décember 1960 with a normal bird thought to be its mate. It was about regularly until towards the end of May ~ 1961 (A. Hardy in Jitt.). The plumage of the Greenfinch, Chloris chloris (Linnaeus), is of a_ yellow ground. Where the melanin pigment is retracted, particularly in — portions of the wing and tail and less conspicuously on the belly, the — yellow comes through. An adult specimen kept at the World Bird Research — Station at Glanton, Northumberland, which had previously had normal — plumage, moulted out with a pale patch, approximately 8 mm. x 12 mm., at the right hand side of the head in the ear-covert region. There was also a very slight development, visible only when the bird was in the hand, on > the left side of the head. The patch was yellowish to begin with, but when — examined closely just before the moult it had faded to a general ‘dull white _ with only a very little yellow left. The patch appearing for the first time : ede Bulletin B.O.C. 85 Vol. 82 f after the bird was fully adult was certainly non-hereditary, and was _ probably produced either in the way white feathers appear in Blackbirds, _ Turdus merula Linnaeus, (Rollin, 1959), or as in the Archangel pigeon _ described below. The yellow in the patch on the other hand was part of _ the normal hereditary yellow carotenoid pigment. This was a case of normal hereditary yellow pigment being carried on non-hereditary white feathers. It can be compared with the pale Blue Tit where normal heredit- ary yellow was carried on abnormal hereditary white feathers. A somewhat similar case occurred in a Rock Pipit, Anthus spinoletta petrosus (Montagu), which was resident on the Farne Islands and which had the forehead and anterior part of the crown yellow. These yellow feathers faded until in the summer in the field they appeared white. The _ marking was permanent, being re-moulted each year. As the marking was on the bird when it was first seen (as an adult), there is no means of judging if it was hereditary or not, but by parallel examples it seems most likely - that it was another case of hereditary carotenoid pigment carried on non- hereditary white. An Archangel pigeon, a heavily pigmented domesticated variety of Columba livia Gmelin, was kept at the Station at Glanton for six years prior to developing any abnormal white plumage. It then produced a white feather near the junction of the neck and upper breast on the right _ side. On being removed this feather was replaced once more by a white one and similarly after the annual moult it was replaced again by white. _ This feather was pure white to the base. This was a clear case of develop- ment of permanent non-hereditary white, the feather being white rather than yellow-red because C. /ivia does not carry carotenoid pigment. The same lack of carotenoid pigment applies, of course, where abnormal feathers are hereditary, thus a feral “‘blue-rock’’ pigeon, C. /ivia, had a non-carotenoid abnormal white feather throughout its life, in a somewhat similar position to that on the Archangel. It was moulted each year. Close inspection revealed in addition two very small white feathers behind the _ eye. The abnormal feathers were white to the base. Breeding tests showed _ that this bird was heterozygous for white and that the white feathers were in fact hereditary. These abnormal hereditary white feathers on the ‘“blue- rock’’ were indistinguishable from the non-hereditary white feather on the Archangel. Mutation to fawn has occurred in several species under conditions of domestication, including Budgerigars, Zebra Finches, Taeniopygia castanotis (Gould), and Canaries. Where the bird is a yellow or lutino (i.e. carotenoid with ‘‘dark’’ or ‘‘pink’’ eyes respectively) the so-called ~ cinnamon plumage is produced. This mutation appears to suppress black _ melanin, leaving only brown melanin. Mutation in the opposite direction with the brown suppressed has been suggested by Harrison (1961) as the _ explanation of a variant of the Grey-headed Wagtail, Motacilla flava & _ thunbergi Billberg. A fawn Starling, Sturnus vulgaris Linnaeus, an obvious example of the former mutation, appeared in the wild at Glanton and was studied at the Station. It was very pale brown when first seen on 4th March 1960 and the bird lacked most of the gloss of the normal, which was to be expected in the absence of heavy black pigment. White breast spots were present and appeared to be normal but were inconspicuous s 4 Vol. 82 ake | Bulletin B.O.C. because of the pale plumage. The bird did not sing much and had the light eye colour described by Bullough (1942) for normal females. That it was a female was confirmed the following year when mated to a normal male and copulation took place. In June 1960 the bird began to moult, the new feathers being quite deep brown and ultimately the whole bird became this deeper colour. There was, however, no sign of any black pigment. In this plumage the breast spots were more conspicuous. On 8th April 1961 — a second fawn Starling in faded plumage, appearing identical with the © original bird when first observed, was seen about three-quarters of a mile from Glanton, in company with normal birds. Both fawn Starlings appeared strong and healthy. . SUMMARY Hereditary and non-hereditary abnormal plumage is described. The feathers of the two types of plumage may be indistinguishable. A pale mutant Blue Tit, lacking melanin in the plumage, was shown to ~ be both a white and a yellow, not an albino or a lutino. The bird showed — clearly how the species combines the two hereditary characteristics of — white and yellow ground. | Hereditary yellow superimposed on non-hereditary white in the Green- — finch is described. An apparently similar case in the Rock Pipit is discussed. In contrast non-hereditary white and hereditary white in a non-carotenoid species, Columba livia, is described. Fawn and cinnamon mutations are briefly discussed and two fawn Starlings are described. A valuable distinction between normal and abnormal plumage is whether or not there is dark pigment at the base of the feather. In abnormal - plumage, both hereditary and non-hereditary, there is usually none, whilst in normal plumage there is very frequently pigment, often heavy, at the base of the feather. References : - Bullough, W. S. (1942). Reproductive cycles of the British and Continental races of the Starling. Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. London. Series B. 231: 165-246. Hardy, A. (1960). Field. Vol. 215. Harrison, C. J.O. (1961). A variant plumage of the Grey-headed Wagtail Motacilla flava thunbergi Billberg. Bull. B.O.C., 81: 47-48. Rollin, N. (1959). White plumage in Blackbirds. Bu//. B.O.C., 79: 92-96. An Aberrant Specimen of Lybius undatus leucogenys Blundell and Lovat by MELVIN A. TRAYLOR Received 27th June, 1961 5 Among the specimens of Lybius undatus leucogenys in Chicago ‘Natieal History Museum is a male from Sisha, Sidamo Province, Abyssinia, that differs from any other that I have seen or found described. All those areas that in normal birds are yellow, the wash on the belly, the edgings of rectrices and remiges and the tips of the rump feathers and upper tail- coverts, are in this male, bright orange. Macdonald (1938, Ibis: 348) has discussed variation in undatus. He points out that /eucogenys was described from a variant in which the throat is white, irregularly tipped with yellow or red, instead of glossy Bulletin B.O.C. 87 Vol. 82 black. While white-throated birds are most common in the west of Abyssinia, they crop up elsewhere in the south and south-west, and he considers the white throat more an individual than a geographic variant. The present specimen is intermediate in this respect, having a few white feathers on the throat, two of which are tipped with red. Macdonald also describes a melanistic mutant in which the head is normal but the body is brownish black except for thin yellow edging on some of the inner secon- daries. Although the orange-washed specimen appears to b2 a mutant, | hesitate to call it that because it appears to be moulting into this aberrant plumage from a normal one. The body plumage is fresh and the wings and tail are just completing moult. The second and third secondaries on each wing, however, are still of the previous plumage and they have yellow edgings as in normally plumaged birds. Considering the known variability of the species, this could be a mutant in which the aberrant characters do not appear until the adult plumage. On the other hand, the change in colour may be due to some abnormal element in the diet which enriched the yellow pigments, and not have any genetic basis. A benign tumour of the foot of a Crested Lark by JAMES M. HARRISON AND HAIM HOVEL Received Ist September, 1961 On 14th October, 1959, one of us (H.H.) shot a Crested Lark, Galerida cristata altirostris Brehm at Beersheba; the bird was frequenting the rubbish tip. On examining it a large tumour was found involving all the toes of its left foot (Fig. 1). The bird was in good general condition and PELPELTV EP 0 | 210 4 3}0 Simple Chondroma of Crested Lark’s foot 6/0 Vol. 82 88 Bulletin B.O.C weighed 483 grammes. An X-ray examination revealed no bony involve- ment. Tissue for culture was sent back to Mr. A. H. Heather, to the Seven- oaks Hospital and material for section was also submitted at the same time. A direct smear showed many organisms of various types as might be expected from its visits to the garbage dump of a big city, but no M. tuberculosis were found. Culture grew some Acid-Alcohol fast bacilli, but protracted subculture, for which we are indebted to Dr. A. McDiarmid of the Agricultural Research Council, failed to establish the condition as tuberculous. Dr. Keith Randall, Consulting Pathologist to the Sevenoaks Hospital reported that the ‘‘section shows a simple chondroma, being composed of ill-formed irregular cartilage throughout the section examined”’’. This case would evidently appear to be one of a simple chondroma in view of Dr. Randall’s report, and the few Acid-Alcohol fast bacilli found at the primary culture are to be regarded as contaminants. Our thanks are due to Dr. Keith Randall, Consulting Pathologist, Dr. Hugh Hay, Consulting Radiologist to the Sevenoaks Hospital, to Dr. McDiarmid and to Mr. A. H. Heather for the above investigations. A European Green-winged Teal with a white neck-ring by JAMES M. AND JEFFERY G. HARRISON Received 5th December, 1961 In a previous paper (Harrison, 1958) we drew attention to an homo- logous recurring character in drakes of the European Green-winged Teal, Anas crecca crecca Linnaeus, and the Yellow-billed Teal, Anas flavirostris flavirostris Vieillot, in the form of a white spot, as a rule slightly triangular in shape, at the root of the neck anteriorly. In this paper we listed six examples of this mutation. More recently we have also suggested that this white neck-spot was homologous to the white semi-ring of the drake Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos Linnaeus, (Harrison, 1961), being a minimal expression of the character. Our latest example to be described is a fully adult drake European Green-winged Teal, which was shot on 5th November, 1961 on the Med- way Estuary, Kent, by Mr. Charles Swan. The remarkable thing about this bird is that the white marking has assumed the character of the white semi-ring of the drake Mallard. As can be seen from the photograph, (specimen A) the white marking extends well onto the sides of the neck. It is the same shape although not quite so extensive as in the Mallard, moreover it is proportionate to the size of the bird. For comparison, the specimen is shown beside one with the more usual white neck-spot variant, (specimen B) a first winter drake shot on the Medway Estuary, Kent on 18th November, 1961. A further example, almost as extensive as on specimen A, but not included in the photograph, was shot by Mr. Ross Young near Kenmare, Co. Kerry, Eire on 2nd December, 1961. We would submit that this specimen fully confirms our contention set out above and that this homologous recurring character is to be regarded as of reversionary significance, suggesting a close affinity between the Mallard and the European Green-winged Teal. Bulletin B.O.C. 89 Vol.82 g : j j BY a om % jf oa ie ‘ < Vol. 82 90 Bulletin B.O.C. Our thanks are due to Mr. Swan and Mr. Young for presenting us with these remarkable birds. References : Harrison, James M. and Jeffery G. (1958). ‘*The White Neck-spot Variant in the Eu.o- re Green-winged Teal and the Yellow-billed Teal’’.. Bull...B.O.C. Vol. 78. pp. 4-105. Harrison, James M. and Jeffery G. (1961). ‘‘Albinistic patterning in the Mallard, Muscovy, Mandarin and Salvadori’s Ducks’’. Jbid Vol. 81. pp. 168-172. Notes on the distribution and eggs of some waterfowl by C. J. O. HARRISON Received 17th November, 1961 During a recent rearrangement of the eggs of the Anseriformes in the collection of the British Museum (Natural History) use was made of Delacour’s *‘ Waterfowl of the World’’ (1954-8). It was found that ~ some of the data slips with the eggs gave information supplementary to that quoted in Delacour’s work. Anser cygnoides (1). Delacour, when tracing the earliest records of this species in captivity, suspected that the birds kept at the London Zoo in 1863 were not the wild Swan Goose but its domesticated form, the Chinese Goose. These suspicions were well founded for eggs laid at the London Zoo during this period and now in the Museum collection are mostly inscribed ‘‘Black-legged Chinese Goose’’, indicating that the domestic bird was kept there at this time. Anser albifrons albifrons (Scopoli). Two eggs of this species (B. M. no. 1925. 12. 25. 5346-5) from the Davidson collection are accompanied by the following data in J. Davidson’s catalogue— **Two out of a clutch of four taken on Franz Josef Land (Cape Chance) 21. 6. 98, and sent to me by Mr. Dobbie. Taken Lunderstrand by Dr. Wos Bruce: * Delacour’s map of the distribution of this species does not show the breeding range extending thus far into the Arctic. Coscoroba coscoroba (Molina). Four well-authenticated clutches of the eges of this species (B. M. no. 1913. 5. 7. 57-63; 1920) 125 32 S68—Sg2e 575-581, 582-589) were taken in the Buenos Aires province of Argentina by Mr. and Mrs. Ernst Gibson. One is dated 29th June 1889, and another 18th August 1915. There are two other clutches of this species with less adequate data inscribed ‘‘Rio Grande do Sul’’. One, of six eggs, is from Dr. Ihering’s collection, the other, of two eggs, from the P. Crowley collection, ex Gerrard, and both would have been collected in the nineteenth century and may have originally formed a single clutch. Delacour’s map of the breeding distribution sets the northern limit of this species at the Rio Negro, but all the eggs mentioned were collected well north of this. In view of the date of the clutches it seems possible that this may represent a shrinking of the breeding range due to the spread of civilisation in this part of South America. Anser coerulescens coerulescens (L.). A clutch of five eggs was taken by M. D. Smith at Great Slave Lake in Canada on 26th June 1884. (B. M. no. 1901. 11. 15. 651-5). Delacour does not show this species breeding south of the Great Bear Lake, farther north. Branta canadensis asiatica Aldrich. It is stated that the eggs of this a eon q Bulletin B.O.C. 91 Vol. 82 extinct race of Canada Gouke are unknown. A single egg in the collection _ (B. M. no. 1910. 1. 1. 5848) taken by H. J. Snow on the Kurile Islands, is elliptical, creamy-white, with a slightly rough surface, and measures — 87.4 x 55.1 mm. — Oxyura jamaicensis ferruginea (Eyton). In part of its range in Chile the breeding distribution of this duck overlaps that of Oxyura vittata (R. A. Philippi) which is present over most of southern South America. The two species are very similar in appearance but O. j. ferruginea is the larger of the two. The eggs of O. vittata from various parts of its range fall within the limits—length 62-8 mm. breadth 44-9 mm. According to Delacour the eggs of O. j. ferruginea are undescribed. An examination of the eggs in the Museum collection revealed that, among eggs which, from their _ size, were referable to O. vittata there were four larger eggs (B. M. no. — 1898. 1. 4. 654, 656-7, 660). These measured 72.6 x 54, 73 x 49.9, 71 x 50.8, 70.5 x 50.2 mm. They were typical Oxyura eggs, more ovate than elliptical _ and creamy-white with a finely pitted surface. They had a rather glossier _ surface than the eggs of O. vittata, resembling in this respect the eggs of _ O. j. jamaicensis (Gmelin) in the collection which are still more glossy. It is reasonable to suspect that these are the eggs of O. j. ferruginea, but confirmation of this description is still needed. On the races of Estrilda nonnula (Hartlaub) by H. E. WOLTERS Received 18th August, 1961 _ When comparing a series of 15 adult specimens of both sexes of . Estrilda nonnula (Hartlaub), collected by Prof. M. Eisentraut on the Cameroon Mountain in 1957 and 1958, with a series of 29 specimens ; =e" al _ from various parts of the species’ range, most of which were kindly lent by the Musée Royal de 1|’Afrique Centrale at Tervuren, it was at once apparent, that Cameroon Mountain birds represent an extremely well _ differentiated subspecies. Birds from all levels of this mountain are much greyer on the underparts than specimens of any other part of the range and agree with the description of Estri/da elizae Alexander, Bull. Brit. Orn. Cl., 13, p. 54 (1903), formerly thought to be restricted to Fernando Po. Four females from other districts of Cameroon (M’balmayo, Mus. Bonn; Bitye, River Ya, Mus. Tervuren) are also darker underneath than females from the more eastern parts of the species’ range, but have the underparts much more brownish-grey, not so pure grey as in Cameroon Mountain birds; these females are nearly matched, however, by one male from Nandi (Kenya Colony, Mus. Tervuren) and one unsexed bird from Astrida, Ruanda (Mus. Tervuren). All other birds of the more eastern parts of the range are much lighter _ on the underparts, sometimes nearly pure white, although there appears to be a tendency to be tinged with fawn in fresh plumage, especially in _ birds from Uganda and the Kivu district: two males from Ruwenzori - (6,000 and 7,000 ft.) are somewhat greyer than other eastern birds, but _ by far less so than birds from the Cameroon Mountain. Although I have not seen topotypical ena of Estrilda nonnula nonnula (Astrilda nonnula Hartlaub, Journ. Orn., p. 425: Kudurma), there are no reasons to ~ doubt that Bahr el Ghasal birds agree with other birds of East Africa, and Vol. 82. 92 Bulletin B.O.C. East African as well as Congo birds may safely all be called E. n. nonnula, — while I should call Cameroon Mountain birds E. n. elizae Alexander like © - those from Fernando Po; birds from the more southern parts of Cameroon may at present be regarded as intermediates between FE. n. elizae and — E. n. nonnula. My Cameroon Mountain birds (all in the Bonn museum; coll. Eisentraut) are from all levels, from near sea-level (Isobi, near Bibundi) up to about 3,000 metres. I wish to thank Prof. M. Eisentraut, Prof. G. Niethammer and Prof. H. Schouteden for their kind assistance with material. Albinism in Northern Rhodesian birds by J. M. WINTERBOTTOM Received llth December 1961 Benson (Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 81, 1961: 146) in his list of albinistic birds from Northern Rhodesia, has overlooked that of Euplectes hordeacea from the Msandile (Winterbottom, Jbis, 1938: 276); of Streptopelia — senegalensis from the Gwembe valley (Winterbottom, N. Rhod. J., 1, 4, 1951: 30); and of Plocepasser mahali (Winterbottom, N. Rhod. J., 1, 6, 1952: 39). A new race of the grebe Podiceps chilensis from Lake Junin, Peru by K. E. L. SIMMONS Received 16th November, 1961 The small ornamented grebe Podiceps chilensis Lesson, 1828, of the mainland of South America and Tierra del Fuego, is either treated as a monotypic species (e.g. Wetmore 1926; Peters 1931) or is combined with the closely related P. rolland Quoy and Gaimard, 1826, of the Falkland — Islands (most modern authors, including Hellmayr and Conover, 1948). For various reasons, I think it preferable, both from the biological and practical point of view, to keep P. chilensis distinct from the much larger, isolated P. rolland, treating the former as a full species and the latter as a semispecies, the two together forming an incipient or “‘simple’’ super- species (Simmons 1962 and unpublished). Whatever the status given to — P. chilensis, it is invariably treated as a monotypic form, so far as I have — been able to ascertain. Recently, however, while engaged in a survey of the Podicipitidae, I concluded that this grebe was polytypic. The present — note gives formal taxonomic designation of a new race of P. chilensis, — leaving consideration of the biological implications of the discovery for — treatment elsewhere. The examination of skins was undertaken in the ~ Bird Room of the British Museum (Natural History) by kind permission ~ of the Director. I am indebted to the staff of the Bird Room for facilities. — Part of my work on the Podicipitidae involved making simple standard measurements for interspecific comparisons. Ten specimens (five male and ~ five female if possible) of any one species were selected. While obtaining — the first series of values for P. chilensis, | found one specimen, a female collected at Lake Junin (Peru) in May 1890, to be unusually large in © comparison with the rest of the sample: 3 mm. greater in length of tarsus, 5 mm. in length of bill and 1 mm. in depth of bill. Morrison (1939) had — already remarked that nine specimens of P. chilensis from Junin averaged longer in the wing than seven from Uruquay and Argentina, but he found _ eae Bulletin B.O.C. ber 9 OM 4 Vol. 82 the British Museum series inconclusive. In all, five specimens from Lake ‘Junin were available to me and these were compared with samples of _P. chilensis from elsewhere in South America, viz. + ten specimens from the ‘‘South’’ (Tierra del Fuego, Straits of Magellan, southern Chile and Patagonia); *ten specimens from ‘‘Central, east’’ (Buenos Aires province, _ Argentina); °ten specimens from ‘‘Central, west’’ (central Chile, including birds near the type locality of the species), and *°‘North’’ (Bolivia and Peru excluding Lake Junin). The results are given in Table 1. On the evidence, the Lake Junin population of P. chilensis seems sufficiently distinct to warrant subspecific rank and I, therefore, have pleasure in naming it after Alastair Morrison, collector of the type specimen, in tribute to his work on the birds of Lake Junin. Podiceps chilensis morrisoni subsp. nov. Diagnosis: In average size of tarsus, bill and wing, Lake Junin birds are larger than any of the other four populations of P. chilensis measured (see Tables 1 and 2). Taking tarsal-length as an indication of overall _ body-size, the Junin birds reverse the apparent trend of a decrease in body- “size from south to north shown by the other populations, following Berg- mann’s rule. Distribution: Confined to Lake Junin, Peru, on the periphery of the range of the species. Type: Male (Brit. Mus. Reg. No. 1946. 49. 64), collected by A. Morrison on 5th April 1938. Data from original label: testes, c. 7 mm.; bill, black; feet, outside black, inside greyish. _ Measurements: tarsus, 39 mm.; bill, 24 mm. (length), 10 mm. (depth); wing, 114 mm. The specimen is in worn nuptial plumage, in the first stages towards eclipse. The black parts of the plumage are less intensely black than in full nuptial garb, those of the head and neck having a decided brown tinge and those of the upper breast and upper parts being edged with golden-brown. The elongated black and white feathers of the head ornamentation are somewhat reduced. Two females collected at the Same time as the type by Morrison show even more signs of oncoming eclipse, and a male is in similar plumage to the type but is in full wing- moult. A female collected in May 1890 is in full eclipse plumage. Comments: Measurements of P. c. morrisoni and of the nominate race hilensis are given in Table 2. It seems best at present to treat all but the Lake Junin birds as belonging to the nominate race. Northern birds (excluding the Junin population) may well have a smaller bill than all other populations and a longer wing than all but Lake Junin birds. However, the sample is inconclusive, being small, old and in poor con- dition; further examination of better material is needed. Hellmayr and BeGnover (1948) state that birds from Peru and Bolivia average slightly _ but insignificantly /arger than birds from elsewhere (no details given). It is possible that they included measurements of the large Junin birds in their sample. The existence of an endemic race of P. chilensis on Lake Junin is of _ considerable interest in view of the presence of an endemic species, _ P. taczanowskii, there also, and throws light on the possible trends in the derivation of the other, even more distinictve forms of grebes of the same ~ Vol. 82 94 Bulletin B.O.C. ; sub-group as P. chilensis, namely P. rolland, confined to the Falkland ; Islands, and especially P. micropterus, confined to the Titicaca basin ~ (Simmons 1962 and unpublished). 1 : TABLE I : Measurements (mean and range in mm.) of some populations of Podiceps chilensis \ . tarsus bill-length bill-depth wing (4) South* 37.8 19.2 9.3 108.2 (35-42) (18-23) (8-9) (102-116) (?) Central* 37.4 20.2 9.5 102.2 east (35-41) (17-23) (8-12) (97-111) (8) Central 36.8 19.8 9.7 106.1 west (35-38) (17-23) (9-10) (103-110) (*) North 36.8 17.4 8.8 110.2 (35-39) (17-19) (8-10) (109-111) (®) Lake Junin* 39.4 23.0 10.5 113.2 (37-41) (20-25) (10-11) (110-115) Notes: (*) For definition of localities see text. (7) An asterisk indicates an equal or nearly equal distribution of the sexes among the sample; samples unmarked are composed largely of unsexed specimens. (?) Measurements are to the nearest millimetre. (4) ‘‘Tarsus’’ = diagonal from the middle of the hind part of the joint between tibiotarsus and tarso-metatarsus to the end of tarso-metatarsus; ‘‘bill- length’? = chord of exposed culmen (bill from feathers); ‘‘bill-depth’? = — depth at base of bill, behind nostrils; “‘wing’’ = distance from carpal joint — to end of longest primary (wing flattened). : TABLE II Measurements (mean only in mm.) of (1) nominate P. chilensis and (2) P. c. morrisoni (Lake Junin) tarsus bill-length bill-depth wing (4) P. c. chilensis a Re 19.4 9.4 106.2 (®) P. c. morrisoni 39.4 23.0 10.5 113.2 Notes: (2) Mean values for the nominate race are based on the measurements of 35 specimens from the first four localities listed in Table 1. (?) If the figures for northern birds are discarded from the nominate sample — (see text) the mean values become 37.3, 19.7, 9.5 and 105.4 respectively. References : Hellmayr, C. E. and Conover, B. 1948. Catalogue of the birds of the Americas and thee adjacent islands. Pub. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. (Zool. series) 13, part 1 (2). Morrison, A. 1939. Notes on the birds of Lake Junin. J/bis: 643-654. Peters, J. L. 1931. Check-list of birds of the world, 1. Cambridge (Mass.). Simmons, K. E. L. 1962. Some recommendations for a revised check-list of the genera and species of grebes (Podicipitidae). Bull. B.O.C. (in press). Wetmore, A. 1926. Observations on the birds of Argentina, Paraguay, Uraguay andl Chile. Bull, 133. Smithsonian Institution, U.S, Nat. Mus, Rete SN | Bases: B.O.C. 95 Vol. 82 Bird predation by the North American Snapping Turtle, 4 Chelydra serpentina L. ‘ by CHARLES R. S. PITMAN 4s % Received Sth July, 1961 § In North America predation of waterfowl by the Snapping Turtle, _Chelydra serpentina can be considerable, according to the relative abun- dance of turtles and birds, but generally it is not regarded as a serious -menace except possibly during the peak waterfowl breeding season. Otherwise, as a rule, birds are taken infrequently and constitute only incidental food. These turtles are most plentiful where there are shallow expanses of warm water with abundant stands of emergent and floating vegetation. Investigations during the period when predation is likely to ‘be highest were carried out in eight areas in the Maine marshes, in the extreme north-east corner of the United States. 171 turtles were collected, and of the 157 in which food was present bird remains were found in about one in every four turtles. 42 turtles contained evidence of a mini- mum of 52 birds, which included 25 ducks, 11 grebes, 3 rails and 13 unidentified. The ducks were :— 7 Black Duck, Anas rubripes Brewster; 5 Ring-necked Duck, Aythya collaris (Donov.); 3 Golden-eye, Bucephala clangula (L.); 2 Wood Duck, Aix sponsa (L.); 2 Blue-winged Teal, Anas discors L.; 2 obscure surface-feeders and 4 unidentified. _ Most were young birds of up to six weeks, but there were three adults; usually one bird only had been taken, but a 31 Ibs turtle contained five birds, viz. one Ring-necked Duck, one Golden-eye and three Pied-billed _Grebes or Dabchicks, Podilymbus podiceps (L.); and a 24 lbs example had eaten two Black Ducks, one unidentified surface-feeding duck and one grebe. Four other Snapping Turtles, varying from 11 lbs to 41 Ibs had each taken two birds. Surface-feeding ducks were taken twice as frequently as diving ducks, although both groups were equally plentiful. _ Field observations of turtles actually catching birds provided strong circumstantial evidence that most stomach material was from direct predation, though a proportion of carrion is taken. Evidence of duck -temains may be found in digestive tracts for as long as twelve days. During five seasons’ (1949-1953) investigations in six different areas, bird remains in the turtles caught varied from 42 per cent to 17 per cent, with an average of 27 per cent. In 1949 when water was low and density of both turtles and ducks high, 13 (42 per cent) out of 31 turtles taken in One locality during a nine-days period contained a total of 18 birds— 9 ducks, 5 grebes, | rail and 3 unidentified. In this locality in the same period the duckling hatch was estimated to be 192, of which about four per cent viz. 8 ducklings and one duck were taken by Snapping Turtles. ne turtle was captured for every eight acres of water surface, and as the great majority of turtles are never seen and many others are preying at the f= me time, it is possible that the total mortality these reptiles caused to the duck population was as much as 13 per cent. But mortality is only Significant when both turtles and ducks are abundant. ace, with a nesting waterfowl population in excess of one pair per acre , three contained a total of four Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos L. “At a waterfowl refuge in Vermont, during 1950, ducklings were found p four out of ten turtles examined, yet in the same locality, during 1951, were found in but two out of 23 turtles. In Habs Bion AEE out of 25 ‘fuk. causglit in thirteen days, eight (32 per cent) contained evidence of 10 ducks and two grebes. 106 turtles which were trapped in 39 days scaled a total of one ton, an ~ average weight of 21 Ibs. : I am most grateful to all those who have so kindly assisted me with — information and references. References : : 1943 Alexander, Maurice M. Food habits of the Snapping Turtle in Connecticut. — Journal Wild Life Management, 7 (3), 278-282. q 1943 Lagler, Karl F. Food habits and economic relations of the Turtles of Michigan — with special reference to fish management. Amer. Midl. Nat., 29 (2), 257-312. : 1954 Wright, Bruce S. High Tide and East Wind. The story of the Black Duck. 7 1957 Coulter, Malcolm W. Predation by Snapping Turtles upon Aquatic Birds in Maine Marshes. Journal Wild Life Management, 21 (i), 17-21. Note on the Paradise Flycatcher Terpsiphone viridis (Muller) in Southern Africa by FINN SALOMONSEN Received 16th February, 1961] Having read the interesting paper by W. J. Lawson in Bull. B.O.C. — vol. 82, 1962, p. 26 on Terpsiphone viridis I feel it necessary to add a few © comments. Lawson divided the pale-throated populations into two forms, a southern one, violacea (Grant & Mackworth-Praed), with white under — tail-coverts, and a northern one, plumbeiceps Reichenow, with rufous under tail-coverts (the difference being best seen in males). However, Lawson apparently overlooked the fact that I have reached exactly the same result a few years ago (Salomonsen 1949: 84-87), although I had ~ to draw another nomenclatorial conclusion. My study was primarily based on the large collection in The British Museum (Nat. Hist.), the Musée du Congo Belge in Tervueren and the Zoologisches Museum in Berlin. The difference between the two forms in question is clinal, the ~ coloration of the under tail-coverts changing gradually from whitish to cinnamon in the populations of Portuguese Angola, Kasai and Northern — Rhodesia. The type locality of p/umbeiceps is Malange in Angola. Seven adult males from this locality were examined; of these two had white — under tail-coverts, four yellowish and only one cinnamon (cf. the table on p. 85 in my paper). As specimens with yellowish under tail-coverts are - sometimes found also in the southern populations, the birds from Malange . appeared to be nearest to them, and the name plumbeiceps could, at any rate, not be used for the form with cinnamon under tail-coverts inhabiting S.E. Congo. Consequently, I described the northern form as a new sub-_ species and called it subrufa. To the north subrufa is replaced by kivaena Salomonsen in Ruanda Urundi and parts of Kivu, further east by sua~ helica Reichenow (of which ungujaensis and ruwenzoriae are synonyms). The differences between plumbeiceps and violacea are so slight, almost non-existent, that violacea must be regarded as a synonym to plumbeiceps. Lawson is right when presuming that even the northern form (subrufa) migrates to the north in the non-breeding season; several specimens have been found in the rain forests as far north as Kunungu (near Bolobo) i in northern Congo. P References : f Lawson, W. J., 1962. On the distribution of the races of the Paradise Flycatcher, Terps phone viridis (Miiller) in Southern Africa. Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club 82, pp. 26-30. Salomonsen, F., 1949, Two New African Paradise-Flycatchers (Terpsiphone). Dansi§ Ornith Foren. Tidsskr 43. nn 84-87. — Vol 82. PURCHASED 06 1 ‘eos aod 0 Sbiitctin Ede. : . 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Harrison, ‘‘Merriewood’’, St. Botolph’s Road, Sevenoaks, Kent. — ; 15th May, 18th September, 16th October, 20th November, DINNERS AND MEETINGS FOR 1962 18th December. « # E = (The October or November meeting will be a joint one with the B.O.U.) Published by the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB and printed by ¥ ? 4 The Caxton & Holmesdale Press, South Park, Sevenoaks, Kent. BULLETIN eS ad J Or” fie Se. BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB i } y) Edited by JOHN J. YEALLAND =. bal ’ » 31 AUG 1962 t & PURCHASED ¢ Volume 82 September No. 6 1962 Canin (bales Are ot esas sae agers Bees 3.08 te wiidresies to the f AP cy Ue Fealan ‘the Zoo ‘Ot mn, epent Ss Puregs cae sake bn a Toews, sshionid ~~ ” Hepes We tux tabs of ste? Rk, wrbh a tis a0 Pe a Re SiN Lou jet ONT va sie ae Di MGeSRE Re. Gah Chaos ree te & bas: ia ni thai Ww 5 the a4 G Retca: f! thes ooo. 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Vol. 82 | + | “BDA G 1962 (Bah. m Savisy f) BULLETIN \.. HY v a 4} 4 as OF THE Grae is BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB Volume 82 Number 6 Published: Ist September, 1962 _ The five hundred and ninety-ninth meeting of the Club was held at the. Rembrandt Hotel, London, on 15th May, 1962. Chairman: CAPTAIN C. R. S. PITMAN Members present: 24; guests 4; total 28. The Chairman welcomed Dr. Rudyerd Boulton, Dr. Herbert Friedmann and Mr. A. R. Tribe. Exhibition of a hybrid duck Dr. J. M. Harrison exhibited and commented upon a Red Shoveler X Northern Shoveler (Anas platalea x A. clypeata). A paper on this specimen will be published in the Bulletin. The breeding of the Lily-trotter or Jacana (Actophilornis africanus) 1 Kenya was the main feature of a film for which the Chairman provided .commentary. There were also excellent sequences of the White-backed Yuck (Thalassornis leuconotus) at the nest, the Red-knobbed Coot (Fulica ristata) and other birds inhabiting the lake. Further reflections on the British List by ALLAN R. PHILLIPS Received 21st November, 1961 Excellent as they are, the comments of Fitter and others (Bull. B.O.C. 1: 93-95, 1961) do not reach the heart of the problems involved, chief nong which is the need of a clear distinction between scientific data and ere speculation. The former are data that have been and can be verified: pecimens available for re-examination by competent taxonomists at any me. Specimens once available and examined by a capable taxonomist 10uld, I believe, also receive credence, though of course their loss is ‘Tegrettable. Anything else is unverifiable, as far as technical details are concerned, and can only be classified as speculative. Vol. 82 98 Bulletin B.O.C._ a difficult one. We should therefore urge that not only the skin of a rarity, but also its body, should be preserved for study by specialists. Thus search can be made for any abnormalities produced by captivity. It is most desirable that all aviculturists should co-operate by keeping all their birds — clearly marked in case of escape. Nevertheless, the escape hazard has been exaggerated. q The taxonomist can sometimes throw light on this question of possible escapes. For example, a Kiskadee Flycatcher, Pitangus sulphuratus (Linn.), was once collected in California. Local bird students claimed, naturally, an accidental occurrence from the distant Mexico/Texas range of the species, which is absent from the adjacent parts of the south-western United States. But an alert taxonomist noted certain discrepancies, and the bird was found to be of a South American race, obviously escaped from captivity! Fitter exaggerates the doubtful elements in specimen records. Few will agree that it is a ‘‘fact that no individual record can be 100% certain for all time’’. To mention but a single one, there is the well known American” Bittern, Botaurus lentiginosus (Montagu), described by two different © authors from Dorset. Any and all specimen records are 100% certain for all time if they fulfil the requisites of science: (1) the collector is trust- worthy; (2) the possibility of escape has been ruled out; and (3) the identification has been verified by competent taxonomists. The museums | of the world are full of 100% certain records, most of which appear in the” various regional check-lists and elsewhere in the literature. My own collection contains dozens of specimens which, at the time, appeared to” be accidental occurrences, though several have since become regular or even common species in their respective localities. (For some such cases, see Auk 57: 117-118; Condor 51: 137-139, 52: 78-81, 55: 99-100, and 59: 140-141). Nearly all of my accidental specimens were personally’ collected and prepared, and all represent 100% certain records for all, time, once published. It is true that many older specimens, and not a few) newer ones, were very poorly or even inaccurately labelled; the older museums, and those modern ones that are supplied by ordinary, un- reliable professional collectors, contain specimens which cannot withstand a critical investigation (of the accuracy of their data) and others which) are misidentified. Nevertheless, as the late Dr. Joseph Grinnell said, a specimen preserved and properly labelled at the time is a scientific docu- ment; and no matter how long it may lie in a museum drawer unrecog- nized its true identity will eventually come to light. Witness Dr. Fried; mann’s discovery of the earliest specimen of Baer’s Pochard, Aythya baeri (Radde), an accidental from north-western America which had lain unrecognized for over a century in the United States National Museum. It is, incidentally, by no means so difficult to preserve a specimen as poor condition to preserve; but this is never the case, really. Often they cannot be made into first-rate skins, but enough can always be saved o establish the record. Perfectly acceptable skins have been made from birds found mashed in highways or riddled by shot. In the case of birds, particularly non-passerines, without close relatives, the trunk skeleton) should preferably be saved as well, and indeed if the bird is long dead a > A os | Bulletin B.O.C. 99 Vol. 82 - full skeleton is the best way of preserving it; however, the remiges, rectrices, tarsi and toes should be preserved intact (not skeletonized). Where identification is more critical, in groups with many similar species, a skin or partial skin should be saved; feathers in place, but loosened and about to fall, may be salvaged by prompt application to their bases of a good glue or of one of the preparations used by paleontologists to strengthen crumbly fossils. At least, the wings, tail, head and feet can normally be preserved without difficulty. Preservation by injection and immersion in strong alcohol or formalin is not generally desirable due to the loss of colour values which precludes later critical evaluation, as for example subspecific comparisons. Anatomical studies should be made on more suitable material. _ It is my contention, then, that an ornithologist wishing to claim any record as scientific evidence usually can and should preserve a specimen and submit it for proper identification. We all know of specimens in the hand that have been misidentified; why then should we be asked to place more faith in the identification of rarities seen at a distance, or perhaps handled by one who is unfamiliar with abnormal plumages, hybrids and the true taxonomic characters of the group involved? Such evidence can never be verified. As one who has probably found as many ‘‘accidentals’”’ as any living ornithologist, the great majority of which are preserved for study, | may perhaps be permitted to question the alleged ‘‘immense recent increase in skill in field identification’’ so generally believed. To be sure, our binoculars, telescopes, and books are better than those we once had, but occasionally our ‘‘rare’’ bird proves to be a freak of some common species, or a hybrid. Those bird students who do not habitually collect, handle and identify specimens cannot possibly know whether they _are right or wrong; they have no way of learning the tricks played by light, distance, moult, feather wear, accidental loss of feathers, dwarfism, albinism, erythrism, melanism, hybridization, etc. This is not a matter of any one observer, photographer, or netter; we can readily grant that a _bird showed certain markings, if several observers saw them, but we still do not know details on which a correct determination may rest. I therefore cannot agree that dubious records of ‘‘extreme rarities’? have any value, much less consider them ‘‘especially valuable’’. | have known too many eases of birds being placed in the wrong family by allegedly expert bird- dents whose field experience had never been tempered by judicious © collecting. _ The barriers to collecting of rare birds should be removed. Can anyone imagine that a vagrant, even in the unlikely case that it should survive to breed, would make the slightest difference in the survival of its local population, much less its race and species? The loss to science in not being able to identify the bird accurately is not balanced by the slightest gain to the species. The place for the identification of suspected extra-limital ‘Species is in the museum, with adequate series for comparison. Dr. Loye Miller aptly compares many distributions of animals to waves on a beach. Their numbers fluctuate from year to year; in good years they spread out to occupy sub-marginal habitats, while in bad years they are to be found only where conditions are especially favourable. Superimposed on this, some groups show tidal effects, spreading out ( “a per> i, / X a Y Vol. 82 100 Bulletin B.O.C. more and more into previously unoccupied territory or withdrawing from parts of the former range. In none of these cases will the collecting of one or a few individuals have the slightest effect on the ultimate outcome. The only birds that have ever been seriously affected by direct hunting by man are (1) very large birds, persecuted for their flesh, feathers, or (by game- Keepers) to eliminate predation or supposed possible predation; (2) exceptionally gregarious birds, of which whole flocks could be wiped out at once and (3) flightless birds, particularly those that could be driven onto ships to supply fresh meat. In general, these are exactly the types of birds that scientists have not collected to any extent. Attempts to protect rare birds by prohibiting collecting have been almost universal failures. In Arizona, for example, of the four species long prohibited, two have never since appeared in the state while the other two appear irregularly. On the other hand, locally very rare birds without such restrictions have, in all cases, maintained their numbers and indeed often spread out in spite of the loss of occasional individuals to a collector. If, then, the real object of prohibiting collecting were to aid the birds rather than to hinder science, such prohibition would be limited to breeding or possibly breeding birds during the season of eggs and de- pendent young, and would include bans on disturbance by non-collectors as well. The real threat to birds today is the constant destruction of their habitat, as every ornithologist knows so well. In the future, then, the usefulness or uselessness of nature conservancies and other conservation groups will surely be judged by their effectiveness in conserving important habitats, not their anti-scientific activities. It is high time that these well- meaning organizations awoke to the fundamental fact that birds are not men nor elephants; an average bird lives two or three years, so that the survival of any population depends on its ability to nest successfully in — nearly every year—a function of the habitat and of freedom from distur- bance, either by man or by an over abundant natural enemy such as the — over numerous gulls now so unwisely protected in some areas. All of this, then, supports the conclusion that ornithology can and should ~ continue to be a science. | would therefore suggest that Fitter’s Part I, *“the scientifically most important part’’, should include a// the scientific — data, i.e. all the data based on specimens, from which all non-specimen — data are to be clearly distinguished. Part Il can then contain the speculative ~ species, based on more or less doubtful specimens, probable escapes, — introduced birds that have not established themselves, field observations, — etc., which the Committee feels to be worth mentioning. 7 One final comment: the Committee need not worry so greatly about — assisted passages from North America. Why, of all the ships plying the world’s seas, do only these carry birds, and why only at certain times? Further notes on some bird/other animal associations in Africa by CHARLES R. S. PITMAN Received 11th November, 1961 , 4 During a visit to the Masai Amboseli Game Reserve in Kenya in Sep-— tember 1961, a young elephant feeding in the shallows at the edge of ¢ ieee Aer Reet ‘ Bulletin B. Oc. 101 Vol. 82 - swamp was seen to be followed—like gulls behind a plough—by a dozen _ Lily-trotters, Actophilornis africanus (Gmelin) eagerly darting hither and thither to feed on the aquatic life being stirred up. : A somewhat similar incident was witnessed in Uganda on the River Nile, in the Murchison Falls National Park, a little later when a frightened crocodile moved through a shallow pool covered with floating vegetation, mainly Nile cabbage (or lettuce), Pistia stratiotes. A Lily-trotter, with butterfly-wise flicks of its wings, skipped across the backs of two other crocodiles to pick up the aquatic organisms which had been disturbed. In the course of the same trip, a Goliath Heron, Ardea goliath Cretzschmar, __was seen standing on the back of a semi-submerged hippopotamus—one _of a small huddle—close to the bank. In Uganda’s Queen Elizabeth National Park, at a place where a wallow harboured a huddle of 90+ hippos alongside a breeding colony of the Yellow-backed Weaver, Ploceus melanocephalus dimidiatus (Antinori and Salvadori), these weavers were incessantly flying down and perching on the animals, on which were also perched one Hammerkop, Scopus um- bretta bannermani C. Grant, and a few Buff-backed Herons or Cattle _ Egrets, Bubulcus ibis (Linn.). In another wallow in this Park, where an astonishing huddle contained 200-+ hippos, a few of these creatures. which were nearest to a Nile cabbage-covered shallow lagoon had Cattle _ Egrets on their backs. At a wallow in the same Park where several bull buffaloes, four giant forest hog and one warthog were disporting, it was noticed that Oxpeckers, _ Buphagus africanus Linn. were in attendance on the buffaloes and warthog, but not on the very hairy (coarse long-haired) giant hog. _ Albinism and melanism in birds (as illustrated by the Mallard) and their possible significance by JAMES AND JEFFERY HARRISON Received 20th November, 1961 INTRODUCTION __ This communication is to be regarded as supplementary to our previous _ papers (1957, 1961). Albinism and melanism often appear as striking ‘discontinuous variations in many different species, but one has also to - recognise the fact that in dimorphic species such phases form part of a _ normal morphology. __ Examples come readily to mind, one of the best known being, of course, ; the melanistic mutant of the covert pheasant, Phasianus colchicus var. _ “‘tenebrosus’’, other instances being the black phases of Montagu’s & Harrier, Circus pygargus (Linnaeus), Arctic Skua, Stercorarius parasiticus ~ (Linnaeus) and Reef Heron, Egretia schistacea (Ehrenberg). In East _ Africa the Little Egret, £. garzetta (Linnaeus) has melanistic phases ie ccine through a pale lavender grey, sooty grey, slaty grey to a blackish Slate, while as an example of a species having a blue form.one may cite the Lesser Snow Goose, Anser coerulescens coerulescens Linnaeus. | Genetically albinism is explained by the recombination of recessive genes giving rise to a state of recessive dominance, while the dominance Vol. 82 102 Bulletin B.O.C. of black over white is known to be due to lack of tyrosinase, the precursor of melanin in the white individuals. | The genetic investigation of such phases in the wild, however, presents great difficulties. Melanism forms a not unusual character of sexual dimorphism in some species, a familiar example being provided by the jet black male of the Blackbird, Turdus merula Linnaeus, while again it can appear precipitously and mysteriously as in the case of a female Red-billed Dioch, Quelea quelea (Linnaeus) reported by Disney, Lofts and Marshall (1961) and apparently due to captivity conditions, as many thousands of wild specimens had been examined without a single case of melanism being observed. This problem has since been investigated by Lofts (1961) and it was established that captivity melanism could be reversed by a brief exposure to ultra-violet light during the moult. It is well known that through the pressure of natural selection many melanistic forms enjoy a survival advantage, for instance in areas of industrial contamination, or on dark soils, as in the cases of the black form of the Peppered Moth, Amphidiasis betularia (Linnaeus) var. ‘“double- dayaria’’, and the Peat Partridge, Perdix perdix sphagnetorum (Altum). The classification of albinistic subjects may still be regarded as some- what arbitrary, and the condition can range through rather haphazard mosaics, resulting from the mating of an individual carrying a recessive gene for white with a normal individual. In such cases varying degrees of — the pied state result in the progeny, conforming to the laws of Mendelian inheritance, and these always have normal coloured irides, though the. other soft parts may share in the pied condition. | Such individuals are not true albinos, for they are constitutionally virile and well able to compete with individuals of normal colour. The — true albino, with colourless (pink) irides and the other soft parts lacking all pigment, is to be regarded as pathological with a poor survival prospect. In previous papers (1957, 1961, Joc. cit.) instances of a definite albinistic pattern have been given. Thus, in an inbred Mallard population this was seen as an increasing symmetrical albinism of the primaries of both sexes associated with the enlargement of the white neck ring in drakes and the appearance of a white chin spot. Both of these features gradually enlarge — and coalesce and finally a completely white individual results. This effect is known to have come about without the influence of any white call-ducks and furthermore, similar patterns are found in the Mandarin, Aix galericu- lata (Linnaeus) and Salvadori’s Duck, Anas waigiuensis (Rothschild and Hartert). The occurrence of albinism in an inbred population of the Grey Lag Goose, Anser anser Linnaeus is also noted from Castlecoole, Co. Fer- managh, Ireland by Deane (1954). In the Carrion Crow, Corvus corone Linnaeus and the Jackdaw, Corvus monedula Linnaeus, a distinctive albinistic patterning takes the form of white wing-bars appearing on the primaries and secondaries, and oc- casionally this is associated with a white or light bar on the proximal part of the tail feathers, (J.M.H., 1957). As a further example of the leucistic pattern one may mention the *‘mottled’’ Rook. Many species other than the ducks already mentioned have been re- corded with symmetrical albinistic primaries, and this is particularly : 4 Bulletin B.O.C. 103 Vol. 82 frequent in the domestic pigeon, often in association with an albinistic tail. _ The domestic Muscovy Duck, Cairina moschata (Linnaeus) is another excellent example, for a majority in this country now constantly have white primaries and white heads, while a grey-and-white barred and a leucistic variant also occur. A further example in which symmetrical -depigmentation occurs with the production of white-banded wings is “recorded by Fritz et a/ (1946). This was associated with a dietary deficient in lysine fed to bronze-wing turkey poults when it was established that from 1.1°% to 1.2% is required to ensure normal growth and pigmentation, and that the condition could be reversed by administering crystalline lysine. Deficiency of pantothenic acid also gives rise to feather depig- mentation. The above findings are confirmed by the work of Vohra et al. (1956) on ‘rats where greying of the hair resulted from a diet deficient in lysine. ‘Kratzer et a/ (1950) referring to the work of Fritz et a/. (loc. cit.) comment _as follows, ‘‘From these experiments it may be concluded that lysine plays some role in the hair of rats as well as in the feathers of turkey poults’’. It is clear that lysine in some way, when deficient, interferes with the synthesis of melanin. Albinistic patterning is not confined to birds, for in domestic mammals, the familiar ‘‘belted’’ variety is found in Galloway cattle and in saddle- backed pigs, while in the wild, an albinistic belted variant has been recorded in the Common Shrew, Sorex araneus (Linnaeus), by David -Harrison (1957, 1961) and a bat Scotophilus nigrita Schreber, showing approximately symmetrical white wing markings, was obtained at Filabusi, Southern Rhodesia on 12th January, 1961. We are informed by Dr. David Harrison (verbatim) that symmetrical albinistic wing-patterning has so far been found in two families of bats, viz. in the Nycteridae and Vespertilionidae. On 17th December, 1961, Dr. David Harrison obtained from Chevening “a remarkable mutation in a dog fox, Vulpes vy. crucigera Bechstein in which all four extremities are more or less white and which in general characters resembles the Asiatic form V. v. pusilla Blythe. A detailed description of this animal is in the course of preparation by him. — Such examples as these could be extended considerably, but they are ‘Sufficient to illustrate the point that they are in quite a different category to those of partial haphazard albinism, and in our opinion such are reversionary in origin. Island and cave albinism are important to note for both these are ‘isolating mechanisms favouring inbreeding and the exposure of recessive characters. Instances of the former are found in the Raven, Corvus corax Linnaeus in Iceland, though as a rarity, and formerly in the Faeroes, though now extinct, and in the Quail, Coturnix cotunix Linnaeus on the Azores. A well known instance in mammals is afforded by the white reindeer on Kolguev. While all classes of Vertebrata show albinism it must be mentioned that in fish it is relatively rare. That the phenomenon is very widespread is emphasised by the fact that it occurs widely in the Invertebrata, a circumstance which stresses such cases as fundamental in nature. It is necessary here to refer to traumatic albinism. In mammals Duerst i Vol. 82 104 Bulletin B.O.C. | (1926) and Schultz (1918) have shown that this state can be induced by the — experimental infliction of wounds which, on healing, have grown long white hairs. In birds the repeated plucking of feathers from the same area has resulted in depigmentation. Noorduijn (1905), Pearl and Boring — (1914), Krizenecky (1930) have confirmed that albinism resulted by plucking in two different breeds of domestic fowl and the same author (loc. cit.) records another case of asymmetrical albinism in a Green Woodpecker, Picus viridis Linnaeus in which the right wing showed two — white secondaries and some white wing-coverts which it was presumed were due to healed gun-shot wounds. Nero (1960) working on the Red- winged Blackbird, Age/aius phoeniceus (Linnaeus) has obtained somewhat ~ anomalous results to traumatic albinism by plucking, for by producing forced moults in the black innermost wing-coverts he succeeded in the third regeneration in producing pied feathers. Significantly he also succeeded in producing a definite depigmentation from the bright red of the ‘‘epaulets’’ of the fully adult male to an orange-brown colour by — repeated plucking. In the experiments carried out he was able to exclude © sex hormone as responsible for the changes produced. However, even this experimental depigmentation was not entirely constant for one specimen regrew scarlet ‘‘epaulets’’ which were actually brighter than those of the normal bird, and it was noted that some individuals regrew depigmented, i.e. orange-brown feathers which were also black spotted. ~ It is, however, stressed that the “‘epaulets’’ in immatures are normally ~ highly variable ranging in colour from yellow to reddish-orange. It would seem, therefore, that although it has been established that traumatic albinism and traumatic depigmentation occur, the aetiology of — the condition is uncertain and experimental responses are variable. It is our opinion that as a natural phenomenon it cannot but be regarded as” a rare cause for either state in the wild. Such cases would appear to be on a parallel with the sudden blanching of the hair in a human subject © following a severe illness, shock following trauma or grievous emotional disturbance. Some cases of depigmentation in game birds could also possibly result from traumatic shock resulting in an endocrine imbalance. | This loss of melanin is referred to by Fox and Vevers (1960) in the following terms ‘‘As a final instance of loss of melanin it may be noted that injury can be responsible for the disappearance of melanocytes. Thus they may be destroyed in the dermal papillae of hairs by X-ray, after which sub- sequent hairs are white. In bay and chestnut riding horses, new hair ; growing from healed saddle sores is likewise white. ’ DISCUSSION The inter-relationship between natural selection and habitat is uni- © versally admitted and it is not without interest to examine some of the very contrasting colour types which can coexist and survive equally successfully in a marine or coastal environment. The contrastingly pied Alcidae bear this out. Of especial interest within this group one may mention as typical amongst others the Common Guillemot, Uria aalge © (Pontoppidan) and the Black Guillemot, Cepphus grylle (Linnaeus) with — its wholly black mutant form C. g. ‘‘motzfeldi’’. Examples in the Anatidae — are afforded by the European Scaup, Aythya marila (Linnaeus) and New Zealand Black Scaup, A. novaeseelandiae (Gmelin). Bulletin B.O.C, 105 Vol. 82 Exactly parallel examples of species inhabiting a coastal terrain are to be found in the Oystercatchers, for the New World representative of Haematopus ostralegus Linnaeus, H. o. palliatus Temminck coexists on the western coast of North America with the Black Oystercatcher, H. o. bachmani Audubon. In Australia also the Sooty Oystercatcher, H. fuliginosus fuliginosus Gould further exemplifies the point that neither a marine nor a coastal habitat would appear to impose very rigid adap- tations on the bird-life inhabiting them, whereas a terrestrial environment indisputably demands a closer assimilation as a condition of survival. These generalisations are not irrelevant to our subject as can be seen from the series of Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos Linnaeus of both sexes in illustration. From what may be described as an average normal drake, and an average normal duck, the full range of variation from the pure white to the melanistic mutation and the so-called ‘“Cayuja’”’ type Mallard is shown. In a paper Sage (1955) suggests that the type of Mallard in which there is a general darkening of the plumage, the under parts of which vary from a rather dark bay to a richer somewhat chestnut colour, results from hybridisation with A. clypeata Linnaeus. This condition is often linked with the white chin spot and the white patch on the breast, both variable in extent as we have shown in our recent paper (1961 Joc. cit.). We have now examined numerous individuals showing these characters and find ourselves unable to subscribe to the suggestion that these are hybrid A. p. platyrhynchos x A. clypeata. In our paper referred to above, the same incipient mutation is shown in the plate depicting a drake and duck of Aix galericulata, while we have a drake (wild shot) of what is apparently a hybrid between 4. p. platyrhynchos and Cairina moschata which shows a similar combination of characters associated with frank melanism. Are we then, on Sage’s interpretation, to assume that in these quoted cases there is A. c/ypeata blood to account for the variable white marking at the root of the neck? We think not, and regard this special type of variation as due to an excess of melanin and the white breast markings as due to variable albinistic patterning referred to in our previous com- munication. Probably the only other species of which a sufficiency of material exists and in which a similar gradation of characters of this nature could be demonstrated is the covert pheasant, Phasianus colchicus Linnaeus, a species which, like the Mallard, has been subjected to the same selective pressures under domestication and semi-domestication by man. It is significant that symmetrical white primaries occur constantly in the chicks of the melanistic mutant pheasant, P. c. var ‘‘tenebrosus’’ in the first definitive plumage, as well as albinism of the head and neck. A similar mutation is found sporadically also in the juvenile plumage of some otherwise normally-coloured birds of this species. Further instances can be seen in the many varities of the domesticated pigeon where, for example, in the Fan-tail there is a pure white as well as a wholly black variety, while, of course, many rather nondescript varieties frequently show symmetrical white primaries. It has already been stated that albescence, as well as, doubtless, many Vol. 82 106 Bulletin B.O.C. other mutations depend upon the recombination of recessive genes giving rise to recessive dominance. This, of course, explains the genetic mechanism involved, but does not in any way account for the very wide- spread prevalence of albinism in the animal kingdom. We feel that in view of this overall prevalence the phenomenon must depend upon some deep and fundamental cause. Albescence per se cannot be regarded as a pathological state for reasons already given. While of course speculative, we would suggest that albinistic patterns, and probably also some of the other heterochroisms are atavistic in origin. It is, in our view, most probable that all early forms of life were self- coloured and that patterning came in at a much later stage in the evolution of all species. A curious structural alteration is associated in the Water Hen, Gallinula chloropus (Linnaeus) as recorded by Fitzherbert-Brockholes (1885), Stevenson (1885) and Forrest (1901) and recently in a Jay, Garrulus glandarius glandarius Linnaeus, by one of us (J.M.H., 1951) in connection with atavistic characters. These so-called “‘hairy albescents”’ show a primitive type of feather structure in which the intricate interlocking mechanism of barbs, barbules and hooklets is lacking, the plumage in consequence being hair-like, loose and soft. These cases lend further support to the suggestion that albinism is basically atavistic. That this curious alteration in feather structure is inherent possibly in many species, though only a rare mutation in nature, would seem proved by the production by selective breeding of ‘‘frizzled’’ or ‘‘silky”’ mutants in both poultry and canaries. Intensive in-breeding and similar factors operating in the wild would result in setting this process of patterning in reverse, as we believe we have shown in the Mallard series in illustration of this and our previous paper (1961 /oc. cit.) already referred to. In conclusion we would suggest that this phenomenon as seen in the Mallard is worthy of specialised and detailed genetic analysis. Ecologically the Mallard is successful equally as a coastal and inland species. In its long evolutionary history there may have been stages when it was self- coloured. From this, in an aquatic habitat, it may well have developed any of the well known and varied varieties including both a white and a melanistic form before acquiring by suffusion the pattern and morphology as we know it to-day, for as already stated, black species, contrastingly pied species and white forms can all survive equally successfully in such a habitat. In this connection we would suggest that the Black Duck, Anas sparsa species complex, and the Hawaiian Duck, A. p. wyvilliana all represent forms which have evolved from the melanistic phase of the Mallard. On this basis it is possible to offer a broad explanation of the different colour aberrations, particularly albinistic and melanistic varieties, to which the Mallard is subject, and indeed similar mutations in other species might well be strictly comparable on the premise that in evolution self- colour almost certainly preceded patterning. The virtually universal prevalence of such discontinuities throughout nature supports the hypothesis that the phenomena discussed are basically fundamental in origin and are to be regarded as reversions to less specialised ancestral types. That they are discontinuities is in itself sig- | Bulletin B.O.C. 107 Vol. 82 nificant and evidence that such are retrograde and that they do not represent progressive evolution. It is clear that in so far as depigmentation is concerned there is ample experimental evidence of its production and reversal by manipulation of Range of variation in Mallard from the average normal drake and duck to albinism and melanism. the diet in respect of the lysine content as well as by physical agents. Since a fractional amount of lysine is vital to normal pigmentation and growth, a very sensitive balance is demonstrated. In work previously published by one of us (J.M.H., 1957. /oc. cit.) on similar white wing-barring in corvines, in-breeding was advanced as probably causative, and it is of course well known that in-breeding favours mutation, while the relationship between a possible lysine deficiency and white wing-barring in birds living free remains obscure. As carrion feeders Vol. 82 108 Bulletin B.O.C. one would have thought that corvines would be the last to suffer from a lysine deficiency as a cause of white wing-barring since that substance results from the decomposition of proteins which constitutes a large part of the dietary of crows. SUMMARY In this paper we have considered the problems and implications of albinism and melanism in birds. A broad classification of albinism is given and a sharp distinction is drawn between haphazard mosaic albinism and symmetrical albinistic patterning; also between the true and pathological albino and the white, but nevertheless virile and otherwise normal variant. Island, cave and traumatic albinism are discussed as also the depigmentation associated with lack of certain biochemical factors. Many instances of albinism and melanism are regarded as atavistic states, and white and black plumages in birds are regarded as originating from such in response to natural selection. Symmetrical albinistic patterning is also regarded as atavistic in origin and as derived from self-coloured atavistic forms. The association of a structural alteration in feathers in the presence of albinism is noted. The swing from pure white to black individuals in the Mallard is demonstrated by specimens and certain normally black species are regarded as the result of evolution from early melanistic phases. It is suggested that contrasting colour phases can coexist in an aquatic or coastal habitat equally successfully and thet this circumstance finds convincing support in the diametrically opposed phases of various species found coexisting in such environment. Natural selection acts far more stringently in terrestrial hebitats, as is evident by the very restricted distribution of certain species found only on certain soils and in cases where the melanism has little, if any, bearing on sexual dimorphism. . The principles involved postulate that self-colouring, including possibly total absence of colour, i.e. a white phase preceded the suffusion of pattern in all early forms of life, a speculative surmise which finds support in the widespread prevalence of albinism, not only in the vertebrate but also in the invertebrate animal kingdom. References : Harrison, James M., 1957. The White wing-barring and other variants in the Carrion- Crow and Rook. Bull. B.O.C. 77, 84-85. Harrison, James M., 1957. Significant Pattern Variations in European Corvidae, /bid. 131-133. Harrison, James M. and Jeffery G., 1961. Albinistic patterning in the Mallard, Muscovy, Mandarin and Salvadori’s Ducks. Bull. B.O.C. 81, 168-172. Disney, H. J., de S., Lofts, B., and Marshall, A. J. 1961. An experimental study of the internal rhythm of reproduction in the Red-billed Dioch, Quelea quelea by means of photo stimulation, with a note on melanism induced in captivity. P.Z.S., London. 136. 1, 128: Lofts, B., 1961. Melanism in Captive Weaver Finches, (Quelea quelea) Nature. 2nd September. No. 4792. Deane, C. D., 1954. Handbook of the Birds of Northern Ireland. Fritz, J. C., Hooper, J. H., Halpin, J. L., and Moore, H. F., 1946. Failure of Feather Pigmentation in Bronze Poults due to Lysine Deficiency. Jn/. of Nutrition. 31, 387-396. Vohra, P. and Kratzer F. H., (1956). Graying of Hair in Rats Fed a Ration Deficient in Lysine. Science, 7th Dec. 124, 1145. Kratzer, F. H., Williams, D. E., and Marshall, B., (1950). Poultry Science. 29, 285. Harrison, David L., 1957. A Remarkable Pied Common Shrew. The Naturalist, July— September. 92. Harrison, David L., 1961. Notes on Southern and East African Bats. On a Tomb Bat, Taphozous perforatus E. Geoffroy 1818, new to Tanganyika, and Notes on a mutant Scotophilus from Southern Rhodesia. Durb. Mus. Noy. VI. Pt. 12, 149. Nov. 1961. Duerst, U., 1926. Stang-Wirt’s Tierheilkunde und Tierzucht, 1. 137. Schultz, W., 1918. Verstekte Erbfactoren der Albinos fiir Farbung beim Russenkanin- chen und rein somatisch zur Wirkung gebracht. Zeitschr. f. ind. Abstamm. und Vererbungslehre. XX. ‘ v - Bulletin B.O.C. 109 Vol. 82 / Noorduijn, 1905. Die Farben und Gestalts-Kanarien. Magdeburg. Pearl, R. and Boring, A. M., 1914. Some physiological observations regarding pluma ge patterns. Science N.S. XXXIX., 995. Krizenecky, J., 1930. Ueber traumatischen Albinismus beim Geflugel. Archiv. f. Geflugelkunde, Jahrg 4, 5, 169-177. Nero, R. W. 1960. Additional Notes on the Plumage of the Red-winged Blackbird. Auk, 77, 289-305. Fox, H. Munro and Vevers, G., 1960. The Nature of Animal Colours. Sage, B., 1955. Some further notes on plumage variations in the Mallard, Anas platy- rhynchos platyrhynchos Linnaeus. Bull, B.O.C., 75, 54-57. Fitzherbert-Brockholes, W., 1885. Hairy variety of the Moorhen. Zoologist (3) 2, 321-332. Stevenson, H., 1885. Ornithological Notes from Norfolk. Zoologist (3) 2, 31-32. Forrest, H. E., 1901. Hairy-plumaged Moorhens. Zoologist (4) 5, 108. Harrison, James M., 1951. Some Phylogenetic Trends in Garrulus glandarius (Linnaeus) and Dendrocopos major (Linnaeus). Proc. Xth. Intern. Orn. Congr. Uppsala, 168-172. Reinig, W. F., 1927. Melanismus, Albinismus und Rufinismus. Leipzig. Some recommendations for a revised check-list of the genera and species of grebes (Podicipitidae) by K. E. L. SIMMONS Received Ist November, 1961 4 The grebes form a small, well-defined group very suitable for taxonomic study along modern lines. Rather surprisingly, the only recent check-list (not quite complete) is that of Peters (1931), though Hellmayr and Conover ~ (1948) dealt with the numerous American forms. The present note gives some recommendations for a revised list of the genera and species of the Podicipitidae, based on a recently completed survey of the biology and morphology of the family to be published in full elsewhere, together with a detailed discussion of conclusions only mentioned or summarized briefly here. | would be most grateful for any comments on, or criticisms of this preliminary statement from interested workers, either with reference to the key problem of the biological aspects of the proposed classification or to its purely nomenclatural side. The basic work on skins was done in the National Collection at the Bird Room of the British Museum (Natural History) by kind permission of the Director. | am indebted to the staff of the Bird Room for facilities. PETERS’ (1931) ARRANGEMENT Peters (1931) listed thirty-nine forms which he arranged in five genera and eighteen full species. His arrangement may be summarized as follows: Genus POLIOCEPHALUS. Subgenus TACHYBAPTUS. Species: (1) P. ruficollis (ten races); (2) P. pelzelnii (monotypic) (3) P. dominicus (three races). Subgenus POLIOCEPHALUS. Species: (1) P. rufopectus (monotypic); (2) P. poliocephalus (two races). Genus COLYMBUS. Species: (1) C. rolland (monotypic); (2) C. chilensis (monotypic); (3) C. occipitalis (two races); (4) C. taczanowskii (monotypic); (5) C. auritus (monotypic); (6) C. nigricollis (three races); (7) C. cristatus (four races); (8) C. grisegena (two races). bee Vol. 82 110° Bulletin B.O.C. Genus AECHMOPHORUS Species: (1) A. occidentalis (monotypic); (2) A. major (monotypic). Genus CENTROPELMA Species: (1) C. micropterum (monotypic). Genus PODILYMBUS Species: (1) P. podiceps (three races); (2) P. gigas (monotypic). SOME SUBSEQUENT TRENDS Hellmayr and Conover (1948) arranged the New World grebes very much as Peters had done, except that (1) Poliocephalus dominicus (of Peters) was placed in the genus Co/ymbus, and (2) the monotypic species Colymbus rolland and C. chilensis (of Peters) were merged as C. rolland (two races). Other changes below the generic level, subsequent to Peters’ list, included : (1) the description by Delacour (1933) of a new monotypic species of dabchick from Madagascar (Podiceps rufolavatus); (2) the separation of P. novaehollandiae from P. ruficollis, as the two had been found to occur together on some Australasian islands (see Mayr 1943); (3) the separationof New and Old World forms of C. auritus (Parkes 1952); (4) the description of a new and very distinctive race of C. nigricollis (under the name C. caspicus andinus) from the eastern Andes of northern Colom- bia (de Schauensee 1959). Had these facts been known to Peters, his probable course of action may have been: (1) to insert P. novaehollandiae (polytypic) and P. rufolavatus as full species between P. ruficollis and P. pelzelnii; (2) to treat C. auritus trinomially, and (3) to insert C. andinus as a full, monotypic species near C. nigricollis. At the generic level, subsequent to Peters’ list, there have been differ- ences of opinion as to the status of Poliocephalus (of Peters), most modern authors tending to merge this in Co/ymbus (of Peters), either totally, with no subgeneric divisions, or as the subgenus Poliocephalus including, of course, P. poliocephalus (the type species) and its ally P. rufopectus. The subgenus Tachybaptus (of Peters) has tended to disappear entirely. The New World genera Centropelma, Aechmophorus and Podilymbus have been almost unanimously upheld, though A. major has been removed into Colymbus by Wetmore and Parkes (1954), a course approved by Storer (1960). Another important, if purely clerical advance has been the ruling of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (1956) on the Colymbus versus Podiceps controversy. As a result, the generic name Colymbus Linnaeus, 1758, has been declared indeterminate and suppressed in favour of Podiceps Latham, 1787. The latter name will be used through- — out the rest of this note. SOME COMMENTS ON A PROPOSED NEW ARRANGEMENT My own survey of the grebes has been based primarily on external characters, chiefly head-ornamentation, but my knowledge of Podiceps cristatus in the wild (Simmons 1954-59 and unpublished) and of the literature of grebe behaviour and biology in general (such as is available) — has been used as a check. —— 2 ir - —- ee) ef - Bulletin B.O.C. 111 Vol. 82 As I see it, the main trends in the evolution of grebes include the following : (1) An increase in the effectiveness of head-ornamentation and pattern for visual display (including nocturnal display), by elaboration (growths such as crests, tippets, auricular fans, tufts and patches) and/or an increase in contrast between components (bill and gape marks, facial discs, etc.); (2) A tendency towards larger size; (3) Specialization towards a diet largely of fish; (4) A tendency towards colonial nesting. Bearing in mind these probable trends, and also taking into consider- ation taxonomic convenience and allowing for uncertainty and decided _ gaps in knowledge, I propose to classify the grebes in three genera, eighteen full species (both monotypic and polytypic) and three semispecies. As the latter must be treated binomially, this is in effect, from the point of view of nomenclature, equivalent to recognising twenty-one species. | have not used subgeneric names but thought it safer at present, in the case of the genus Podiceps, to arrange the birds in informal species groups and sub-groups (see, for example, Goodwin 1959). Later research may _ permit the elevation of such groups to formal subgeneric or even generic status. It might eventually prove possible to recognize six genera, each genus representing a different trend in some or all of the various directions taken in grebe evolution. | _ Podilymbus and Aechmophorus The modern trend in taxonomy has been away from small genera, especially monotypic ones. In a small group such as the grebes, however, _ small genera would seem to be justified. Thus, though monotypic or virtually so, both the genus Podilymbus and the genus Aechmophorus are _ distinctive in both structure and behaviour and separable from the other _ grebes and each other. There is evidence that the pied-billed grebes (Podilymbus) are the most ‘‘primitive’’ (i.e. nearer in many characters to ‘ancestral grebes) and the Western Grebe (Aechmophorus) the most *‘advanced’’. The two genera are best kept, therefore, at the beginning and end of the classification respectively. | agree with the authors mentioned _ earlier that the Great Grebe, Podiceps major, does not belong in the genus Aechmophorus (see further under Podiceps below). _ Centropelma The monotypic genus Centropelma was raised by Sclater and Salvin a (1869) for the peculiar grebe Podiceps micropterus Gould, 1868, confined 2 to the Titicaca basin of South America. In my opinion, this genus cannot be i: maintained because: (1) its supposed diagnostic characters are found in other grebes, and (2) its closest relative is clearly Podiceps chilensis, wide- spread in South America from Tierra del Fuego to southern Brazil and _ eastern Peru. | have, therefore, returned the Short-winged Grebe to the / genus Podiceps in which Gould originally placed it (see further under | Podiceps below). Vol. 82 112 Bulletin B.O.C. Tachybaptus and Poliocephalus A revision of the small grebes allocated by Peters (1931) to the genus Poliocephalus is overdue. In the first place, his sub-genus Tachybaptus is probably not a wholly monophyletic group for Podiceps dominicus does — not appear to belong there: it is a New World form, whereas P. ruficollis — and its allies are Old World, and its plumage is very different (see also © Storer 1960). Nor does there seem good reason to combine the true dab- | chicks with the two hoary-headed grebes, P. poliocephalus and P. rufo- pectus, of the subgenus Poliocephalus. These two seem to be much closer to P. occipitalis and its allies from South America. I have retained all these small grebes in the genus Podiceps for the time — being, placing P. ruficollis and its allies in one species group, P. dominicus — by itself in another, and transferring the two Poliocephalus grebes to the — species group containing the typical ornamented grebes (see further under ~ Podiceps below). If the latter regrouping is acceptable, the name Polio- — cephalus will thus not be available in future for the Old World dabchicks. — The affinities of P. dominicus are uncertain. Further work may indicate — that it should be placed in a monotypic genus of its own, following a course already favoured for the other peculiar American grebes of the © genera Podilymbus and Aechmophorus. Should this solution be thought to be the correct one, then the true dabchicks could also be separated from Podiceps as the genus Sy/beocyclus Macgillivray, 1842 (which has priority over Tachybaptus Reichenbach, 1853, used by Peters 1931). However, — until the status of P. dominicus is certain, it seems best to leave all these © small grebes in the genus Podiceps. ee ———— | Podiceps _ This genus raises many problems, some of which have already been ‘mentioned. The modern tendency (followed here) has been to place the majority of the grebes in Podiceps and this gives an impression of un- balance to the classification of the Podicipitidae. Yet the maintenance of — a large genus Podiceps seems to be the best course at the present State of knowledge, for clearly this genus represents the major adaptive radiation — of the grebes. I have divided it into four species groups, resisting the temptation of erecting further genera or subgenera, which would give a | false impression of finality to the arrangenemt. The groups themselves } seem definite enough but their inter-relations are not yet fully clear. The problem of P. dominicus has already been mentioned. A similar doubt — exists as to the affinities of the two grey-faced grebes, P. major and P.— grisegena. The latter is almost traditionally associated in various works — with P. cristatus and its allies. However, the head-ornamentation of both — P. major and P. grisegena is distinctive and apparently represents a trend similar to that in the true dabchicks (especially P. rufolavatus and P. pelxelnii) rather than that in the typical ornamented grebes. If the dab-— chicks and P. dominicus were removed from Podiceps, then it might be necessary also to remove P. major and P. grisegena to form a third genus — Pedetaithya Kaup, 1829, leaving the typical ornamented grebes in sole possession of a reduced genus Podiceps (of which P. cristatus is the type species). The latter grebes are a well-knit group phylogenetically, falling into two main sub-groups, with P. auritus and P. cristatus both standing Bulletin B.O.C. 113 Vol. 82 _ somewhat apart. P. occipitalis and P. taczanowskii and P. nigricollis and. ,?. andinus are obviously closely related, having many similarities in morphology and behaviour which are shared, at least to some extent, by 1 the two hoary-headed grebes P. poliocephalus and P. rufopectus. The two latter may well belong within the same sub-group as P. occipitalis and its allies but, until more information is available, I think it safer to leave : them as a separate sub-group next to the other. | am convinced that _-P. micropterus belongs to the same species group as P. chilensis and P. : rolland,. representing an earlier colonization of Lake Titicaca by P ) chilensis, or its immediate ancestor, just as P. rolland represents a more recent colonization of the Falkland Islands by P. chilensis stock. Both P. micropterus and P. rolland have increased appreciably in size but, while. "the latter has retained a nuptial plumage identical with that of P. chilensis and remained capable of flight (at least when not at maximum weight), 8 micropterus has become flightless and developed a nuptial plumage hat is merely an elaboration of the eclipse plumage of P. chilensis. f A final point. P. nigricollis has sometimes been placed in the genus _ Proctopus Kaup, 1829, by writers on Ethiopian birds (e.g. Roberts 1919). _ I can see no justification for this step. The type-species of Proctopus is, by -monotypy, P. auritus and there seems no good reason for supposing there _to be acloser relationship between P. nigricollis and P. auritus than between either and P. cristatus, the type species of the genus Podiceps. If the genus _ Proctopus were to be upheld, then to be consistent, one would have to erect a genus for practically every other species of grebe. (N.B. The genus _ Dytes Kaup, 1829, has page priority over the genus Proctopus aise. 1829; _ the type species of Dytes is also P. auritus.) % Pairs of very closely related forms Within the Podicipitidae, there are a number of very closely related _ forms. The following are sympatric over at least part of the range: (1) Podiceps ruficollis and P. novaehollandiae; (2) P. ruficollis and P. rufolavatus (though the former is rare on Madagascar and there seems no evidence that the two forms ever actually meet); (3) P. rufolavatus and P. pelzelnii (again, there is no evidence, so far as I am aware, that the two forms ever actually meet on Mada- gascar); (4) P. sje and P. thichakowbketi (1) P. nigricollis and P. andinus; (2) P. chilensis and P. rolland; (3) Podilymbus podiceps and P. gigas. : * There is no choice, of course, but to treat each member of the sympatric b air as a full species, the two forming a ‘‘species-pair’’. In the case of Podiceps ruficollis and P. rufolavatus and of P. rufolavatus and P. pelzelnii, the forms show noticeable morphological differences from each other. _ With the siblings P. ruficollis and P. novaehollandiae and P. occipitalis and Pp. taczanowskii, however, there is much closer morphological similarity * y Vol. 82 114 Bulletin B.O.C. so that, if they were allopatric instead of sympatric, a decided problem of — whether or not to combine them in single species would be posed. This — fact should be taken into account, therefore, in assessing the status of the allopatric pairs. In each case, there is a widespread, polytypic species — (P. nigricollis, P. chilensis and Podilymbus podiceps) and a geographically isolated form (Podiceps andinus, P. rolland and Podilymbus gigas), clearly the representative of the other but distinct to some extent in plumage and/ or structure. My first inclination was to lump them into single species and such a procedure would certainly be followed by many modern taxono- mists. However, the isolate of the allopatric pair is at least a developing species and should not, in my opinion, be submerged taxonomically by being treated as a mere race of the wider ranging form. The small differ- ences within the latter are transcended by the greater difference between it and the isolate in every case. The geographically isolated forms are ‘‘semispecies’’ in the sense of Mayr (1940). They have to be treated binomially. For this reason, the category is rather unsatisfactory, for it is impossible to characterize semi- species within our present system of nomenclature, so they emerge in practice as binomial forms indistinguishable from monotypic, but un- doubtedly full species. Further, forms treated as semispecies are likely to differ in status; some may be full species, others not—we are just in no position to know. Nevertheless, the category of the semispecies for very — distinctive forms is preferable to terming these forms subspecies or to raise them unequivocally to the status of full species. _ Superspecies A semispecies and its related, wider ranging form constitute at least a — simple superspecies of the first stage of differentiation. As discussed above, there are three such incipient superspecies within the Podicipitidae. In addition, some better defined superspecies may be recognized : (1) Podiceps major and P. grisegena; (2) P. poliocephalus and P. rufopectus; (3) P. nigricollis/andinus with both P. occipitalis and P. taczanowskii — (the situation here being somewhat complicated by the fact that 2 the two latter species are sympatric). A REVISED CHECK-LIST OF THE GREBES Notes: (1) Semispecies have been bracketted with their related, wider ranging form. ‘ (2) Superspecies are designated by the names of the terminal species. (3) Forms marked by an asterisk are full, polytypic species; those un-— marked are full, monotypic species, while semispecies are dis- tinguished by. italics. (4) In the case of the genus Podiceps, | have indicated in brackets the = generic or subgeneric name available to any species group or sub- — group, together with the type species, in case that group be O~ a ae { Bulletin B.O.C. : 115 Vol. 82 * —— pa) a ———— a ee ally given formal nomenclatural status (no name seems available for P. dominicus). (5) The range given under each form is only a rough guide to the main area(s) of distribution. Genus PODILYMBUS Lesson, 1831 *P. podiceps (Linnaeus, 1758) North and South America. P. gigas Griscom, 1929 Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Genus PODICEPS Latham, 1787 Species group A (Sylbeocyclus Macgillivray, 1842: P. ruficollis) *P. ruficollis (Pallas, 1764) Europe, Asia, Africa, some Australasian islands. *P. novaehollandiae Stephens, 1826 Tasmania, Australia, some Australasian islands. P. rufolavatus Delacour, 1933 Madagascar (confined to the Lake Alaotra area). P. pelzelnii Hartlaub, 1861 Madagascar generally. Species group B *P. dominicus (Linnaeus, 1766) Southern North America, South America. Species group C (Pedetaithya Kaup, 1829: P. grisegena) Superspecies P. major-grisegena P. major (Boddaert, 1783) . Southern half of South America. *P. grisegena (Boddaert, 1783) North America, Europe, Asia. Species group D (Podiceps Latham, 1787: P. cristatus) Sub-group | (Rollandia Bonaparte, 1853: P. rolland) *P. chilensis Lesson, 1828 Southern half of South America (north to eastern Peru). P. rolland Quoy & Gaimard, 1824 Falkland Islands. P. micropterus Gould, 1868 Lake Titicaca basin, Peru and Bolivia. Sub-group 2 (Dytes Kaup, 1829: P. auritus) *P. auritus (Linnaeus, 1758) North America, Europe, Asia. Sub-group 3 (Poliocephalus Selby, 1840: P. poliocephalus) Superspecies P. poliocephalus-rufopectus *P. poliocephalus Jardine & Selby, 1827 Tasmania, Australia. = ' = ] ; Vol. 82 116 ~ Bulletin B.O.C. P. rufopectus Gray, 1843 New Zealand. Sub-group 4 (Calipareus Gray, 1871: P. occipitalis) Superspecies P. occipitalis-nigricollis *P. occipitalis Garnot, 1826 Southern South America (north to southern Colombia), Falkland Islands. P. taczanowskii Berlepsch & Stolzmann, 1894 Lake Junin, Peru. *P. nigricollis Brehm, 1831 North America, Europe, Asia, Africa. P. andinus (de Schauensee, 1959) Eastern Andes of northern Colombia. Sub-group 5 (Podiceps Latham, 1787: P. cristatus) *P. cristatus (Linnaeus, 1758) Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand. Genus AECHMOPHORUS Coues, 1862 A. occidentalis (Lawrence, 1858) North America. References : Delacour, J. 1933. L’oiseau 3: 4-7. Goodwin, D. 1959. Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) 6 (1). Gould, J. 1868. Proc. Zool. Soc. London: 220-221. Hellmayr, C. E. and Conover, B. 1948. Pub. Field Mus. Nat. Hist. (Zool. series) 13, | (2). neta Commission on Zoological Nomenclature 1956. Opinions and declarations 13 (1): 146. Peters, J. L. 1931. Check-list of birds of the world, 1. Cambridge (Mass.). Mayr, E. 1940. Amer. Nat. 74: 249-278. Mayr, E. 1943. Emu 43: 3-17. Parkes, K. C. 1952. Condor 54: 314-315. Roberts, A. 1919. Ann. Transvaal Mus. 6: 118. de Schauensee, R. M. 1959. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 111: 55. Sclater, P. L. and Salvin, O. 1869. Exotic ornithology, containing figures and descriptions of new or rare species of American birds. London. Simmons, K. E. L. 1954. Bird Study 1: 53-56. Simmons, K. E. L. 1955. Studies on Great Crested Grebes. Avicult. Mag., London. Simmons, K. E. L. 1959. In Bannerman’s Birds of the British Isles 8: 215-223. Storer, R. W. 1960. Proc. XII Internat. Orn. Cong. Helsinki 1958: 695-707. Wetmore, A. and Parkes, K. C. 1954. J. Washington Acad. Sci. 44: 126-127. me iAeAy ih = 0 ae | ae HOT PaO yd 1.9.0.8 sult 90 ‘casditiont 03 sitet Jon sie anoitudnined bois pIOGS ‘sil ~brsilesY ndot iM Vrotibsl sri of bezestbba od ies blworle sestl .t.W.YT nobriod jhied e' tase98 .nobsod to ar & ative bourgqe-aiduob 5qsq: onl) 10 obie oo #o boa i vag Sishay iiliagionelt banoitiom 2] gsiveqe # sinit Jari i a yitio beonatasa Sige sri) ylinsupoadu2 -bobuloni o¢ blvode a ei mt beta 938 ema ofitesi2 enase ot Jo 19)0! ft t6 novia od Binode eoonsicte A tqgriseedyi od? nt bonilisbay Al, IYO F: Nee wor ae git it SS China Kath. giion doug Sy AA. i IAOTg Siisn Oni velGeb bose oftit vas! mi cit siszibai Dlnode WHENGOIGGE BR Aon cedue LOR .42 Jeon sion yd bswollol txs? ) swoill 61 och bivode SMR oki io noivosbortini ieuil of} .enondinmesd ‘ sivi"* ie ee "nouedm2id’* « fonqna2O™ - 101 -erlqame crag pruibssti-due york ons "“bsrinnx2, - ee . SaNT to eisnotn - < me he dal ie, bs 1H pot Yam zoganalo OV! Nels Dt i boi tine: 90 J2urti ‘oor jib Io stolieoeihvoris TA Be os110) cafe tonic .sanke eid? p school Sto daggosit to vader sy Bidencess B 701 sq hiw dul oe gar.) pele ARG cil 101 niste7 Ye todnines es Goo soil 2 aS dAnbreike tape oj} boliiind ow sotudistad> ‘se0dT TOM ee Feo ylinoftiooge an "ino Dstlgayue ywwysiine hic fe ied ai bred bidore pnitesin £ 01 ganudint peer ig oft grinolistom bsiieen| od Uiw stow 6 1 ar | ee. nie ite ar * 10 258aMUM. SOAS mm od Bitorle dass 22% ao, fouiw erodraiun dost 101 2qonsstqgsA weradnisly . WSi6 net” Soou72 AoigmivO 4% .ysibew 4 LH pups bss S310 ps3 Asano! on yont rloidw wisolhwA ortto'etodonin dond VolbaWw Et Mi of mir: bade o} AV FAILING. Or. Udirus, wWAUe Bq ig) 208 OL Ylleunan Asdmsit-aon yd b: sey bet od yam wield T Seappianata WOH ont oF “ya YqOo 199 30 (oonsvbE Re es ion nod .soslt tsond- bec Hi) Bd bigorde sansbanges rine wTTtO set 2 bhoowsirieaM '' .woerneH 3-1 ao Roel AO 20v TAM CYA 2SAURIC ‘ So pasagn BL. Aodineyb GOs nadoey0 al sedmetqné diXt shiv sn Mot foc Hiv Aurion tsdmisvoy. +6 1329 eh akic WABip OM TARO Hersiae oh re Breil! i009 , Peal edb anes fico and siotnontolt burs) edt. INE” iy ny ’ + k ‘ 7 r ri ay cm y Prise Oe awe ee CONTRIBUTORS Contributions are not restricted to members of the B.O.C. and should be addressed to the Editor, Mr. John Yealland, The Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, N.W.1. These should be concise and typed on one side of the paper, double-spaced, with a good margin. The first time a species is mentioned, the scientific generic and specific names should be included. Subsequently the same name need only have the initial letter of the genus. Scientific names are printed in italics and should be underlined in the typescript. References should be given at the end of the paper. Authors introducing a new name or describing a new species or race should indicate this in their title and display the name prominently in the text followed by nom. nov., sp. nov., subsp. nov. as appropriate. In these descriptions, the first introduction of the name should be followed by paragraphs for ‘‘Description’’, ‘‘Distribution’’, ‘‘Type’’, ‘‘Measure- ments of Type’’, ‘‘Material examined’’ and further sub-headings as required. Proofs must be returned without delay. No changes may be made at this stage, other than corrections. At the discretion of the Editor, the Club will pay for a reasonable number of monochrome blocks, which the contributor may retain for his own use. Contributors are entitled to a maximum of fifty free copies of the Bulletin, supplied only as specifically requested by authors. Those con- tributing to a meeting should hand in their MS. at that meeting; otherwise a note will be inserted mentioning the contribution. BACK NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN Applications for back numbers which cost 5s. each, should be made to N. J. P. Wadley, 58 Ovington Street, London, S.W.3. Members who have back numbers of the Bulletin, which they no longer require are requested to send them to N. J. P. Wadley. SUBSCRIPTION TO BULLETIN The Bulletin may be purchased by non-members annually for 30s. (payable in advance) or per copy 5s., payable to the Hon. Treasurer, P. Tate, 4 Broad Street Place, London, E.C.2 CORRESPONDENCE Other correspondence should be addressed to the Hon. Secretary, Dr. J. G. Harrison, ‘‘Merriewood’’, St. Botolph’s Road, Sevenoaks, Kent. DINNERS AND MEETINGS FOR 1962 18th September, 16th October, 20th November, 18th December. (The October or November meeting will be a joint one with the B.O.U.) Published by the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB and printed by The Caxton & Holmesdale Press, South Park, Sevenoaks, Kent. BULLETIN OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB Edited by JOHN J. YEALLAND -9 OCT 1962 Volume 82 PURCH ASED October No. 7 1962 117 Vol. 82 BULLETIN OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB Volume 82 Number 7 Published: 8th October, 1962 The sixth hundredth meeting of the Club was held at the Rembrandt Hotel, London on 18th September, 1962. Chairman: Major-General C. B. Wainwright. Members present: 34; Guests: 18; Guests of the Club: Mr. and Mrs. Vincent Serventy; Total: 54. The Chairman welcomed Dr. and Mrs. Falla from New Zealand, Mr. and Mrs. Rowan from South Africa and Mr. and Mrs. Serventy from Australia. Mr. Vincent Serventy then spoke on - Australian land and sea birds Rsrating his most interesting address with colour slides and a tape recording of the voice of the Noisy Scrub-bird, thought to be extinct, but rediscovered in 1961. A summary follows :— Australia is a continent with its 3,000,000 square miles spread over hree_ main physical divisions; a very ancient western plateau, a geo- logically younger central basin and an eastern highlands, whose present elevation dates from the late Tertiary and whose height varies between 2,000-7,000 feet. The climate is such that about one third of the continent Ss desert, one third semi-arid and the rest suitable for closer human settle- ment. Of the 650 birds, about 80 are visitors, about 40 seabirds and about 530 land and freshwater species. Some of the interesting groups and species discussed included the emus, mound builders, parrots and cockatoos and the honeyeaters. The breeding seasons in land birds are as follows :— §pring-breeding in the southern areas and coastlines where winter rainfall is the rule and also on the east coast; summer breeding in the north, where monsoonal summer rain occurs; and irregular breeding in other areas Where nesting must wait on suitable rains. Among seabirds there are all-the-year-round breeders like Caspian Terns in the north, autumn breeders and spring breeders e.g. northern gannets; some that breed only in the autumn, e.g. pelicans; some that breed only in the spring, e.g. Fairy Tern. The Silver Gull is interesting on the west coast where there are islands on which both autumn and spring breeding groups occur, but hether these are separate populations or double breeders is not known. - Vol. 82 3 118 : Bulletin B.O.C. The re-discovery of the Noisy Scrub-bird was the highlight of 1961. Mr. Harley Webster managed, after patient search, to find and obtain tape- recordings of the call of this bird, last seen in 1889 and previously believed by many ornithologists to be extinct. From his investigation of habitats. it seems that this is a case where increased numbers of bush fires destroyed many breeding populations, leaving pockets of birds only in more isolated areas. A slow build up of population in these refuges eventually allowed a spillover of birds into other areas, thus leading to their discovery. The Scrub-bird re-discovery highlights the interest of the Australian scene to the amateur ornithologist, where work of importance can be done by the keen worker. Acknowledgement: The film shown at the May meeting of the Club was generously lent by Messrs. Colin Robinson and G. R. Cunningham-Van Someren. A short film of a captive Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex), also shown at this meeting, was kindly lent by Mr. J. M. Pearson, the sound recording accompanying it being by Mr. Myles North. The south-western races of Eremomela icteropygialis (Lafresnaye) by J. M. WINTERBOTTOM Received 30th January, 1962 Considerable controversy has arisen recently over the south-western races of Eremomela icteropygialis (Lafresnaye), different views on some aspects of the problem being expressed by Macdonald (1957), Clancey (1959, 1962) and White (1961). It seemed therefore worth while to review the whole matter with the aid of the collections in the South Africa, Durban, East London and Transvaal Museums and the National Museum of Southern Rhodesia, Bulawayo. | am much endebted to the Directors of these last four Museums and to Messrs. O. P. M. Prozesky and M. P. Stuart Irwin for the loan of material; and I must also thank Mr. P. A. -Clancey for allowing me to see his 1962 paper before publication. 4 Before tackling the nomenclatorial problem, it seemed best first to determine how many races were involved. Five have been described fro within South African limits, icteropygialis (Lafresnaye), 1839, said to be from the Orange River; polioxantha Sharpe, 1883, from Swaziland; sharpei Reichenow, 1905, from Windhoek; saturatior Ogilvie-Grant, 1910,” from Deelfontein; and perimacha Oberholser, 1920, from the Asbestos Mountains, Griqualand West. Of these, we can dismiss polioxantha in a few lines. It is quite distinct from the other southern populations of the species, the belly being a much _ deeper and brighter yellow. It ranges from Zululand, through Swaziland, the eastern Transvaal and Southern Rhodesia to north-east Bechuanaland Protectorate (Makarikari Pan and 99 miles south of Francistown) and _ northwards beyond our limits to Northern Rhodesia, southern Tangan-— yika, Nyasaland and Portugese East Africa (White, 1961). — The controversy exists about the other four races. Clancey (1959, 1962 believes that perimacha is synonymous with the type race and that the” aR . | é Bulletin B.0.C. Ae) 119 Vol. 82 / b birds of Sidi S.W. Africa constitute the paler sharpei. White (1961) regards sharpei as a synonym of icteropygialis; he does not discuss topo- typical perimacha but uses this name for Bechuanaland birds, which implies that they are the same as those of Griqualand West, whereas -Clancey (1962) considers them the same as those from northern S. W. ' Africa. Clancey (1959) also suggests that if western Orange Free State and Transvaal birds (for which the name perimacha has been widely used in the past) are actually distinct from icteropygialis, they will require a new name. _ My first task was to find out how many races there are, before deciding _what they ought to be called. For this, | had at my disposal 161 skins and, _leaving aside five skins which obviously belonged to very distinct north- eastern polioxantha, the rest of the material fell very naturally into three groups, in which the breast grew darker and the belly duller as one proceeded from north to south (and east). The only serious gap in the _ series was for the Orange Free State, for which only three skins, one from Boshoff and the other two from Glen, near Bloemfontein, were available. The palest series was from northern South West Africa and most of Bechuanaland Protectorate; perceptibly darker were birds from southern South West Africa, most of Griqualand West and parts of the north- western Cape. In the area between Windhoek and Ghanzi both forms occurred—one Ghanzi bird, indeed, could well have been placed in the ‘succeeding series. This third series of still darker birds, came from the Karoo and I was unable to separate most of the Transvaal skins from it. Some birds from ‘the area Barkly West-Kimberley-Fourteen Streams agreed with this dark race and others fitted equally well into the lighter series. The western Free State bird was on the whole better placed with the lighter series; the others with the darker skins. _ Skins from the northern and eastern Transvaal (Nelspruit, Mokeetsi, Woodbush, Nylstroom) showed the influence of perimacha in being decidedly paler on the breast and richer on the belly than the other Transvaal! birds. It is clear from the foregoing that my findings agree with Clancey’s. as far as these latter go, but there remain nomenclatorial problems. _A good deal of uncertainty surrounds the type specimen of Eremomela eropygialis, as was first pointed out by Macdonald (1957), who says: “there is inscribed on its label, in Lafresnaye’s handwriting, the words des Elephants’, which was crossed out and the words ‘d’Orange’ added. La esnaye in his description says, ‘said to have come from the Orange ; iver.’ It is quite unlikely that the bird was taken on the Olifants River nd it is doubtful if the species occurs along the Orange River anywhere | m ch below Upington. The specimen was probably collected by Levaillant ~ and it might easily have been taken from within the present known range ¢ of the species north of the Orange River, where Levaillant claims to have travelled.’’ In other words, Macdonald believes that the type specimen came neither from the Olifants nor from the Orange, but from further fi. horth. The type was matched at Harvard against an Andersson skin from \ Otjimbingwe, which supports its northern origin as far as it goes, though i { / Re 7 Vol. 82 120 Bulletin B.O.C. in this connection I would agree with Clancey (1959) that comparison of — such old skins to determine the subspecies is of very doubtful value. Unfortunately, too, all the other arguments which Macdonald advanced to support his case are either doubtful or have since been shown to be incorrect, as follows: (1) Eremomela icteropygialis does occur on the Olifants River (Winter- bottom, 1958). : (ii) It also occurs on or close to the Orange River below Upington, where it has been found at Bladgrond (Clancey, 1959), at two places in the Richtersveld (Winterbottom & Courtenay-Latimer, 1961) and at Aughrabies Falls. (111) It is not certain whether Levaillant collected the skin or not. ; (iv) Granted that he did, the evidence that he crossed the Orange River is not conclusive. Grant (1957) has argued the case in favour of it, adducing the evidence of the skins of Agapornis roseicollis, Rhinopomastus ] cyanomelas, Motacilla aguimp, Pterocles bicinctus and Trachyphonus — vaillantii as proof. To this Forbes (1958) has replied: “‘It is permissible — to wonder . .. whether the ranges in the 18th century of the five species named are known with such certainty in that still unfrequented territory that they can now be used to establish positively the extent of Le Vaillant’s travels in the north.’”’ The answer, of course, is they are not so known and cannot be so used. ~ Of the five species named, Pferocles bicinctus has now been recorded ~ south of the Orange at Kuboos, in the Richtersveld, and Motacilla aguimp — on the Olifants and even near Cape Town. Although the others have not — so far been recorded south of the river, it may be observed that the Social Weaver Philetarius socius, on which Agapornis roseicollis depends for — nest sites, occurs as far south as north-western Carnarvon. I may also add © that my Ms. list for the Kenhardt District, which covers most of the — country south of the Orange River in the critical area, includes only 85 — species altogether; and that for Prieska, the adjoining District to the east, | only 57 (as against, e.g., 216 for the better-known Philipstown and 201 for Little Namaqualand), emphasising our scanty knowledge even today of ~ the bird population of that area. Acocks (1953) has shown, too, that | much of the present desert country in those parts was covered with a more luxuriant vegetation in the past. Another species hitherto supposed — not to occur south of the Orange, Merops hirundineus, is now known to © extend 60 miles further south (Winterbottom, 1960) and the same may © well apply to some, at least, of the species under consideration. } (v) Nobody claims that Levaillant reached as far north as Otjimbingwe ~ and I agree with Clancey (1962) that the use of this place ‘‘as a sort of © putative type locality of E. i. icteropygialis’’ serves only to confuse. 4 The upshot of all this is that we are now left with no external evidence © worth considering as to the locality where the type of Eremomela— icteropygialis was collected; and since Lafresnaye presumably had some reason for believing that it came from the Orange River, we must, I think, — accept that as the type locality, as Clancey (1959) has advocated. White’s- note (1961) adds nothing new to the argument, except the statement that the emendation to the locality on the label of the type specimen was made ‘Bulletin B.O.C. | 121 Vol. 82 by Lafresnaye himself, which Macdonald does not say. I would therefore summarise the position as I see it in respect of the South African races of _ this species as follows : 1. Eremomela icteropygialis saturatior O.-Grant Eremomela saturatior Ogilvie—Grant, Bull. B.O.C., 25, 1910: 120— Deelfontein. Breast darkish grey, belly pale yellow. Range: The Karoo of the Cape Province, north, in the west, to about Van Wyk’s Vlei and Merriman and thence across the Orange Free State to the Transvaal. Intergrades with E£. i. icteropygialis at Van Wyk’s Vlei, Merriman, the Kimberley area and the western Orange Free State; and with E£. i. polioxantha in the north-eastern Transvaal from Nelspruit to Mokeetsi. We may note that the north-eastern boundary of the range of this race is close enough to the 65°F. isotherm to suggest that there is some correlation with temperature. , SUID-AFRIKA SOUTH AFRICA W513 asa > 7° 7" » ale 21 ©f9 25 27 29 31 33 , 7 ] > T re hs: di ae a hi i ee hak | te ce ee a Kilometer 100 te 100 200 400 400 $00 600 Kilomet South-western subspecies of Eremolema icteropygialis Each dot represents a locality from which one or more specimens have been examined. Type localities of named races, whether valid or not, are indicated by open squares and named. _: Area of intergradation between races are hatched. i 2. Eremomela icteropygialis icteropygialis (Lafres.) | __ Sylvietta icteropygialis Lafresnaye, Rev. Zool., 1839 : 258 —Orange River 4 ~ References: 2 eS . Vol. 82 ~ 12 8 _ Bulletin B.O.C. Synonym: Eremomela griseoflava perimacha Oberholser, Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., 33, 1920: Asbestos Mts. Breast pale grey, belly somewhat brighter yellow than in E. i. saturatior. Range: The Orange River basin from the Vaal confluence downstream, Gordonia, and most of Griqualand West, southern S. W. Africa. Inter- grades with the next race between 22° and 23°S in South West Africa. 3. Eremomela icteropygialis sharpei Reichenow Eremomela flaviventris sharpei Reichenow, Orn. Monatsb., 13, 1905: 25—Windhoek Breast almost white; belly decidedly brighter than in E. i. icteropygialis. Range: Northern South West Africa, the whole of Bechuanaland Protectorate except the north-east corner, and the Kalahari Gemsbok Park area of the northern Cape. 4. Eremomela icteropygialis polioxantha Sharpe Eremomela polioxantha Sharpe, Cat. Bds. B.M., 7, 1883: 160—Swazi- land. : Breast much as in E. i. icteropygialis, belly much richer yellow than in — any of the preceding. Range: as outlined in par. 3 above. Acocks, J. H. P. (1953), ‘Veld Types of South Africa,’ Bot. Surv. S. Afr. Mem. No. 28. Clancey, P. A. (1959), ‘Miscellaneous Taxonomic Notes on African Birds, XIII (h), Durb. Mus. Novit., 5: 204-6 (1962), “Comments on the Typical Race of Eremomela icteropygialis (Lafresnaye), Bull. B.O.C., 82: 44-5. Forbes, V. S. (1958), ‘The Limits of Le Vaillant’s Travels in South Africa,’ The Ostrich, 29: 79-85. Grant; C. H. B, ae Levaillant’s Travels in South Africa,’ The Ostrich, 28: 83-97, Macdonald, J. D. (1957), A Contribution to the Ornithology ‘of Western South Africa. London. White, C. M. N. (1961), Notes on Eremomela icteropygialis (Lafresnaye), Bull. B.O. Cs 81: 90-2. J Winterbottom, J. M. (1958), ‘Distribution of Eremomela icteropygialis Lafresnaye,’ Bull. Bact 78: 132-3. Winterbottom, J. M. (1960), ‘Southern Limit of the Range of the Swallow-tailed Bee- eater Merops hirundineus Licht.,’ The Ostrich, 31: 27. Winterbottom, J. M. and Courtenay-Latimer, M. (1961), ‘A List of the Birds of Little Namaqualand,’ S. Afr. Avif. Ser., | A new name for Bradypterus barratti major (Roberts) by S. A. PARKER Received 6th January, 1962 If both Caffrillas barratti (Sharpe) and Dumeticola major Brooks are placed in the genus Bradypterus, following Delacour (/bis, 1942, p. 512), then the name Bradypterus barratti major (Roberts) becomes a junior secondary homonym. I therefore propose :— Bradypterus barratti lysis, nom. nov. for Caffrillas barratti major Roberts, Ann. Transvaal Mus., vii, p. 234, 1922—Wakkerstroom, — Transvaal. | = Bradypterus barratti major, not Dumeticola major Brooks, Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, 41, p. 77, 1872—Kash : = Bradypterus major major. . 7 Bulletin B.O.C. : 123 Vol. 82 ! Watering of young in Pterocles alchata by S. MARCHANT Pe beer 28th December, 1961 In a recent notice Marchant (Bu//. B.O.C., Vol. 81, pp. 134-141. 1961) ‘described aspects of breeding in the sandgrouse Pterocles alchata and P. senegallus and in particular gave an account of what was presumed to be the watering of the young by the male parent in P. senega/lus. During 1961 further opportunities were taken of observing these birds on their breeding grounds, about 20 km. nearer Baghdad than the area in which the observations were made in 1960. q On three occasions behaviour very similar to that already described for P. senegallus was seen with P. alchata. Briefly, this was as follows :— — 21st July. 0615 hrs. Discovered a pair with two young which were later estimated to be about ten days old. Watched till 0720 when both adults flew away and young squatted. At 0806 2 returned : young got up and joined her without any abnormal behaviour. At 0813-14 3 returned and settled 5 m. from young: as he did so, 2 flew away a short distance and young immediately ran to ¢. For about two minutes they remained with him, evidently thrusting their heads into his belly and flank feathers, which he seemed to spread and fluff out, though my view was partly obscured by thin, low vegetation. At 0816 both young walked away from ¢ and joined ie _ immediately drove up from 150 m. where I had been watching, but as I got out of the car, the young flew off down wind for 50-100 m. When | caught one, it had no signs of dampness on its head. Perhaps it was not kely that there would be, even though only one to two minutes at most | Bould have elapsed between the time that the young left the g and I had _ caught one of them. 28th July. 0700 hrs. Discovered three adults (1 ¢, 2 22) with three young _ which were about three quarters grown and well able to fly. It was not clear which adults owned the young and matters were further confused by other single adults coming and going, but by 0720 one 2 was left with the young and she left at 0722, leaving the young together and motionless. . ey’ >h two ¢¢ landed near the young and all three at once ran up to one ale. He stood erect and the young nestled around and below him, with eads inwards, like a litter of suckling puppies. At one moment I could carly see, from about 150 m., one young with its head against the male’s 8 and thighs. They separated at 0734, and wandered about feeding till 1e 2 joined them at 0805. “4th August. 0615 hrs. Picked up a pair with three well-grown young of the same size as those watched on 28th July. Followed across desert for ,900 metres till they joined a large flock of mixed adults and juveniles. ‘The flock flew away at 0757 leaving the family behind, with a few other ace sattered individuals. The g parent disappeared unseen about this time. t 0804 the young squatted and the accompanying © ran on and also lise ppeared. At 0824 a pair flew close over the young, calling loudly. The young immediately rose and then settled with the adult pair 50 m. further aw ay on a bare desert road, when two of them at once ran up and nestled inder the male, the third waiting alone indifferently for a few moments and then joining in. This ‘‘litter of puppies’’ behaviour lasted for about one ; i { : ~ « - ’ Bu adults never left the young which surprised me because I had expected to specimen of saturatus is an extremely worn bird. The flanks are washed ~ -nigrilorum and saturatus. Vol. 82 124 Bulletin B.O.C. minute and then was broken up, all the birds walking off across the desert and feeding. These observations seem to confirm beyond doubt the method by which these sandgrouse bring water to their young. I may add, however, that on 18th August, from 0800 to 1135 I watched a pair of P. senegallus with two young, no more than a week old and unable to fly. While I watched, the see ‘‘watering’’ behaviour during this period. Presumably, then, if ‘‘water- ing’’ is performed daily, its time is more irregular than one would have imagined. Remarks on the taxonomy of Jurdus nigrilorum Reichenow and Turdus saturatus (Cabanis) in Southern British Cameroons by WILLIAM SERLE Received 29th January, 1962 Turdus nigrilorum was described by Reichenow (Ber. Allgem. deutsch. orn. Ges. Marz 1892), the type locality being Buea on the Cameroon Mountain at an altitude of 950 metres (about 3,100 feet). Reichenow compared his new form with Turdus chiguancoides Seebohm, and in his original description he mentioned the grey-brown flanks and the fulvous- — brown axillaries of nigrilorum. For a number of years opinion has been divided over the status of T. nigrilorum, some treating it as a full species and others treating it as con- specific with the wide ranging Turdus libonyanus (Smith) of which the representative in the area surrounding the Cameroon Mountain is T. /. — saturatus (Cabanis).* The type locality of saturatus is Duala, on the Cameroons coast and only ~ twenty-five miles from the base of the Cameroon Mountain. The type en ee etaieaininnaiimaiitat iia cae orange-chestnut and the axillaries and under wing-coverts are clear orange- chestnut. 4 In the hope of determining the relationship of nigrilorum and saturatus I collected a series of the two forms on the Cameroon Mountain and on the - plain between the base of the mountain and the sea, at altitudes from sea level up to 9,500 ft. Comparing the two forms, in fresh adult plumage, in — nigrilorum the upper parts are a shade darker as are the lores, and the middle of the throat and breast a shade greyer and less brown, but these — are trifling differences. The only good character lies in the flanks, the axillaries and under wing-coverts. The orange-chestnut wash on the | flanks of saturatus is absent in nigrilorum and the axillaries and under wing-coverts instead of being clear orange-chestnut are only tinged with orange-chestnut, and the outer under wing-coverts are hardly even so tinged. f On the character of the flanks, axillaries, and under wing-coverts the | thrush of the upper slopes of the Cameroon Mountain is clearly T. nigri-— lorum, the thrush of the lowest slopes of the mountain and the adjacent” coastal plain is T. saturatus and there is a fairly narrow altitudinal zone on the lower slopes of the mountain occupied by intermediates between » In the series collected by me the following are assigned to T. nigrilorum. | Bulletin B.O.C. 125 Vol. 82 1 9; Saxenhof; 1,700’; Wing 109 mm.; Tail 77 mm. 1 2; above Mimbia; 3,300’; W. 114; T. 75. 1 3; above Buea; 3,400’; W. 111; T. 76. » 164; 19; above Buea; 4,000’; W. 115, 109; T. 82, 74. _ 1; above Buea; 4,000’; juvenile. it 2 2; above Buea; 4,500’; W. 104, 109; T. 74, 77. ~ 19; above Buea 5,000’; W. 108; T. 75. 1 2; above Buea 5,500’; juvenile. 2 2; Mann’s Spring; 7,400’; W. 109, 111; T. 76, 81. - 1; above Buea; 9,500’; W. 109; T. 77. The following are assigned to 7. saturatus:— 6 g, 1 9; Victoria; sea level; J, W. 107;°110, 111, 111, 113, 115; T. 79, 79, 84, 84, 83, 82; 2 juvenile. 1 3; Missellele; sea level; W. 112; T. 82. = 1 4; Powo; 600’; W. 110; T. 79. = 14; above Bota;.1,000’; W. 109; T. 77. 5 1 3, 2 2; near Ekona; 1,200’; W. 113, 108, 109; T. 83, 80, 77. > 1 g, 1 9; near Ekona; 1,400’; W. 110, 106; T. 81, 77. ~ 12; Bonikando, 2,100’; W. 107; T. 81. 3 1 2; above Saxenhof, 2,300’; W. 111; T. 80. ’ . The following are intermediates nearer to nigrilorum than to saturatus: © 24; near Saxenhof; 1,700’; W. 111, 112; T. 86, 82. - 12; near Saxenhof; 2,000’; W. 107; T. 77. 1 g; Tole; 2,000’; W. 114; T. 82. _ 1.4; above Mimbia; 3,200’; W. 109; T. 80. The following are intermediates nearer to saturatus than to nigrilorum:— 1 ¢; Ekona; 1,200’; W. 115; T. 81. 1 g; near Saxenhof; 1,700’; W. 113; T. 81. ¢ 1 2; near Saxenhof; 1,800’; W. 109; T. 76. _ 16; Lisoka; 1,900’; W. 117; T. 85. ‘ 1 g; above Bonikando; 2,900’; W. 112; T. 78. 1 3; above Buea; 3,500; W. 116; T. 82. In brief, the specimens of nigri/orum were all collected at altitudes be- tween 3,300’ and 9,500’ except one at 1,700’. The specimens of saturatus _ were all collected between sea level and 1,400’ except one at 2,100’ and one at 2,300’. The intermediates were all collected between 1,200’ and 2,000’ except one at 2,900’, one at 3,200’, and one at 3,500’. __ The series shows that 7. nigrilorum and T. saturatus are conspecific, _ being races of T. libonyanus; nigrilorum of the Cameroon Mountain being a montane representative of the species. _ The altitudinal range of T. nigrilorum Several of the Cameroon Mountain true montane forms occur as low as _ about the 1,700’ contour but no lower. Only exceptionally are any montane forms encountered below 1,700’. The dividing line between 7. nigrilorum and 7. saturatus is also about the 1,700’ contour. The upper altitudinal - limit of nigrilorum is 9,500’, the height of the highest forested ravines. F Turdus nigrilorum compared with the other montane birds of the Cameroon Ps Mountain. __ Generally speaking the peculiar montane forms of the Cameroon _ Mountain are not closely related to lowland forms in the country sur- _ rounding the mountain but have their nearest relatives in the highlands of Vol. 82 126 Bulletin B.O.C. \ East and Central Africa. T. nigrilorum is an exception for it is am ontane representative of a wide ranging predominantly lowland species and it intergrades with the race of that species inhabiting the lower slopes of the mountain and the adjacent lowlands. Turdus libonyanus in its Southern Cameroons range apart from the Came- roon Mountain district. A series of T. libonyanus collected by me in various localities in British Cameroons, including the Bamenda Highlands, are all T. /. saturatus and cannot be distinguished from a nearly topotypical series collected at Victoria :— 5 3; 52; near Kumba; 700’—1,200'; 3, W. 114, 114, 115, 116, 117; T. 86, 83, 87, 83, 89: 9, W. 106, 110, 110, 111, 113; T. 81, 83, 85, 81, 83. 1 3; Tombel; 1,500’; W. 114; T. 86. 1 9; Manenguba Mountain; 6,500’; W. 110; T. 77. 1 3; Foto; 5,200’; W. 115; T. 86. 1 3; Bafut; 4,500’; W. 116; T. 85. 1 3; Bamenda; 5,500’; W. 113; T. 85. 1 9; Kishong; 6,400’; W. 110; T. 80. 1 2; Oku; 7,000’; W. 120; T. 83. Variation in wing and tail measurements in 7. /. nigrilorum and T. I. saturatus. A ut : In this series of nigrilorum and saturatus the wing and tail lengths of — males average a few mms. more than those of females. There is no dif- ference in wing length between nigrilorum and saturatus. In saturatus wing length and tail length is unaffected by altitude or locality. The tail length of nigrilorum averages a few mms. less than that of saturatus. Juvenile plumage of T. /. nigrilorum. The juvenile nigrilorum is distinguished from juvenile saturatus by the same characters distinguishing the adults of the two forms, namely the colour of the flanks, axillaries and under wing-coverts. In nigrilorum the light tipped upper wing-coverts remain for some time after the disappear- — ance of the other juvenile plumage characters. * Chapin and some other recent authors regard saturatus as a race of Turdus olivaceus — Linn., but for the purpose of this note I follow Sclater (Syst. Av. Aeth. ii. 1930, p. 440), placing it with Jibonyanus. The affinities of the Red Avadavat, Amandava amandava (Linn) by C. J. O. HARRISON Received 6th December, 1961 INTRODUCTION There have been several recent revisions of the Estrildidae. Delacour — (1943) recognised in his revision the existence of three main divisions or © tribes—the waxbills, Estrildae; the grassfinches, Erythrurae; and the ~ mannikins, Amadinae. With the suffix now used to indicate tribal rank — these would become Estrildini, Erythrurini, and Amadinini. Morris (1958) studied the comparative ethology of the two latter tribes and suggested — some modifications of Delacour’s arrangement. Wolters (1957) and Steiner (1960) also revised the Estrildidae. The former used no tribal divisions; the — y Bulletin B.O.C. 127 Vol. 82 latter recognised nine. | consider that Delacour’s arrangement is taxono- ~ mically useful and have utilised it in this paper. ‘ ; In the tribes as recognised by Delacour the grassfinches are found only in Australasia; the mannikins occur in Africa, Australasia and Asia, and the waxbills, with three exceptions, are confined to Africa. One exception is the Sydney Waxbill or Red-browed Finch, Aegintha temporalis (Latham). It has a strong resemblance to Estrilda in which genus Delacour placed it, but a study of its behaviour (Morris 1958; Harrison MS.) raises doubts, as does its geographical distribution, for it is found only in Australia, and it seems likely that it is a grassfinch. Wolters (1957) places it near Amandava, while Steiner considers, from the mouth-markings of the nestling, that it is closely related to the parrot finches, Erythrura (Chloromunia of Steiner). The other two exceptions are the Red Avadavat, Amandava amandava, and the Green Avadavat, A. formosa (Latham), both from the Indian region. An African species, A. subflava (Vieillot) is also considered to be a member of this genus. The avadavats appear always to have been regarded as having close affinities with the African waxbills, and Delacour considered them a subgenus of Estrilda. Only the species A. amandava is considered here and the purpose is to show by a study of both morphological and behavioural characters where its true affinities lie. Only limited information is available on the behaviour of the African waxbills and references to waxbill behaviour in the following notes concern mainly species in the genera Estrilda, Lagonosticta, and Granatina. Where the term mannikin is used it refers to Delacour’s tribe Amadinae. PLUMAGE Description. The colour of the male is mainly red (scarlet in A. a. flavidiventris; crimson in A. a. amandava), brightest on the breast, throat, and ear-coverts, browner on crown, nape, and mantle. The wings are brown with red-tinged coverts, and the tail is black with scarlet upper tail- coverts. In A. a. flavidiventris the belly and under tail-coverts are golden- orange, but in A. a. amandava and A. a. punicea they are black. A. amandava is unique among the Estrildidae in that the red colour of the cock is present only while the bird is breeding, and for some of the year it is like the hen, which is drab brown above and buff below. Both sexes have -black lores, and there is a whitish streak just below the eye. Hens, and cocks in non-breeding plumage, have white spots on the wing-coverts, and the upper tail-coverts are red with white spots. In both sexes the bill is bright red and the legs and feet are yellow-buff. A striking character of the cock’s red plumage is the presence of num- erous small white spots; single white subterminal spots being present on every feather on the areas of plumage where these markings occur. They _ are most conspicuous on the breast, flanks, and wing-coverts, but similar, smaller spots are present on the lower edge of the mantle and on the upper _ tail-coverts; and in some specimens minute spots can be seen at the sides of the nape and on the ear-coverts. Sometimes the spots on the innermost secondary coverts form small white bars, and the outermost tail feathers of both sexes have white tips rather similar in appearance. There is some individual variation in this spotting and a specimen of A. a. punicea (Brit. Mus. no. 87.7.1.2555) shows, in addition, white spots covering the rump and lower back. In some specimens of A. a. flavidiventris these spots, Vol. 82 128 : Bulletin B.O.C._ particularly on the breast, tend to be elongated, giving a slightly streaky appearance. Resemblance to waxbills. The only similarity to the African waxbills is a strong superficial resemblance to some of the firefinches of the genus Lagonosticta and in particular to L. senegala. The male of the latter species is mainly red, with brown wings, and a few white spots on either side of the breast. The hen is olive-brown with a small red patch over the eye and more extensive, but duller, spotting on the breast. Both sexes have red rumps and red and black tails. Where spots are present on the plumage of firefinches and other waxbills these never extend beyond the breast and flanks, and there is no parallel to the pattern of A. amandava. The spots of Lagonosticta are derived from a pattern of paired spots on the tip of the feather, formed on the barbs. Those of A. amandava are single spots on the tip of the feather, based on the rachis (Wolters, 1944). Resemblance to mannikins A monochrome photograph of a New Guinea mannikin, Lonchura leucosticta (D’Albertis and Salvadori), drew attention to the strong resemblance between that species and 4. amandava. The specimen illustrated was kindly lent by the Leiden Museum (Skin no. Mus. N. H. Leiden 552). L. /eucosticta is brown in colour with small white streaks along the feathers of forehead, crown and nape; and white -lozenge-shaped subterminal spots on mantle, back and wing-coverts. Large white spots are present on the feathers of the breast and the fore- parts of the flanks, and there are similar spots on the sides of the head and on the throat, obscuring much of the ground colour and giving the head a pale, streaky appearance. This pattern seems to be unique among the mannikins, but there is some evidence of a pattern from which it could be derived in other related species. Lonchura kelaarti (Jerdon) has fine, pale buff streaks down the centre of each feather, along the line of the rachis, on breast, head, mantle — and back. L. /eucogastra (Blyth) has similar streaks on head, mantle, back and wing-coverts, and these are whiter, contrasting with the dark brown ground colour of the feathers. When these are carefully examined it can be seen that on the feathers of the mantle the fine white streaks broaden at the tip into tiny lozenge-shaped marks. An example of Lonchura tristissima (Wallace) shows some feathers with pale rachial streaks among the dark feathers of the upper breast, while feathers at the sides of the breast show a pale buff rachial streak that is interrupted, to reappear as a large buff spot occupying much of the terminal portion of the feather. L. leucosticta has streaks on the feathers of crown and nape, but the markings on the feathers of the mantle are faint rachial streaks which fade, but reappear — at the tip as bold, lozenge-shaped white spots. In a continuation of the same trend a pattern such as is shown by L. — leucosticta could give rise to the spotted pattern shown by A. amandava. Specimens of A. a. flavidiventris show in some cases elongated, lozenge- | shaped spots, particularly on the breast, and if an individual feather is examined it is found that the lower half, normally concealed, is brown, with a distinct buff spot on the rachis at the point where the red colour begins. — In A. a. amandavya the lower part of the feather is black and the white spots are rounder in shape. There would appear to be evidence here of the final loss or obliteration of a pale rachial streak, and my contention is that this aah te og vet , Be etin B.O.C. 129 Vol. 82 1 pattern is a variant of the same basic type as that found in the mannikin _ species referred to above. There is another plumage resemblance between L. /eucosticta and A. amandava. The former is drab brown in colour, but the breast is a light _ chestnut-brown becoming paler on the throat, and the upper tail-coverts are a pale golden-straw colour. These straw-coloured upper tail-coverts are common to many mannikin species. Although the male of A. amandava is generally red, this colour may be lost at successive moults by specimens _ kept in captivity. Loss of red in captive birds occurs in many species and is not fully understood, although in some cases it is known to be due to absence of a carotenoid in the diet. It does not, however, seem, from the _ evidence at present available, to be merely a matter of diet, and other _ factors may be involved. The red colour present in some waxbills, par- ticularly birds of the genus Lagonosticta is not lost in this fashion, sug- gesting that different pigments may be responsible. There is an example of _A. amandava in the British Museum (Natural History) (no. 1875. 7.13.152) which had been kept in captivity, and lost all trace of red. This bird is drab brown with light, chestnut-brown on the breast and throat and yellow upper tail-coverts. In general colour the above specimen very closely resembles L. /eucosticta but differs in that the belly and under tail- -coverts are the typical black of its race, and the yellow upper tail-coverts are tipped with white spots. It would therefore appear that A. amandava not only resembles L. /eucosticta in pattern but that the cock, when breed- ing, would also resemble it in general coloration were this not concealed by the red pigment. a, BEHAVIOUR Posture. Perching, and the grasping of objects with the foot appear to be fairly consistent characters for the waxbills. Species of Estrilda are capable of clinging to upright objects, and can deliberately use the foot to hold down an object such as a grass-stem when feeding on it. Granatina and Lagonosticta species are less agile and need a more level perch. They are unable to use the foot for holding down anything. _ A. amandava differs from both of these in its capacity for a wider grasp, and for divergent grasping. It is able to rotate the foot outwards and grasp yertical stems on either side so that the body is supported upright between them. Apparently as a result of this when it perches on a horizontal sup- port its posture tends to be upright, especially when it is alert, whereas the corresponding posture of the waxbills tends to be horizontal. _ The wide grasp of the foot appears to be an adaptation for taking hold | ofa number of stems at one time. When this species is kept in typical cages and aviaries furnished with horizontal twigs as perches it would appear hat the absence of the necessary pressures and frictions resulting from the ‘usual holds of grasses and other vegetation for which the foot is adapted ‘permits the continued growth of the claws. As a result such birds suffer from abnormally long claws which, if they are not cut at intervals, become so elongated that they entangle in anything on which the bird perches and “are a considerable hindrance to movement. The Museum specimen pre- viously mentioned, which had been kept in captivity, lacks claws on both ~ middle toes, but the claw of each hind toe is twice the length of a normal _ hind claw and has begun to twist to one side. Vol. 82 130 Bulletin B.O.C. In the above respect the posture of A. amandava is unlike that of the typical African waxbills. A similar type of upright posture and a wide- grasping foot are, however, common to the mannikins, which also show this tendency to excessive claw growth when kept in captivity. It can be argued that this type of posture and grasp would have been evolved independently by A. amandava since its typical habitat is among vegetation that requires it. But if this is an adaptation to such circumstances one — would expect to find similar evidence of it in many of the waxbill species — which live in grassland and feed on grasses in circumstances where such an ; ability would be advantageous. Tail Movements. When excited or alarmed the Estrildidae characteris- — tically show vigorous movements of the tail accompanied by distinctive — call-notes. In the waxbills these tail movements are in a lateral plane, the | tail being jerked repeatedly to one side or swung from one side to the other. In the mannikins a type of tail flicking similar to the former may occur, but at moments of intense excitement or alarm the tail movements — of Lonchura striata L. punctulata and Euodice malabarica consist of j side to side movements in which the tail is raised when held to one side but is lowered as it is moved, the dipping movement being superimposed on the swing so that the tail-tip follows a U-shaped track. Under similar condi- tions A. amandava shows tail movements of the latter type and when viewed from the side the tail can be seen to have a downward displacement of about 40° during this movement. Song and Posture. As a general rule the songs of mannikins and grassfinches are soft and contain many harsh sounds, and often long- drawn wheezy notes. The songs of waxbills are usually loud and relatively musical. The song of A. amandava is a prolonged, high-pitched but — pleasant warble gradually descending in pitch. It appears to have a set pat- tern. It bears some resemblance to the longer song phrases uttered by some ~ of the waxbills. I had a hybrid offspring of a male Evodice malabarica and ~ a female Lonchura striata which could only have learnt the song of the © father and sang what seemed to me to be a loud and slow version of it. — This song appeared to me to be very similar to that of A. amandava. The song posture is distinctive. Waxbills of the genera Estrilda, Lago- nosticta, and Granatina (including Uraeginthus) raise the bill when singing ~ and tend to fluff out the feathers of belly and flanks, resulting in a rather © broad-based appearance. When A. amandava sings it perches relatively — upright with body feathers sleeked rather than fluffed and bill almost ~ horizontal, the posture closely resembling that shown for Euodice mala- — barica by Morris (1958). This is true of these two species when they are motivated by a strong emotional drive. Both A. amandava and E. mala- ~ barica differ from the waxbills in that whereas in the waxbills the utter- ance of song appears to indicate a high level of emotional motivation, the — song of the other two is much more generalised and casual. [t may be ~ uttered by a bird which is apparently relaxed and sitting close against another on a perch, in which case the singer may have the contour feathers relaxed and relatively loose. The circumstances in which song occurs are also of interest. In the wax — bills already mentioned song has either a display or solitary function. Its utterance indicates that a bird is either reacting sexually towards another or is isolated, and usually the presence of another bird appears to inhibit Bulletin B.O.C. 131 Vol. 82 song. A. amandava also utters song when displaying but will otherwise - give it without apparent relevance to circumstances. The song may have a solitary function in that it is most frequently heard when a bird is un- _ paired, or separated from its mate, but it may also be heard from a bird that is in the company of others of its species, or even from a bird that is _ clumped with others. (See also Goodwin, 1960.) This appears to be be- _ haviour similar to that described for a mannikin, the Spice Finch, Lonchura _ punctulata, by Moynihan and Hall(1954). In the latter species a male will sing when clumped with a group of other Spice Finches, although it is stated that such a bird is either unmated, or, if mated, the group does not contain his female. This is probably true of A. amandava also, although _ it would appear to differ from L. punctulata in that the female will also sing when separated from her mate. Display. A\l the waxbill genera referred to have a straw display in which the male bobs up and down holding a grass-stem or feather by its tip in his bill. The bill is raised and, while belly and flank feathers are fluffed out, the other feathers tend to be sleeked down. A. amandava also holds a feather or grass-stem by its tip in the bill but performs a series of _low bows, and during the display has the body feathers all erected and fluffed out, making the body appear much larger when seen broadside on. There is an illustration showing this in a paper by Kunkel (1959). This _ species is again peculiar in that both sexes display. _ Bowing displays also occur in some waxbill s species but this type of feather erection has not been recorded. What appears to be a similar feather erection has been seen in a precopulatory display of FE. malabarica. In this the male displayed on a perch near the female with jerky bobbing “movements like those of the waxbill’s straw display, but with the head held low and with the contour feathers, especially those of belly, flanks and mantle, raised, giving him a peculiar, laterally flattened appeataite and penne him seem twice as large. | OTHER AMANDAVA SPECIES - Two other species, A. formosa and A. subflava, are now usually regarded as members of this genus. Delacour (1943) places all three species as a subgenus of Estri/da; Wolters (1957) regards them as a genus but puts all three species in separate subgenera to indicate their disparity; while ‘Steiner (1960) regards them as a tribe, Amandavae, with these three species n separate genera and the genus Ortygospiza also included. This does help to illustrate that they are not regarded as being as closely related as the nembers of other estrildine genera. _A. formosa and A. subflava resemble one another in having the plumage unpatterned except for some bold transverse barring on the flank feathers. 4. formosa is yellow below and olive-green above and the sexes are alike. A. subflava is brown above and yellow below and has in addition a red rump, and a red stripe over the eye: the hen is duller in colour and lacks the eye-stripe. In some races the male has a red colour over much of the __ breast, and this species resembles A. amandava in that the red colour is lost after moult by captive birds. __ As regards the wide grasp of the foot it is of interest that the photo- graph of this species at its nest in Mackworth-Praed and Grant’s work on _ African birds (1955) shows it clinging to upright grass-stems, among which its nest is situated, by grasping a bunch of stems in the foot. There appears f ’ . rd ~~ ) & a 4 4 4 a : f ae Vol. 82 : 132 | Bulletin B.O.C. to be no information regarding the mode of perching of A. formosa. — A. subflava, like A. amandava, also shows a tendency to excessive claw growth in captivity. The behaviour of A. subflava has been described by — Kunkel (1959) and Goodwin (1960). It has a bowing display with erection: of the feathers but holds nothing in its bill. A. formosa has a similar type — of display. In all three species the young, when begging for food, raise one or both wings. There appears not to be a true song (in the sense of a complex utterance) in either A. formosa or A. subfilava but Goodwin records a single note uttered by the latter species which appears to function as song. The singing bird is recorded as perching very upright and turning the head from side to side as it sings. This head-turning is also characteris- tic in the singing of FE. malabarica and L. punctulaia. Any conclusions regarding the affinities of A. amandava must, in the absence of any other evidence, apply to A. subflava and A. formosa also. CONCLUSIONS From a study of its plumage pattern and its general posture and be- haviour A. amandavya was found to show little or no affinity with the typi- cal African waxbills (Estrildini). In all the above characters it revealed a closer affinity with various species of mannikin (Amadinini). It is not suggested that A. amandava is closely related to any particular mannikin © species but that it is a member of this tribe showing specialisation for a particular habitat or mode of life. References : Delacour, J. (1943). A revision of the subfamily Estrildinae of the Family Ploceidae. Zoologica 28: 69-86. Goodwin, D. (1960). Observations on Avadavats and Golden-breasted Waxbills. — Avic. Mag. 66: 174-199. Kunkel, P. (1959). Zum Verhalten einiger Prachtfinken (Estrildinae). Zeits. f. Tierps. 16: 302-350. 4 Mackworth-Praed, C. W. and Grant, C. H. B. (1955). African Handbook of Birds. Ser’ 1. Vol. 2: London. Morris, D. (1958). The comparative ethology of Grassfinches (Erythrurae) and ' Mannikins (Amadinae). Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 131: 389-439. Moynihan, M. and Hall, M. F. (1954). Hostile, sexual and other social behaviour patterns of the Spice Finch (Lonchura punctulata) in captivity. Behaviour 7: 33-76. Steiner, H. (1960). Klassifikation der Prachtfinken, Spermestidae, auf Grund der Rachenzeichnungen ihrer Nestlinge. Jour. F. Ornith. 101: 92-112. Wolters, H. E. (1944). Ueber den taxonomischen Wert der weissen ‘‘ Tropfenfleckung’’ bei den Estrildinen. Ornith: Monats. 52: 27-29. Wolters, H. E. (1957). Die Klassifikation der Webefinken (Estrildidae). Bonn. Zool. Beitr. 8: 90-129. Notes on some undescribed eggs from New Guinea by S. A. PARKER Received 6th December, 1961 Eggs of the following species obtained by Mr. F. Shaw Mayer in the Kratke Mountains, New Guinea, for the Hon. W. Rothschild, and now in the National Collection, appear to be undescribed. Pitohui dichrous (Bonaparte) Shaw Mayer obtained four clutches of this woodshrike in the Buntibasa district, Kratke Mountains, at 4,000 ft. They are as follows :— c/1, 21st November, 1932 (Reg. No. 1941. 1. 5. 21) c/2, 13th February, 1933 (Reg. No. 1941. 1. 5. 18) and c/1, 14th February, 1933 (Reg. No. Bes. es. by. ' 4 ulle etin BO. ee. 133 | Vol. 82 “jo41, 1. 4, 20). The fourth clutch, a c/1, bears no date, but belongs to the | _ same series. a The © parent of one clutch is also in the National Collection (Reg. No. 1939. 12. 9. 1529). Another 9 (Reg. No. 1939. 12. 9. 1528) was secured on her nest with one chick at Buntibasa on the 12th December, 1932. _ The nest, according to field notes accompanying the eggs, is ‘‘open _ basin-shaped, composed almost entirely of curly vine tendrils, lined with finer tendrils’’. The nest-site is not mentioned. The five eggs are elliptical in shape. They have a uniform creamy or light pinkish-stone ground, with light and dark brown (sometimes blackish) - spots and blotches and underlying light grey patches, evenly distributed _ over the surface, though one egg has most of the markings around the _ larger end. Measurements in mm. are:— 30.8 x 21.5 and 30.9 x 21.5; 32.8 x 22.2; St a 20.5; 29.2 x 21.6. Pitohui nigrescens (Schlegel) A female of this species, also in the National Collection (Reg. No. ~ 1939. 12. 9. 1522) was taken while incubating a single egg; another was ready for deposition. This was on 28th December, 1932 at 4,500 ft. in the - Buntibasa district. _ The nest is described as being ‘‘open cup-shaped, composed of whole fern fronds loosely held together with fine rootlets, and lined with fine rootlets’’ The single egg (Reg. No. 1941. 1. 5. 23) is very distinctive, having a deep _maroon-brown ground colour; light and dark brown, and underlying grey blotches and spots are evenly distributed over the shell, which is elliptical, measuring 32.5 x 23.3 mm. A new race of warbler Apalis flavida (Strickland) from Central Africa by WALTER J. LAWSON Received 16th September, 196] In a recent paper on the southern and eastern races of Apalis flavida in Africa (Durban Mus. Novit., vol. 6, (9), 119-126, 1961) I remarked on the possibility of the populations of this small warbler from central and northern Angola, western Northern Rhodesia and the south-eastern Congo representing a hitherto undescribed race. I refrained from formally proposing a name because of an inadequacy of material from the area. _ Since then | have been fortunate enough to have on loan and to examine ‘specimens from Angola, western Northern Rhodesia and the eastern Congo which were kindly sent at my request by Dr. James P. Chapin of the American Museum of Natural History and Mr. Melvin A. Traylor of the Chicago Natural History Museum, in addition to the specimens already placed at my disposal by Mr. M. P. Stuart Irwin of the National Museum of Southern Rhodesia. _ Among the specimens received from Dr. Chapin were those from Baraka, north-west shore of Lake Tanganyika to which he referred in Bey . — Vol. 82 134 Bulletin B.O.C. Birds of the Belgian Congo, pt. 3, p. 280, 1953, as being similar to A. f. neglecta (Alexander): Zambesi River, but differing from that form in that the ‘‘hind crown is usually without green’’ I have noted that the specimens examined by me from Northern Rhodesia, west of the Muchinga Mountain range, differ from A. f. neglecta in having the entire head-top grey, whereas in A. f. neglecta the | grey is confined to the forehead, with the green of the back extending | onto the nape of the neck and crown of the head. This unnamed form resembles A. f. tenerrima Grote: Mikindani, S.E. Tanganyika Territory, in having the head-top entirely grey, and the yellow of the under surface of the tail confined to the very tips of the rectrices. However these two forms are not in contact, A. f. tenerrima being confined to the coastal and the south-eastern lowland areas of Tanganyika Territory and northern Mocambique. This unnamed form differs from A. f. golzi (Fischer & Reichenow): Great Arusha, Tanganyika Territory, in which form the under surface of the tail feathers is wholly yellow, and in having the under tail-coverts yellow as well. I previously stated that this new race occurred in central and northern Angola, but specimens in the Chicago Natural History Museum from Huila and Dondo and in the American Museum of Natural History from Chibia and Fort Quilenges are all referable to A. f. flavida (Strickland): Ngamiland (Damaraland in error), in which form the yellow of the breast extends onto the throat. The range of this new form would therefore appear to be northern Angola, Northern Rhodesia, west of the Muchinga Mountains, and eastern and south-eastern Congo (Katanga and southern Kivu). ee eee = i i i i Apalis flavida canora subsp. nov. Vs ype: 3 adult, Sumbu, Northern Rhodesia (8° 30’ S, 30° 28’ E.), altitude 2,600 ft. "Catlected on the 20th May, 1956 by C. W. Benson. In the col- lection of the National Museum of Southern Rhodesia. Cat. No. 26826. Diagnosis: Differs from A. f. golzi, A. f. tenerrima, and A. f. neglecta as stated above. Differs from A. f. flavida in having no extension of yellow on the throat, and from 4A. f. lucidigula Lawson: nr. Newington, eastern Transvaal, which has the yellow of the breast clear, with no admixture of olive-green or grey. Measurements: 8 33 wing 49.5—53.5 (52.1), tail 46.0-51.5 (48.4), culmen 13.5-15.0 (14.0); and 7 99 wing 46.0-55.0 (50.1), tail 39.0-47.5 (42.6), culmen 13.0-14.5 (13.7) mm. _ Material: 15 (Northern Rhodesia: Sumbu, Kabompo, Kasana, Kasem- ~ pa> Mutanda, Manyinga Riv., Mankoya, Balovale, Mwinilunga, and the © eastern Congo 4: Baraka.) : Measurements of Type: wing 53.0, tail 48.5, culmen 15.0 mm. Range: Northern Angola, western Northern Rhodesia, west of the Muchinga Mountains and south-eastern and eastern Congo (Katanga and ; southern Kivu). ; I am greatly indebted to Dr. James P. omen who kindly read and — itici he manuscript of this paper. criticized the p pap AS OR ~ % ms SE ts) SEIISS AH toe , ; : Pa 82 Us ) 1 ff SITs ts, , = . . i 14 - sirrine yt res) = } » d hy) , r} : ’ 1 QOS bh so TT (tse =o pa a Lyin 7” Ot 7 bi vt) rs i) : 2. “iY 3 TORMM Te rr t = j . , ‘ ie ~ ia Toh ti : ne Lit : Hi r 4, . _ 7 sfri : ; fe A woh! } 3 4 la, nn : eure rT: ; mor STD : revy : bs { ; 5 “3 ) pai! ys ages : L 7 uf 4: vier ol 1 14 ny . = i + * * a+ ' . ! +. a" ! ‘ 4 mt { iw ear. e q : ort le - ab he i : / i : ; - Pip hy - ‘ti : : ae 5 ‘¥ We. RLS: 43 ) & . af : Sect: rw ’ ‘ as ey 1) rtf 4 * - ee oot tas q 4 : . ’ . ’ \ : } ) va | ¢ Agri : , itp Aes ft TT? " hal cero f { aye err ‘ ey bed | ' i : 7 ~ a] o PF . 42.4) at ; P . h : ‘ , 4 , . ‘ od ¥ . 7 : i - ‘ : Ct ADA Fey ITA Ly & r - ' Nada A J " LA be Ctl , bi 190TG ’ > “4 | } oi act *) ‘ lepnanrrpees oa fi Caron hth Ah 4 4 RM ewe , 4 ch Hives hong €} ; . ; ; CONTRIBUTORS Contributions are not restricted to members of the B.O.C. and should be addressed to the Editor, Mr. John Yealland, The Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, N.W.1. These should be concise and typed on one side of the paper, double-spaced, with a good margin. The first time a species is mentioned, the scientific generic and specific names should be included. Subsequently the same name need only have the initial letter of the genus. Scientific names are printed in italics and should be underlined in the typescript. References should be given at the end of the paper. Authors introducing a new name or describing a new species or race should indicate this in their title and display the name prominently in the text followed by nom. nov., sp. nov., subsp. nov. as appropriate. In these descriptions, the first introduction of the name should be followed by paragraphs for ‘‘Description’’, ‘‘Distribution’’, ‘“Type’’, ‘‘Measure- ments of Type’’, ‘‘Material examined’’ and further sub-headings as required. Proofs must be returned without delay. No changes may be made at this stage, other than corrections. At the discretion of the Editor, the Club will pay for a reasonable number of monochrome blocks, which the contributor may retain for his own use. Contributors are entitled to a maximum of fifty free copies of the Bulletin, supplied only as specifically requested by authors. Those con- tributing to a meeting should hand in their MS. at that meeting; otherwise a note will be inserted mentioning the contribution. BACK NUMBERS OF THE BULLETIN Applications for back numbers which cost 5s. each, should be made to N. J. P. Wadley, 58 Ovington Street, London, S.W.3. Members who have back numbers of the Bulletin, which they no longer require are requested to send them to N. J. P. Wadley. SUBSCRIPTION TO BULLETIN The Bulletin may be purchased by non-members annually for 30s. (payable in advance) or per copy 5s., payable to the Hon. Treasurer, P. Tate, 4 Broad Street Place, London, E.C.2 CORRESPONDENCE : Other correspondence should be addressed to the Hon. Secretary, Dr. J. G. Harrison, ‘‘Merriewood’’, St. Botolph’s Road, Sevenoaks, Kent. DINNERS AND MEETINGS FOR 1962 16th October, 20th November, 18th December. (The October or November meeting will be a joint one with the B.O.U.) Published by the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB and printed by The Caxton & Holmesdale Press, South Park, Sevenoaks, Kent. a BULLETIN OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ Edited by JOHN J. YEALLAND ~7 NOV 1962 PURCHASED Volume 82 No. 8 CLUB November 1962 38 RR AHO 135 Vol. 82 BULLETIN OF THE BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB Volume 82 Number 8 Published: 5th November, 1962 The six hundred and first meeting of the Club was held, in conjunction with the B.O.U., on Tuesday, 16th October, 1962. Check-list of birds of the world Volume XV, edited by Ernst Mayr and James C. Greenway, Jr., has been published by the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge 38, Massachusetts. Price $7.°°. This volume contains the Ploceidae, Sturnidae, Oriolidae, Dicruridae, Callaeidae, Grallinidae, Artamidae, Cracticidae, Ptilonorhynchidae, Paradisaeidae and Corvidae. C eographical variation in the Fiscal Flycatcher Melaenornis silens (Shaw) of South Africa by WALTER J. LAWSON Received 29th January, 1962 _ The Fiscal Flycatcher Melaenornis silens (Shaw), which has hitherto been regarded as being monotypic, is peculiar to southern Africa, being found 1 the Cape Province, south-eastern Bechuanaland Protectorate, Orange Free State, Basutoland (lowlands), the Transvaal, and Natal and Zululand. n winter the eastern highveld populations tend to move to lower altitudes, luring which time the species occurs in the eastern littoral plain of Zulu- land and southern Mocambique. It apparently does not extend into Southern Rhodesia. _ This species is currently placed in the monotypic genus Sige/us Cabanis, 6 otherwise in Bradornis A. Smith, but in so far as the generic placing of this singular flycatcher is concerned, I prefer to follow the views of Vaurie (vide Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. 100, part 4, 1953, pp. 457-538) in Merging Sigelus into Melaenornis Gray, which results in the nomenclatural combination of the Fiscal Flycatcher becoming Melaenornis silens (Shaw). _ In the topotypical populations of M. silens described in 1809 from Knysna, southern Cape Province, on a Levaillant reference, the males of this flycatcher have the upper parts, ear-coverts and wings a glossy blue- Dlack, and the lower throat, breast sides of the body and flanks silky white, : 2 RY breast and lateral surfaces of the body. On study of a reasonably adequate series of skins of this species assem- bled at the Durban Museum it became evident that the Fiscal Flycatcher was not lacking in geographical variation, the populations being divisible into two quite satisfactory subspecific categories on the basis of the colora- tion of the under parts of adults in fresh dress. In brief, it was ascertained that in the populations occurring to the north of the Orange River in the northern Cape Province, south-eastern Bechuanaland Protectorate, in western Orange Free State, and the western Transvaal, the males lacked much of the clear grey suffusion over the breast and lateral surfaces of the body of the southern birds, which areas were distinctly whiter and more ' buffish tinged. In selecting a name for the newly characterized taxon | have experienced some little difficulty, but of the several names available in synonymy, Bradyornis leucomelas Sundevall, 1850: Caffraria superiore, appears applicable, being based on material collected by Sundevall’s compatriot J. A. Wahlberg in the 1840’s, probably at a place called Mohapoani, in the Rustenburg district of the western Transvaal, where Wahlberg got most — of his upper Caffrarian material. Enquiries made of Dr Gustav. Rudebeck, now Curator of Birds at the Naturhistoriska Riksmuseum, Stockholm, as to the applicability of Sundevall’s B. leucomelas for the new sub- 7 species has to date failed to elicit a reply, and it may be that when data on © the relevant Sundevail 7ype in the museum at Stockholm become available a change in name may be required. In the meantime, I propose to desig- nate the northern race of the Fiscal Flycatcher . s. leucomelas Sundevall, — 1850, fixing the type-locality as Mohapoani, Rustenburg district, western — Transvaal. i The nomenclature, characters and ranges of the two races of the Fiscal Flycatcher are as follows : 4 (a) Melaenornis silens silens (Shaw). Lanius silens Shaw, General Zoology vol. vii, 2, 1809, p. 330: Knysna, southern Cape Province, ex Levaiilant, Hist. Nat. Ois. d.Afr., vol. ii, 1799, p. 103, pl. 74. Diagnosis: Characterized by having, in the adult male in freshly mouited dress, a heavy suffusion of smoke-grey over breast and lateral” surfaces of the under parts. Measurements: 1033 wing 93.0-99.5 (96.4); tail 81.0-83.0 (81.8); culmen 19.0-21.0 (19.5): 1092 wing 90.5—-94.0 (91.9); tail 74.0-79.07 (76.7); cuimen 18.0—20.5 (19.3) mm. Material: 101 (Cape Province 77, Orange Free State 14, Natal 6, Swaziland 2, eastern Transvaal 1, southern Mocambique 1). } Range: Cape Province south of the Orange River, except in the arid) north-western districts, where the species is absent, the eastern highveld of : the Orange Free State, the lowlands of Basutoland, the southern and eas- tern Transvaal, and Natal and Zululand. Absent from the lower midlands and coast of Natal and the eastern littoral of Zululand, but present there and in eastern Swaziland, the eastern lowveld of the Transvaal and southern Mocambique as a non- -breeding visitor during the period May—September. Remarks: In worn plumage the grey suffusion tends to disappear and the feathers of the chest become soil stained, and under such oe Vol. 82 136 Bulletin B.0.C. strongly suffused with light smoke grey, this especially marked over the | 4 Bulletin B.O.C. 137 Vol. 82 specimen of the nominate race may occasionally resemble to some extent a freshly moulted specimen of the following taxon. (6) Melaenornis silens leucomelas (Sundevall), new _ race Bradyornis leucomelas Sundevall, Oefv. K. Sv. Vet. Akad. Forhandl., vol. vil, 1850, p. 106: Caffraria superiore. Type locality here re- stricted to Mohapoani, Rustenburg district, western Transvaal. Diagnosis: Differs from the nominate race, as defined above, in lacking in the adult male the strong smoke-grey suffusion to the breast and lateral surfaces of the under parts, this being largely replaced by a light buffish- grey overlay to the predominantly white under parts. Averaging a little smaller in size. ‘Measurements: 934% wing 93.0—99.5 (95.7); tail 76.5—83.0 (79.6); culmen 18.0-19.5 (18.5);499 wing 89.5—92.0 (90.9); tail 71.0-74.5 (72.5); culmen 18.0-19.5 (18.5) mm. Material: 25 (northern Cape Province 9, western Orange Free State 2, Transvaal 4, Bechuanaland Protectorate 8, Zululand 1, Swaziland 1.) Range: Cape Province north of the Orange River, the dry western Orange Free State, the western Transvaal and the eastern Bechuanaland Protectorate. Occasionally ranging into northern Zululand, Mocambique and Swaziland during winter as a non-breeding visitor. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS For the loan of series of the Fiscal Flycatcher I am deeply indebted to the Directors of the following museums: South African Museum, Cape Town (through Dr. J. M. Winterbottom); East London Museum; Trans- vaal Museum; and the National Museum of Southern Rhodesia, Bulawayo (through Mr. M. P. Stuart Irwin.) | am also grateful to Mr. P. A. Clancey for looking at the assembled material with me and for assistance in other ways, and to Dr. J. M. Winterbottom, Director of the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, Cape Town, for his assistance with the early literature concerning this species. A new Cossypha from Kenya by G. JOHN WILLIAMS Received 6th March, 1962 During January—February, 1962 Mr. John R. M. Tennent undertook a brief collecting trip to the mist forest on Mt. Endau, Kitui District, Kenya, on behalf of the Coryndon Museum, Nairobi. Among the birds he obtained is a series of six specimens (5 adults and | immature) of a distinct new race of Cossypha natalensis. I have pleasure in naming this bird Cossypha natalensis tennenti Subsp. nov. in honour of Mr. John R. M. Tennent who has added much to our knowledge of local birds during his service in Kenya. Description: Cossypha natalensis tennenti differs from all other known races in having the underparts, head, back, rump and tail much paler and yellower (light cadmium Ridgway) with only a slight trace of rufous wash. Type: Adult male (Collector’s No. 63). Loc. Mist forest, Mt. Endau, Kitui District, Kenya. 3,400 ft. 25th January, 1962: Collector J. R. M. Tennent; in mist net. The Type and a paratype female will be deposited in the collection of the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 82 138 Bulletin B.O.C. Measurements of Type: Wing 94; Exposed culmen 16.5; Tail 82; Tarsus 2) min. Remarks: Three adult male paratypes measure: Wing 93, 94, 93; Exposed culmen 15, 14, 15; Tail 85, 83, 85; Tarsus 27, 27, 27 mm. One adult female paratype measures: Wing 87 (in moult); Exposed culmen 15, Tail no measurement, in moult; Tarsus 27 mm. The immature bird is paler and less rufous than similar examples of other races. Distribution: Apparently confined to the mist forest and adjacent bush on Mt. Endau, Kitui District, Kenya. I should like to record my thanks to Mr. M. E. W. North who sponsored the expedition, to Mr. Peter Hill, District Commissioner, Kitui, for his valuable assistance in the field, and to the skinners, Joseph Mbonge and Nguyu Mburu, for preparing first-class specimens under difficult con- ditions. A hybrid Red-crested Pochard x Ferruginous White-eye by BRYAN L. SAGE Received 23rd February, 1962 There appear to be few recorded occurrences of the inter-generic hybrid Netta rufina (Pallas) x Aythya nyroca (Guldenstadt). Hopkinson (1935 a & b) merely lists the cross with no comments, and it is also referred to by Phillips (1923-1926). Gray (1958) lists both these references and the one given below, together with the remark that hybrids back-crossed to the Ferruginous White-eye result in offspring scarcely distinguishable from that species. On 8th May, 1929, the late Lord Walter Rothschild exhibited a skin Red-crested Pochard x Ferruginous White-eye. Bulletin B.O.C. 139 Vol. 82 of this hybrid to the British Ornithologists’ Club (Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 49: 97). This is the specimen that forms the subject of the present com- munication: it is a male of the parentage male Red-crested Pochard x female Ferruginous White-eye, and was bred by the Zoological Society of London and presented to Lord Rothschild on 30th December, 1927. The specimen is now in the Rothschild collection at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, Registered Number AMNH. 734542. It is a male in adult plumage. DESCRIPTION In order to facilitate comparison the plumage characters of the hybrid are shown in tabulated form, together with those of the males of the parental species: Red-crested Pochard Hybrid (male) Ferruginous White-eye (male) (male) Head and pinkish-vinaceous, medium vinaceous- reddish-chestnut; neck lower neck black, chestnut; many white chin spot; forehead and crest underlying feathers blackish collar cinnamon-rufous. of cheeks cafe-au- on lower neck. lait tipped with vinaceous-chestnut. Mantle and upper mantle dull bleckish-brown but sides of upper mantle back black; remainder of lighter than in bay; remainder of mantle and upper White-eye end lack- | upper parts black- back drab; lower ing olive tinge; brown glossed with back, rump and upper | upper tail coverts olive; upper tail tail coverts black black-brown. coverts black-brown. glossed dull green. Wings scapulars drab, scapulars and scapulars black-brown, lowest scapulars primaries black- sometimes with bay mouse-grey, white brown, greyer than vermiculations; crescent at base: back and mantle, secondaries white with secondaries white faint olive gloss on black-brown tips suffused pale drab, outermost primar- glossed olive-green, sub-terminal light ies; secondaries innermost secondaries brown bar, tip white; white with pale black-brown glossed primaries hair-brown, brownish tips: olive-green; primaries inner webs and inner white at base of dusky-brown to black- primaries (except scapulars as in Red- brown glossed olive- tips) white suffused crested Pochard. green, inner webs drab. paler shading to pure white. Under- sides of breast and breast feathers dark | upper breast and parts belly white, tipped brown with narrow sides of breast or vermiculated dusky;| whitish tips; upper reddish-chestnut; sides of body and belly whitish with sides of belly and flanks drab intermixed | cafe-au-lait tinge, lower flanks with white; rest of some feathers with cinnamon-drab; centre underparts black; darker brown sub- of breast white axillaries white. terminal bars; flanks| vermiculated ashy; and sides of breast belly and vent deep washed cinnamon; ash-brown with buff remainder of under- | or white tips; parts pale brown, under tail coverts darker on vent and white; axillaries white. under tail coverts: axillaries white. Vol. 82 140 Bulletin B.O.C. MEASUREMENTS The principal measurements of the hybrid and the males of the parental species are shown below. Study of this table shows that the hybrid is nowhere near as large a bird as the male Red-crested Pochard. The wing measurement is well below the minimum for the male Ferruginous White- eye, but comes just within the minimum of the female of that species. The bill, whilst being almost as long as that of the male Red-crested Pochard, is altogether narrower and has less depth at the nostrils. Red-crested Ferruginous Pochard Hybrid White-eye Wing 256-278 172 178-193 Culmen from 48-52 46 40-43 feathers Width of bill 26 pe. 19.5-21 at nostrils Depth of bill 20 18 17—-17.5 at nostrils Max. width 30 22 21 All measurements are in millimetres DISCUSSION The general appearance of this hybrid is unlike that of any known species, and it does not seem to possess any characters that might be con- sidered of evolutionary significance. A study of the tabulated characteristics of the hybrids and the males of the parental species shows that on the whole the general morphology of the hybrid tends more towards the Ferruginous than the Red-crested Pochard. Characters which are clearly intermediate between the parental species are the colour of the head, neck, back, and mantle. A character obviously derived from the Red-crested Pochard is the white at the base of the scapulars. On the other hand it is interesting to note that the white chin-spot of the Ferruginous White-eye does not appear in this hybrid, whereas it did gain expression in both sexes of Ferruginous White-eye x Tufted Duck hybrids (Sage 1962). Similarly, in the latter hybrids the olive gloss on the upperparts of the Ferruginous White-eye was present, whereas it is absent in the hybrid under discussion. References: Gray, Annie P. (1958). Bird Hybrids. Farnham Royal. Hopkinson, E. (1935a). ‘‘ Duck hybrids’’. Avicu/t. Mag. 4th Ser. 13: 78-86. Hopkinson, E. (1935b). ‘‘ Duck-breeding records. Summary of records to date (August 1935).’’ ibid 4th Ser. 13: 280-286. Phillips, J. C. (1923-1926). A natural history of the Ducks. 4 vols. London. Sage, Bryan L. (1962). ‘‘ Notes on some Ferruginous White-eye x Tufted Duck Hybrids. ”’ Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, 82: 55-60. Bulletin B.O.C. 141 Vol. 82 A contribution to our knowledge of the Parasitic Weaver, Anomalospiza imberbis by JOHN G. WILLIAMS AND G. STUART KEITH Received 6th March, 1962 Dr. Herbert Friedmann, (‘“The Parasitic Weaverbirds’’, Bulletin 223 of the Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum, 1960) has drawn attention to the paucity of data concerning the habits of the Parasitic Weaver or Cuckoo Finch, Anomalospiza imberbis (Cabanis). The following notes based on field observations and specimens collected between 23rd December, 1961 and Ist January, 1962 may help to fill some of the gaps in our knowledge. Anomalospiza in my experience (JGW) is an uncommon and elusive bird in Kenya. Its appearances are spasmodic, apparently depending upon a good grass crop. Following the exceptional rains in Kenya during late 1961 and the resulting lush grass, numbers of Parasitic Weavers appeared in the neighbourhood of Nairobi Airport at Embakasi, Kenya. It was in this locality that the specimens and field notes were obtained upon which this paper is based. When first discovered the birds were in two large, loose flocks of ca. 50 and 60 birds each. When disturbed from the grass (they were feeding in almost pure stands of Setaria sphacelata) they perched along telephone wires or on the wire fence of the airport perimeter. It was noticeable that many birds perched together in pairs. Their general appearance in flocks, when colour could not be seen, was reminiscent of flocks of Cardinal Queleas. Subsequently the birds were not observed in flocks, but were seen singly, in pairs or sometimes in parties of three or four birds. Voice: A male perching on a fence uttered a series of notes which prob- ably amounted to a song. The principal notes were a high, thin, sibilant *“tissiwick’’ and ‘‘tissiway’’, the former rising on the last syllable, the latter falling. Sometimes these notes were followed by a little jingle, *“djzing-ji-ji’’. Another call, usually uttered by itself and not as part of a series of notes, was a deliberate ‘‘dzi-bee-chew’’, less sibilant and more col ————— eee distinctly three-syllabled than the ‘‘tissiway’’. A flight call, given as a bird left the fence and flew off, was a thin, high but hard ‘‘jit jit’’, with a rather bunting-like quality. Display: Males were observed displaying on three occasions. 1. A male and a female were perched on a fence, the male about a foot below the female and some three feet to one side. The male turned toward the female and started slowly and deliberately flapping his wings, while Keeping them held fairly high. At the same time he stretched his neck up in her direction and called an excited, nasal ‘‘chi-wee, chi-wee, chi-wee’’. This display lasted about fifteen seconds, then both birds flew off. 2. A male and female alighted on a road, about three feet apart. The male moved up to the female, raising his wings in a sort of high arch as in display 1, and flapping them fairly slowly though faster than in display 1. He held his neck stretched up and arched it over at the top, so that his head was pointing at the ground directly in front of him. The female re- mained standing with her back towards the male, showing no interest, and when he came up to her she gave him a peck. This caused him to hop away | about two feet and start (displacement?) preening. Birds silent throughout. Vol. 82 142 Bulletin B.O.C. 3. A male was observed on a road in between two females, about two feet from each. He turned to one female and started sidling up to her, his neck stretched and arched as in display 2, but this time without flapping his wings. When he reached her she flapped her wings a few times and then hopped away. The male then turned to the other female and sidled up to her in exactly the same manner, neck arched but no wing flapping. Both females remained turned away from the male during this display. When the male reached the second female she hopped away, the male following. Then what appeared to be confused fighting broke out between all three birds, and the ‘‘fight’’ was joined by a Cisticola galactotes which had been sitting nearby on the road during the display. The interest and aggressiveness on the part of the cisticola may be due to the fact that it is one of the birds parasitised by Anomalospiza. After the brief ‘‘fighting’’ all four birds flew off. The birds were silent during this display. Data based on a series of 14 specimens collected at Embakasi. Colours of soft parts: Adult males in breeding condition; iris blackish- brown; bill black, merging to flesh-white or pinkish-horn at extreme base of lower mandible; feet pale pinkish-grey to horn-grey. Adult male in non-breeding plumage; iris blackish-brown; bill black, merging to flesh- colour at base of lower mandible; feet horn-grey. Note: in old skins the bill fades from black to horn-colour. Adult female in breeding condition: iris blackish-brown; bill dark brown on culmen, merging to pale pinkish-horn on cutting edge of upper mandible and on lower mandible; feet pale greyish-horn to horn. Weights of adults in flesh: Adult males, 21, 20, 19, 20.5, 20, 21, 18 and 19 grammes. Adult females, 20, 19, 21, 20, 19 and 19 grammes. Breeding: With the exception of a single adult male in fresh, non- breeding dress and with small testes, all specimens were in full breeding plumage and in breeding condition. One adult female had an unshelled egg in the oviduct measuring 16 x 10 mm. Food: In all specimens the crop and stomach contained grass seeds only; seeds of Setaria sphacelata and Sorghum verticilliflorum were present in roughly equal quantities. (Det. Miss D. Napper, East African Her- barium). Skull ossification: Only in one adult male was the skull fully ossified: in all the other adult specimens from 30% to 10% of the frontal area of the skull was unossified. Dr. James P. Chapin (‘‘Birds of the Belgian Congo’’, vol. 4, p. 407) comments upon this condition of incompletely ossified skulls in Anomalospiza. This same condition pertains in the genera Vidua and Hypochera, in which it is most unusual to find an adult bird with a completely ossified skull. Ornithological notes on the Sunda Strait area and the Karimundjawa, Bawean and Kangean Islands by A. HOOGERWERF Received 26th January, 1962 Birds collected during Captain Cook’s last expedition In 1950 Prof. Stresemann! drew attention to the birds collected during Capt. James Cook’s last expedition. Among these birds are seven which have been wrongly labelled in the Banksian and Leverian cabinets and Bulletin B.O.C. 143 Vol. 82 said to have been collected in February, 1780 on Princes Island in the Sunda Strait. They are Dissemurus paradiseus tropicus (Gmelin) = D. paradiseus formosus Cabanis; Brachypodius atriceps (Temm.); Orthotomus borealis (Gmelin) = O. sepium Horsfield; Butastur indicus (Gmelin); Haliaetus leucogaster (Gmelin); Streptopelia chinensis tigrina (Temm.) and Treron curvirostra (Gmelin). The consequences of this are quite important as is evident from Prof. Stresemann’s proposals on pp. 82 and 86 of his paper and I give my opinion because of a fairly extensive knowledge of Princes Island’s birds. I do this after some hesitation, for | have the greatest admiration for Prof. Stresemann’s efforts to find out the correct localities of these birds, at that time quite new to science, but one should not remain silent, for it is possible that on other points also, Prof. Stresemann’s investigations have led to wrong conclusions, particularly in cases where it was or is im- possible to examine original skins and conclusions had to be based on descriptions or drawings. Prof. Stresemann, in a letter to me in April, 1956, encouraged me to publish my objections. Among the species mentioned there are three whose occurrence on Princes Island may be strongly doubted. They are Dissemurus paradiseus, Streptopelia chinensis and Treron curvirostra, all large and conspicuous birds. I could not find any of these after five weeks of intensive collecting and observation on the island? and during many visits before and after that expedition between 1937 and 1955, even though I am very well acquainted with the habitat and voice of these and nearly all other birds living in and around the Sunda Strait, an area which | visited regularly during some fifteen years and many times for several weeks at a stretch. There are no indications that conditions on Princes Island have changed sufficiently to cause important alterations in the plant and animal life since Cook’s last expedition. This island was always, so far as can be determined from the written history, very sparsely populated and com- pletely uninhabited since the eruption of Krakatau® in 1883 killed a number of wood-cutters who occupied a small settlement. But only some lower parts of this mountainous island were seriously damaged by that eruption and today nearly the whole island is covered by heavy primary forest which gives the impression of having been untouched by man for a very long period; also there are indications that Princes Island contains a very old fauna. Water is rather scarce on the island and this may have prevented people clearing it, but the most probable explanation is that the area is a very sparsely populated part of Java where there is no scarcity of arable land. In November, 1921 the area was set aside as a natural reserve. It cannot be excluded that human settlements along the coast in former times created a suitable habitat for Streptopelia chinensis, though this dove is by no means a lover of small islands, unlike Streptopelia bitorquata which is a typical resident on many islands around Java. One dead speci- men of this latter species was found by me on the beach of Princes Island. For the reasons stated the presence of S. chinensis here at the relevant time seems improbable and that Dissemurus paradiseus and Treron curvirostra should have been collected here may be considered almost Vol. 82 144 Bulletin B.O.C. impossible. The well known ‘“‘island drongo’’ Dicrurus hottentottus is of rather common occurrence on Princes Island and on other small islands of the Indonesian Archipelago, but Dissemurus is not to be expected in such places. Together with these birds Prof. Stresemann mentions Haliaetus leuco- gaster, Butastur indicus, Pycnonotus atriceps and Orthotomus sepium. With the exception of Butastur indicus, an extremely rare migrant to Java and the surrounding area which I myself never saw alive, these species are known to occur on Princes Island, but the same can be said of nearly all other small islands in the neighbourhood of Java and of Sumatra, as well as Java itself, so that there is no reliable indication that Princes Island was the locality where Cook’s expedition obtained the seven birds. Cook’s ships may have anchored between Java and Sumatra and some or most of the birds could have been collected on Java’s most western peninsula Udjung Kulon (where ships often anchored at that time in order to fetch drinking water), where Dissemurus paradiseus is rather common and where Streptopelia chinensis also lives*, but not Treron curvirostra. This last species might have been collected on Trouwers or Klapper Island, situated in the Indian Ocean, some miles south of Western Java, which were passed by Cook’s ships before they entered the Strait of Sunda. On both these last islands 7reron curvirostra is rather common and | myself collected ten specimens in some days, though the conditions on those islands which are covered with very heavy forest were extremely difficult. In a following paper I hope to draw special attention to this remarkable pigeon from both these islands. I cannot therefore agree with Prof. Stresemann’s conclusions, not even when it concerns species which are known from Princes Island, until we succeed in laying hands on those old skins, and I did not find Orthotomus sepium in which I am particularly interested. There is also a possibility that Dicrurus hottentottus and Treron vernans were obtained on the island instead of Dissemurus paradiseus and Treron curvirostra but while there is no proof it seems to me better not to speculate and not to change the localities of origin of the birds discussed above. Even if we succeed in comparing those old skins—obtained nearly 200 years ago—we cannot be optimistic about the results. Orthotomus sepium Comparing a good series of Orthotomus sepium, collected by me on Princes Island, with birds from Java itself, it became evident that both populations cannot be united into the same subspecies. I think it better not to propose a new name for the birds living on Java, considered until now as the type locality of the nominate race of that Tailor Bird, but to describe as new the population living on Princes Island. During several collecting trips between 1950 and 1957 to Java’s most western peninsula Udjung Kulon, the islands in and around the Strait of Sunda and in the Java Sea, special attention was paid to these small birds which led to very interesting results. Moreover I could study nearly 20 fresh skins collected in the neighbourhood of Bogor (West Java) by the collectors of the Zoological Museum of the Botanical Gardens. Bulletin B.O.C. 145 Vol. 82 Compared with twelve males from Udjung Kulon, the thirteen skins originating from Princes Island differ by their larger size and by the some- what lighter grey on the throat. When comparing the eight females from this island with four females from Udjung Kulon and eight from Bogor, I cannot see much difference, but females originating from both first mentioned localities average less black on throat and foreneck. On the upper parts, birds from Princes Island differ from those coming from both other localities. They are less green, duller in tone than skins originating from more eastern regions whereas the ferruginous tint on the pileum and sides of the head averages less clear, being much duller which is perhaps also the case with the feathering on the tibia. Of the smaller islands in and around the Sunda Strait, Princes Island is the only locality besides Udjung Kulon where we found pure repre- sentatives of the ‘‘olive-greenish group’’ of this Tailor Bird, in 1821 described by Horsfield as Orthotomus sepium. Ol Orthotomus sepium subspp. |. Male and female of Orthotomus s. sepium (3 from Udjung Kulon, ¥ from Bogor) “ 2. Male and female of Orthotomus sepium sundaicus subsp. nov. 3 ° from Princes Island Though Orthotomus sepium from Java’s most western peninsula averages darker below than skins from more eastern localities (e.g. Bogor), there seems no reason to separate it because it nearly exactly agrees in size and all other respects. But the difference in plumage and the outstanding difference in size between representatives of both these populations and birds from Princes Island, justify separation of this last population for which I propose the name Orthotomus sepium sundaicus subsp. nov. Vol. 82 146 Bulletin B.O.C. Types*: 3 Mus. Zool. Bogor, No. 20.952, 24th September, 1951, Legon Lintah, Princes Island, West Java; leg. A. Hoogerwerf. 2 Mus. Zool. Bogor, No. 20.944, 12th September, 1951, Tjikan- tjana, Princes Island, West Java; leg. A. Hoogerwerf. Range: All over the island; also in the coastal areas but perhaps not in the mangrove-forests. 42 Wings considerably larger than in the typical subspecies, known from Java. Tail much longer, most conspicuous in the males. Bill a trifle shorter than in sepium. On the anterior under parts of the males the new subspecies averages lighter because the grey tint on the throat and foreneck is not so dark as in many birds of the nominate race, whereas the light area on the remaining under parts averages somewhat larger in sundaicus and is less washed with yellow. On the under parts the females are rather similar to sepium but they are lighter and less greyish. The upper parts of both sexes average a trifle duller olive, whereas the ferruginous tint on the pileum and sides of the head averages duller too, as is perhaps also the case on the tibia. Males from Udjung Kulon seem in plumage somewhat intermediate between Princes Island’s population and the birds of the nominate race coming from more eastern localities on Java; they nearly resemble (much larger) sundaicus in colour but agree in size with sepium and the females seem to average lighter on the throat and foreneck than birds from Princes Island or of sepium. The subspecies sepium and sundiacus differ in fresh as well as in old skins fromruficeps from Javaand Sumatra, from baeust, concinnus, ochrommatust from the islands off Sumatra’s west coast, pa/liolatus from Karimundjawa and borneonensis from Borneo because of the olive instead of ashy-grey upper parts and the olive and yellow wash on the under surface in both sexes. When studying the colour differences of the plumage, special attention was paid to birds whose gonads reached about the same state of develop- ment. Measurements} : 3d Wing; sepium (Java): 44, 45, 45, 45, 45, 45, 45, 47, 47, 47, 47, 47, 48, 49; sepium (Udjung Kulon): 44, 44, 46, 46, 46, 46, 46, 46, 47, 47, 48; sundaicus: 48, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 50, 50, 50, 51, 52. Tail; sepium (Java): 38, 39, 40, 41, 41, 41, 41, 41, 42, 42, 42, 42, 44; sepium (Udjung Kulon): 37, 38, 39, 40, 40, 40, 40, 41, 43, 44; sundaicus: 45, 46, 46, 46, 47, 47, 47, 48, 49, 49, 49. Culmen, sepium (Java): 13, 13.1, 13.5, 14, 14, 14, 14, 14.1, 14.1, 14.2, 14.5, 14.9, 15; sepium (Udjung Kulon): 12.3, 13, 13.5, 13.5, 13.8, 14, 14, 14.1; 14.3, 14.5, 14.8; sundaicus: 12.8,' 12.9, 13, 13, 13, 13°353G25, see eo Ng ley Se * All types mentioned in this paper are in the Zoological Museum at Bogor (Indonesia) and paratypes in Leyden Museum for Natural History (Holland). + The subspp. baeus and ochrommatus are considered as synonyms of ruficeps by Dillon Ripley (Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., 94, 1944, p. 394). + All measurements published in this paper are in mm. Bulletin B.O.C. 147 Vol. 82 Max. min. and average measurements: sepium (Java) sepium (Udj. Kulon) sundaicus Wing: 44-49 44-48 48-52 46.14 46 49.58 Tail: 38-44 37-44 45-49 41.08 40.20 47.18 Culmen: 13-15 12.3-14.8 12.8-15 14.03 ey, aso 13.60 22 Wing: sepium (Java): 42, 43, 43, 43, 43, 43, 44, 44, 44, 45, 45, 46, 46: sepium (Udjung Kulon): 42, 44, 44, 45; sundaicus: 46, 46, 47, 47, 48, 48, 49; Tail; sepium (Java): 34, 35, 35, 35, 36, 36, 36, 36, 36, 39, 40, 40, 41; sepium (Udjung Kulon): 35, 36, 37; sundaicus: 38, 39, 39, 40, 40, 42, 42; meon” sepium. (Java): 12.5, 12:6, 13,13, 13, 13.1, 13.2, 13.2, 13:5, Pee a2, 14.2, 15; sepium (Udjung Kulon): 12.7, 13.2, 13.3, 14,9: sundaicus:13, 13.1, 13.2, 13.9, 14.2, 15. Max., min. and average measurements: sepium (Java) sepium (Udj. Kulon) sundaicus 42-46 42-45 46-49 Wing: —— ——— eee 43.92 43.75 47.29 34-4] 35-37 38-42 Tail: —— = ——— 36.85 36 40 12.5-15 12.7-14.9 13-15 Culmen: ———_——. Se —— 13.43 13.70 1373 References § 1 Stresemann, Erwin, Birds collected during Capt. James Cook’s last expedition, The Auk, 67, January 1950, pp. 66-88. 2 Hoogerwerf, A. Some notes about the Nature Reserve Pulau Panaitan (Prinseneiland) in Strait Sunda, with special reference to the avifauna, Treuwbia, 21, February, 1953, pp. 481—S0S5. 3 Hoogerwerf, A. Notes on the Vertebrate Fauna of the Krakatau Islands, with special reference to the birds, Trevbia, 22, November, 1953, pp. 319-348. * Hoogerwerf, A. Contribution to the knowledge of the distribution of birds on the island of Java, with remarks on some new birds, Treubia, 19, May, 1948, pp. 83-137. Further notes on the Ashy Tailor Bird, formerly known as Orthotomus ruficeps (Lesson) and Orthotomus cineraceus Blyth. All (about 70) skins of this Tailor Bird at present in the collections of the Zoological Museum at Bogor, recently collected by me in the Kari- mundjawa and Kangean Archipelago, on Bawean Island and on the islands Sebesi, Sebuku and Legundi (south of Sumatra) differ from the (20) § Too much literature was studied when preparing this paper to be quoted below in extenso, so that only the articles directly referred to in the text will be mentioned. Vol. 82 148 Bulletin B.O.C. skins formerly obtained from Sumatra and Java by the more greyish tint of the upper parts, the clearer, often darker grey of the under parts, most conspicuous in the males and by the purer white on those parts instead of buffy-white as is the case in many birds from Java and Sumatra, most distinct in the females. It may be doubted, however, whether much attention should be paid to the differences in the greyish colour in the plumage because in some skins collected on the Karimundjawa islands in 1930 that pure grey tinge changed into the dull greyish colour of old Sumatran and Javan skins. Of these (3) specimens the white on the under parts is dirtier, but this colour remained unchanged in some Bawean skins obtained in 1928. Possibly the wing and tail feathers become lighter and more brownish in older material. For these reasons, when looking for subspecific characters, attention ought to be focussed on the differences in measurements of wing, tail and bill; on the variation in extension and tint of the ferruginous colour on chin and head; on the differences in tint and extension of the dark parts of throat and foreneck and in the light areas of the under parts, characters which are supposed not to change significantly as a consequence of storage. In my opinion two different subspecies of the ‘‘ashy greyish group’’ of Orthotomus sepium, formerly known as Orthotomus ruficeps (Lesson) and Orthotomus cineraceus Blyth can be recognised on the islands of the Karimundjawa Archipelago and on Bawean Island, whereas the sub- species living on Java and Sumatra differ from those races and also from each other. With the exception of the population living on Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula, which is sufficiently known, all these races will be described below. When comparing three male birds belonging to Java’s population with ten skins from Sumatra, four borneonensis, twelve palliolatus, twelve from Bawean and eight from Kangean, it cannot be denied that Javan birds have the lightest under surface and an extremely dark throat with very dull ferruginous on the chin and head. The subspecies borneonensis shows the least white on the under parts, giving birds belonging to this race the darkest appearance. The differences in plumage between birds from Sumatra and palliolatus and the populations from Bawean and Kangean are less striking but they all differ from Javan birds and borneonensis. Seen in a series palliolatus has a darker throat and foreneck than Sumatran birds and more white on the lower under parts than Bawean’s population of this Orthotomus; moreover palliolatus has the ferruginous colour on the pileum, the sides of the head and the chin a trifle duller than the average from Sumatra or Bawean. Skins from this last island are somewhat intermediate in colour between those from Sumatra and pallio- latus, but the lower under parts show still less white than is the case in birds from Sumatra. Kangean birds seem closest to palliolatus from the Karimundjawa Islands in the dark throat and foreneck, but they are whiter below than all other subspecies indicated above, excepting birds from Java, which show most white. Finally the ferruginous tint on the head seems lighter in Kangean birds than in pallio/atus and this also holds good for the brown on the tibial feathering. The subspecific differences in plumage of the upper parts are less striking but borneonensis seems to average darkest, though rather similar Bulletin B.O.C. 149 Vol. 82 to Sumatra’s population. The brownish colour on the head is very dark; Javan birds do not differ much from those originating from Sumatra when looking on the upper surface but there is a striking difference in the ferruginous tint of the head, because this is very dull in birds from Java, so the contrast between the pileum and the remaining upper parts is less obvious. The subspecies pa/liolatus differs because of the rather light upper parts and the somewhat duller ferruginous on the sides of the head and the chin than is the case in birds from Sumatra, but this tint does not differ much on the pileum. The difference between birds from Bawean Island and Sumatra is not very striking but skins originating from Bawean average clearer ferruginous on the pileum and around the eyes and they show much of this colour on the chin. In the females those from Java and Sumatra show the lightest under parts. The difference in those parts of the females of pa/liolatus and the populations living on Bawean and Kangean is perhaps only one in tint of the ferruginous on chin and sides of head and the extent of this colour, which seems clearest and most extensively present in birds from Bawean, whereas Kangean’s population shows it dullest and least; also in the feathering of the tibia. On the upper parts females of borneonensis are hardly separable from those originating from Sumatra, but the ferruginous on the sides of the head averages a trifle more vivid in borneonensis; Bawean females average decidedly more ferruginous than pallio/atus but the pileum and remaining upper parts are lighter than in the females of borneonensis and those from Sumatra, whereas the females from Kangean are lightest above with the rusty colour on the head and cheeks very dull. In connection with a recently published paper of Prof. Stresemann! Java, neighbourhood of Surabaja, (not Sumatra) must be seen as the terra typica of Orthotomus sepium ruficeps (Lesson) so that the range of birds hitherto known under this name must be restricted to this island and birds originating from Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula must have another name because they are strikingly different from the population living on Java. The name Orthotomus sepium cineraceus Blyth is available for these birds. In Sumatra these birds were collected by me in the central part of Acheen (Atjeh, North Sumatra) from which it is evident that birds belonging to this subspecies are not restricted to the coastal regions as seems to be the case with Java’s ruficeps which is replaced in the interior by Orthotomus sepium sepium. Because of the lack of a good description of Javanese representatives of ruficeps, it seems important to describe here such birds as compared with the much better known Sumatran skins, hitherto considered as identical with ruficeps. Until now too little attention has been given to this remarkable bird. Even Chasen? when describing as new the population of this Tailor Bird living on the Karimundjawa Islands, did not compare his new race with Javan birds and without having studied a single skin from this island, he wrote: ‘*This new form is not improbably the bird occurring in the lowlands of the north coast of Java listed by Bartels and Stresemann as O. s. cineraceus Blyth.”’... Vol. 82 150 Bulleton B.O.C. As no freshly collected material is at hand, the only specimens (5) examined by me were from the Leyden Museum which probably contains the only series of importance in the whole world of ruficeps from Java, which is no doubt very rare in collections. Because these skins—originating from the Bartels collection—are nearly forty years old, I will restrict myself to giving only the constant differences when comparing these skins with a rather old series of cineraceus collected by me on Sumatra in 1937. Orthotomus sepium ruficeps (Lesson) is perhaps only found in certain coastal regions, covered with mangrove forest; more inland it is replaced by Orthotomus sepium sepium. The measurements are closest to cineraceus from Sumatra but ruficeps has a shorter tail in both sexes, but a somewhat longer bill in the males; representatives of both these races belong to the smallest of the species. ¢ Ferruginous colour on chin and tibia averages lighter than in cinera- ceus; throat and foreneck darker, light area below more extensive and a trifle clearer. Ferruginous tint on sides of the head duller, fainter on the pileum so that the contrast between the crown and the remaining upper parts is reduced. © Somewhat lighter above than in females from Sumatra, ferruginous colour in crown 1s very faint so that the difference in tint with the re- maining upper parts is less conspicuous than in cineraceus. Light under parts more extensive and clearer white. Birds from Bawean Island differ from cineraceus and ruficeps and also from borneonensis and palliolatus; | propose to separate them under the name: Orthotomus sepium baweanus subsp. nov. Types: 3 Mus. Zodl. Bogor, No. 22.918, 27th June, 1954, Tandjong Alang-Alang, Bawean Island (Java Sea); leg. A. Hoogerwerf. 2 Mus. Zodl. Bogor, No. 22.900, 10th June, 1954, Muara, Bawean Island (Java Sea); leg. A. Hoogerwerf. Range: Island of Bawean (Java Sea). $2 Wing and tail longer than in all subspecies mentioned above and also larger than representatives of the races baeus, concinnus and ochrom- matus, originating from the islands along Sumatra’s west coast. $ General tone on the under parts darker and purer bluish-grey than in ruficeps, cineraceus or palliolatus; throat and foreneck dark, approaching ruficeps. Below less white than in ruficeps, cineraceus and_ palliolatus; ferruginous tint clear and covering a larger area on the chin, in tint nearly the same as in cineraceus, but clearer than in palliolatus. Upper parts a trifle lighter than in these last races, ferruginous on crown and sides of the head rather similar to cineraceus averaging somewhat clearer; baweanus approaches borneonensis but the new subspecies shows more white below and is lighter ferruginous on the head; moreover wing and tail of baweanus are much longer. | 2 Foreneck and throat somewhat darker and clearer grey than in the subspecies mentioned above; ferruginous colour on chin and cheeks more extensive than in cineraceus, but in tint rather similar, darker than in palliolatus; light area below averages purer white than in most borneo- nensis. Bulletin B.O.C. el Vol. 82 Upper parts greyer, wing and tail lighter than in cineraceus, rather similar to ruficeps. Extension of ferruginous tint on the crown and sides of the head nearly similar to cineraceus but a trifle paler, closer to palliolatus. Birds living on the Karimundjawa Islands were separated under the name palliolatus, which in size approaches cineraceus, but the bill of the female seems longer than in all subspecies mentioned above. The diagnosis can only partly be accepted when looking upon our freshly collected skins from the Karimundjawa Archipelago. The ferruginous tint on the chin and sides of the head—seen in a series—averages just a trifle paler than in cineraceus from Sumatra, most obvious on the chin. The crown is not lighter than in Sumatran birds, nor are the throat and chest. On the contrary, they average darker than cineraceus in our series. Owing to this character palliolatus resembles baweanus, differing however by the smaller area of ferruginous on the chin and probably also on the sides of the head and in having more white below. And finally pa/liolatus has a longer bill than baweanus and smaller wings and tail. Gagan Orthotomus sepium subspp. 1. Orthotomus sepium ruficeps (Java) 3° 2 - Bs cineraceus (Sumatra) 3° 3 a “a palliolatus (Karimundjawa Islands) 3% 4. * a baweanus subsp. nov. (Bawean Island) 3% of “ subsp. (Kangean Archipelago) 3% 6. f ie borneonensis (male) (Borneo) 7 - a ochrommatus (male) (Pagi Islands, W. Sumatra) 8 Gs ‘e concinnus (male) (Siberut and Sipera Islands, W. Sumatra) On account of the light tint of the ferruginous parts, palliolatus re- sembles birds from Kangean Archipelago which, however, have this colour still duller. And the males of palliolatus, studied by me, have also very clear ferruginous on the tibia, quite different from Kangean birds, and their upper parts average darker than in this last race. Vol. 82 152 Bulletin B.O.C There are more differences which make it probable that the population of Orthotomus sepium living in the Kangean Archipelago cannot be united with one of the subspecies discussed above, but the birds we had at our disposal were in a rather poor condition. It is, however, impossible to consider Kangean birds as identical with ruficeps as was done by Chasen? and others; for the time being it seems better to unite them with palliolatus, also on account of the similarity in size. When studying the Orthotomus sepium material present in Bogor’s Museum for the first time* I thought it possible that the female bird obtained on Kangean by Vorderman in 1892, could be seen as a rep- resentative of the ‘‘olive-greenish group’’; the fresh material does not confirm this supposition. Skins originating from Sebesi, Sebuku and Legundi Island (Strait of Sunda) are smaller, approaching cineraceus but in plumage they seem somewhat intermediate between this last race and palliolatus. On account of their similarity in size I consider them to belong to cineraceus. Measurements: Sd Wing; ruficeps: 47, 48, 48; ruficeps (measured by Junge): 43, 45; 45, 48, 49, 49; cineraceus (Sumatra): 46, 47, 47, 47, 47, 48, 48, 48, 48, 49, cineraceus (Sunda Strait): 45, 46, 48, 48, 49, 49, 50; palliolatus: 48, 49, 49, 49, 50, 50, 50, 50, 51, 51; Kangean birds: 47, 48, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 49, 50; borneonensis: 45, 45, 46, 47; borneonensis (Chasen and Kloss °): 46, 47, 49, 49: haweanus; 49,50, 51, 51. S51, 51,52, 52, 52, 52, 52.5 Tail; ruficeps: 38.5, 41, 44; ruficeps (measured by Junge): 34, 35, 36, 41, 43, 44; cineraceus (Sumatra): 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 47, 48, 48; cineraceus (Sunda Strait): 39, 40, 41, 43, 43, 46, 47; palliolatus: 43, 45, 45, 46, 47, 47, 47, 48, 48; Kangean birds: 43, 44, 44, 44, 45, 46, 48, 48; borneonensis: 41, 42, 43, 44; borneonensis (Chasen and Kloss’): 40, 42, 44, 50; baweanus: 45p 49 49-50, 50, 525 52, 93; 54,-55, Dos DOs OD: Culmen; ruficeps: 13.5, 13,5. 13.5; ruficeps (measured by Junge): 13, 13, 14, 14, 14, 14; cineraceus (Sumatra): 11, 11.2, 13, 13, 13.3, 13.8, 14, [4a cineraceus (Sunda Strait): 10, 11, 11.8, 12, 12.1, 13; palliolatus: 10.5, 11.9, 12, 12, 12.1, 12.1, 14.3, 14.5, 14.5, 14.7; Kangean birds: 13a2.13.2. 14, 14.1, 14.2, 14.3; borneonensis: 12.1, 13.9, 13.9, 14.5; baweanus: 12.1, I. 8. 13. 13 13S, 133.1338, 14 Max., min. and average measurements: ruficeps ruficeps cineraceus cineraceus palliolatus Kangean borneon- baweanus (Junge) (Sumatra) (Str. Sunda) birds ensis 47-48 43-49 46-49 45-50 48-51 47-50 45-47 49-54 Wing: —— == === ——. 47.67 46.50 47.50 47.86 49.70 48.78 45.75 S155 46-49 Chasen and Kloss: a 47.75 38.5—44 34-44 43-48 39-47 43-48 43-48 41-44 45-59 Tail: ~ a ——- oo ——— 41.17 38.67 46 42.71 46.22 45.25 42.50 52215 40-50 Chasen and Kloss: —— 44 13.5-13.5 13-14 11-14.1 10-13 10.5-14.7 13.2-14.3 12.1-14.5 12.1-14.1 Culmen : aoe 13.50 13.67 12.93 11.65 12.86 SIM 13.60 13,10 A ~A- aA * - Bulletin B.O.C. 153 Vol. 82 ‘ : - 99Wing; ruficeps: 44, 45; cineraceus (Sumatra): 43, 43, 44, 44, 44, 44, 44, 45, 45, 46; cineraceus (Strait Sunda): 44, 45, 45, 45, 46, 46; palliolatus: 44, 47, 47, 47, 48, 49; Kangean birds: 46, 46, 47, 47, 47, 48, 48; borneonen- ~ sis: 41, 42, 44, 44, 46; borneonensis: (Chasen and Kloss°): 42, 43, 44, 44, 44; baweanus: 46, 47, 48, 48, 48, 49, 49, 50. Tail; ruficeps: 34, 35; cineraceus (Sumatra): 35, 35, 36, 37, 37, 38, 40, 41; cineraceus (Strait Sunda): 36, 38, 39, 41, 42, 42; palliolatus: 39, 39, 42, 42, 44; Kangean birds: 37, 40, 42, 42, 42, 43, 44; borneonensis: 36, 36, 38, 38, 39; borneonensis (Chasen and Kloss): 35, 36, 36, 37, 39; baweanus: 40, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 45. Culmen; ruficeps: 11, 13.5; cineraceus (Sumatra): 11, 11.1, 11.5, 12.5, 12.7, 12.8, 12.9, 12.9, 13.5; cineraceus (Strait Sunda): 11, 11.2, 11.5, 11.8, 12.2, 12.2; palliolatus: 12.2, 12.7, 13, 14, 14.50; Kangean birds: 11.1, 12, 12.9, 13.2, 13.3, 13.4, borneonensis: 12.1, 12.3, 12.5, 13.2; baweanus: 12.5, Seng, 13, 13, 13.5, 13.5. Max., min. and average measurements: ruficeps cineraceus cineraceus palliolatus Kangean borneon- baweanus (Sumatra) (Str. Sunda irds ensis 44,45 43-46 44-46 44-49 46-48 41-46 46-50 Wing: a ——. —— —_—— —— —_— ——— 44.50 44.20 45.17 47 47 43.50 48.13 42-44 Chasen and Kloss: ——— 43.40 34, 35 35-4] 36-42 39-44 37-44 36-39 40-45 » Tail: eS oe ——— ——- ——— —— a 34.50 37.38 39.67 41.20 41.43 37.40 42.71 35-39 Chasen and Kloss: —— 36.60 11-13.50 11-13.50 14-12.20 12.2-14.5 11.1-13.4 12.1-13.2 12.5-13.5 Culmen: eee eee eee OC SM > 12.25 12.32 11.65 13.28 12.67 2:53 13.03 On an earlier occasion* I called attention to the desirability of separ- ating birds now considered to belong to a single ‘“Rassenkreis’’ (Ortho- tomus sepium Horsf.) into two different species for which are available the names Orthotomus sepium Horsfield and Orthotomus ruficeps (Less.) because it seemed to me a rather strange phenomenon that pure rep- resentatives of two different races of the same species occur within an area of some miles or less as is the case with Orthotomus sepium of which sepium occurs in and around Djakarta (West Java) and ruficeps in the coastal area of this place, without known hybrids from this region. Also on account of the morphological differences between birds of both these ‘subspecies there seems enough reason to reconsider the systematic position of this Tailor Bird. _ Prof. Stresemann® considered in 1938 some birds of the subspecies _borneonensis as Orthotomus ruficeps borneonensis, but this author could not give me any explanation for doing this, nor do I know of any paper in which this new concept is propagated. At about the same time, however, Mayr’ considered borneonensis—he wrote borneoensis, which is perhaps a slip of the pen—as a race of sepium: Volk 82 40° 154 | - Bulletin B.O.C. in 1939 de Schauensee and Ripley® did the same with baeus which they compared with sepium ruficeps; Chasen® in 1941, writing about the Sumatra specimens collected by me during the Leuser Expedition, speaks of O. s. ruficeps as did Ripley in 1944'° and de Schauensee again con- sidered in 1958 birds from Sumatra and Billiton as Orthotomus sepium ruficeps, though in all these cases it concerns specimens which could be seen as representatives of Orthotomus ruficeps. But since I wrote my previous paper several specimens of Orthotomus sepium were collected on Sangijang Island (Strait Sunda) and on the Island of Bawean, so | suppose they belong to a mixed population, but I am pre- paring a paper in which I will discuss these birds. On account of this experience it seems not justified to re-establish the *“two-species-concept’’ though there are several examples in recent literature in which hybridization in (closely related) species did not lead to taxonomic alterations. In this case I prefer to leave the matter to a scientist who is more competent than I feel myself and to whom I am quite willing to give any information. References : 1 Stresemann, Erwin. Vogel, gesammelt von Labillardiére wahrend der ‘* Voyage 4 la Recherche de Lapérouse’’ (1791-1794); Mittelungen aus dem Zoél. Museum in Berlin, 29, 1953, pp. 75-106. 2 Chasen, F. N. and Boden Kloss, C. On a small collection of birds from the Kari- mundjawa Islands, Treubia 14, 1932-1934, pp. 165-171. 3 Chasen, F. N. A Handlist of Malaysian Birds, Bulletin Raffles Museum, Singapore, No. 11, December, 1935, p. 247. * Hoogerwerf, A. Is het inderdaad Orthotomus sepium ruficeps welke langs Java’s Noordkust leeft? Ardea, 36, 1948, pp. 71-76. ® Chasen, F.\N. and Boden Kloss, C. Ona collection of Birds from the lowlands and islands of North Borneo, Bulletin Raffles Museum, Singapore, 4, 1930, p. 93. ¢ Stresemann, Erwin. V6gel vom Flusz Kajan, Nordost Borneo, Temminckia, 3, 1938, m 133, 7 Mayr, Ernst. Notes ona collection of birds from south Borneo, Bull. Raffles Museum, Singapore, 14, 1938, p. 41. 8 Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee and Sidney Dillon Ripley. Zoological results of the — George Vanderbilt Sumatran Expedition, 1936-1939, Part I1[—Birds from Nias ~ Island, Proceedings Acadamy Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 91, 1939, p. 409. ; ® Chasen, F. N. and Hoogerwerf, A. The birds of the Netherlands Indian Mt. Leuser — Expedition 1937 to North Sumatra, Treubia, 18, 1941, p. 97. : 10 Ripley, Dillon. The Bird Fauna of the West Sumatra Islands, Bull. of the Museum — of Comparative Zodlogy, 94, 1944, p. 394. g 11 Rodolphe Meyer de Schauensee. The birds of the Island of Bangka, Indonesia, — Proc. Acad. Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 110, 1958, p. 299. @ I have to thank Dr. Dean Amadon, Dr. G. C. A. Junge and Prof. Dr. E. Stresemann — for their valuable and much esteemed help when studying the ornitholay material % from these islands. PAs Dg Pe, j ~7 NOV 1962 if tc30) PURCHASED r Os BOTS Pa io a =) td a taral € , gaolon \ wT. Sebifs bsgaged e4entT 1:0 bcs Pit? .. bss ie wha 3 S¥IO D* 7 ‘ BPA be k ih j ] Mm riayie’ se Djis 4TH > wf + - 7 c : ‘ + © ay it 27% Ate : , SIG OIAA 2! “ees P : <) ae @ p<} 8 - bibd ‘i $ Me? ure " “ja vy itt ah 784 si ul. bi boris pein: eau ort rt) Rhy NOs ioctl > gic ! ft Lia? * > is i} Te . dctelien ss ONE k, List 4 7 ¢ ’ ; te is J . eemesire: M32 ia ica y rit vat oe ta éZ c i} ‘4 r K . . ) rE LY ‘ t 4 y j Ditties. . for OC JrtSeriba a Silt ce W 4 nt 4 } 1 : : Mi v9 i uf ‘ \ ne! ¢ 17 54 \ Petes 10h sel Loereites bs Tol =e. stg cK IT | Fi ° ? oF igi >} »? 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Or Morrauan: Te FA ellawans cident @ Doenid ioty Sd yur xittatlue dT 4 a : F. dott ont so dhdey en 7 a 7 Oo Vx Hi 1s ms rin it ‘ 1 + | fC aAot..oconlt eur beak a | ‘¥ ao ‘ “ wogeptosea a: 168) m0 te at or bygnbbs od blwods sonabrontsteo md10 TON A Malifietos ac Sar iaidh i dade oe Ad t s rid Lt hh oe on fom 508 nounraaM vated enavac Z nee oe j b by Pn | iy , 7 vimoootl] As#T >. romarerns =o ssahielincs po ae Na i a : PES | 1) Mert PAR - ony yd betel 0G ie Et. D aoten > alt ae CONTRIBUTORS Contributions are not restricted to members of the B.O.C. and should be addressed to the Editor, Mr. John Yealland, The Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London, N.W.1. These should be concise and typed on one side of the paper, double-spaced, with a good margin. The first time a species is mentioned, the scientific generic and specific names should be included. Subsequently the same name need only have the initial letter of the genus. 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Published by the BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS’ CLUB and printed by The Caxton & Holmesdale Press, South Park, Sevenoaks, Kent. fe uae ling! iat 1, OoT ' tal Z c ena ees es => ° : = r, fi ww tre TE -t -. Sei. a ect p4 Brisk ar f Bish os peeps? ath at ak 7 be ad rr oiee giz ts Site a per we oe — o Ht - i 4 a s34t 4s +53 pepe ee vet Vabteseiea ter etn be dee +e ge POP OEE Bw J ote fTorares oe arnt pes | hee ~ . » if +e a 048 4 Sat hart Git -* se = Sess cee 25a ms 2 == 35453. -_* ‘ss! te + ae ree tst witsisrs A» r re a i ser Seren oe > m aria y erat PNY as Briss cee pres = fttret > 4. Chie sti he ghee’, jes xT Seietas meth mee ane 9 oda eee Pe 8 S51 Pate : a rres eke ‘7 Lane 44 abe esis . ecpriree 0-94 oSarad ) iT4) + : $ist a . ¢ + $6 tit A Sa oe ae 4 Rp eeh eres oe ies COCe '. +40 <3 oem e > “ > ". pease ie eels, og . ore ey a 4 ti 4 ore ta 0 Os bro © > ron bee.