(•502 ) 



The upper-surface is brownish grey, in fresh plumage with a strong greenish yellow 

 tinge, t he head black, sharply separated from the back. In worn plumage the back 

 becomes brownish and the black crown does not appear to be so sharply separated 

 from the back. The throat-feathers are hoary or brownish grey, sometimes almost 

 whitish, and blackish at base. The females do not differ very conspicuously from 

 the males, but the throat appears to be more uniform, as the bases to the feathers 

 are not blackish but grey. Wing, S <S 81—87, ?? 78-5 — 80'5 mm. The young 

 birds have the bill pale, the throat tinged with yellow. 



Dr. W. J. Ansorge sent us a good series from Angola : 



5 cJ (J, 3 ? ?, Canhoca, Angola, November and December 1903. (Nos. 1225, 

 1357, 1384, 1409, 1433, 1469, 1544, 1599.) 



1 <3, Caporodo River, Quilenges, Bengnella, 6. ii. 05. 



2 <J ?, Elaudswater, Bengnella, 25. vii. 04. (Nos. 421, 422.) 

 2 J cj, Usolo River, Bengnella, 16, 19. vi. 04. (Nos. 51, 59.) 

 1 ? juv., Warmbad, Bengnella, 28. vii. 04. (No. 463.) 



1 ?, Kasimo River, Quilenges, Bengnella, 3. ii. 05. 



1 ?, " 10th day from Bengnella," 13. vi. 04. (No. 38.) 



1 <S, Dondo, Qnauza River, Angola, 30. vi. 01. (C. Hubert Pembertou coll.). 



With absolute certainty only known from Angola and Bengnella. 



The form from the Tanganyika highlands belongs, judging from Manning's 

 specimen in the British Museum, to tephronotus, and I expect that also the one from 

 Kibondo (Bohudorff) belongs to the latter, as well as Bohm's Lukumbi and Lualabu 

 examples, which are, unfortunately, lost. 



42. Ploceus bicolor tephronotus (Rchw.). 



Symplectea tephronotus Reichenow, Ber. Febr. Site. D.O.G. p. 4(1892— Buea, Kamerun). Of. Journ. 



f. Orn. 1892. pp. 185, 219 ; Vtig. Aft. hi. p. 35. 

 Sycobroiue poensia Alexander, Bull. Brit. Urn. Club xciv. vol. xiii. p. 38 (1903— Fernando Po). 



This form is very closely allied to P. b. amaurocepkalus, from which it merely 

 differs in having a slightly larger bill and in the somewhat more deep brown 

 colour of the crown and entire sides of the head, and the narrower pale grey edges 

 to the throat-feathers, so that the throat is darker, almost black or deep brown, not 

 greyish as in amaurocepkalus. 



We have no material from Kamernu and Fernando Po, but a skin said to 

 be from the " Congo" evidently belongs to this form. It was brought from the late 

 Alfred Guillot, a dealer in Paris. The birds labelled " Congo," of which we bought 

 a few long ago, were probably from the mouth of the Congo, but their origin is open 

 to doubt. 



P. bicolor tephronotus does not extend to the Qnanza, but is, so far, with 

 certainty only known from Kamerun and Fernando Po. The specimen from the 

 Qnanza River, collected by Mr. Pemberton, mentioned by Reichenow, is a young 

 one of the Angola form : P. b. amaurocepkalus. Shelley has recognised it as the 

 latter (J5. Afr. iv. p. 370). 



In the British Museum is a " female " from the Tanganyika plateau (Manning). 

 Judging from the deep brown throat, this specimen should belong to tephronotus 

 and not to amaurocepkalus. This specimen is very worn and dirty. The under- 

 surface is rather paler yellow than in tephronotus, but it is marked " ? ," and 

 females may be somewhat paler than males. At present it is impossible to say 



