Check List of the Birds of South Africa. 371 



70. PYKOMELANA CAPENSIS APPROXIMANS (Cab.). 



According to Beichenow (Vog. Afr. iii. p. 132) the oldest name for 

 this subspecies is Orynx approximans Cab. ; the bird should there- 

 fore be known as P. capensis approximans. 



74A. COLIOPASSER MACRURUS (Gmel.). 



This tropical Africa species was also met with by Alexander at 

 Zumbo on the Zambesi in December (Ibis, 1899, p. 565). It is 

 black with the back and lesser wing coverts yellow, the greater 

 coverts and wings with brownish streaks; wing 3'0 to 3'25 inches. 



83. PETRONIA PETRONELLA (Licht.). 



Ivy (Ibis, 1901, p. 19) states that this bird lays three to four dull 

 unspotted brown eggs, very unlike those of the common Sparrow. 



According to Reichenow (Vog. Afr. iii. p. 244) the oldest name 

 for this bird is superciliaris of Blyth. 



84. PASSER MELANURUS (P. L. S. Mull.). 



84A. PASSER MELANURUS DAMARENSIS (Reichw.). 



Reichenow (Vog. Afr. iii. p. 233) uses the older name melan- 

 urus of P. L. S. Miiller, dating from 1776, for this species, generally 

 known as Passer arcuatus Gmel., which dates from 1788. The same 

 author, on p. 234, further distinguishes a paler variety from Damara- 

 land and Benguella under the name of P. mclanurm damarensis. 



84B. PASSER DOMESTICUS (Linn.). 



I have recently examined an undoubted example of this species 

 obtained in the neighbourhood of Pretoria, and now preserved in the 

 Transvaal Museum there. Dr. Gunning, to whom I am indebted 

 for the opportunity of so doing informs me that so far as he is 

 aware the English Sparrow has never been introduced into the 

 Transvaal, but Mr. C. Fuller, the Government Entomologist of 

 Natal, in his Report for 1903-4 (p. 31), states that they have been 

 introduced at Durban and have increased very rapidly in that neigh- 

 bourhood since April, 1902, when they were first noticed. 



86. PASSER GRISEUS (Vieill.). 



Reichenow (Vog. Afr. iii. p. 230) adopts an older name, 

 griseus, of Vieillot, dating from 1817 for this bird, in preference 

 to cliff usus, of Smith, dating from 1836. 



