NOVITATES ZOOLOGICAE XXII. 1915. 249 



37. Bubulcus ibis ibis (L.) 

 S ?, Zaria, November 1912, where the}- are very common. 



3s. Treron waalia (Gm.) 



Kadana River, Zaria. 



Neumann's "Vinago waalia cinereiceps" {.Tourn.f. Orn., I'JIU, p. 341) appears 

 to me to be extremely doubtful. It is, in my opinion, a female, wrongly sexed as 

 male. Specimens from Togoland and Senegambia seem to be indistinguishable 

 from typical Abyssinian ones. 



39. Oena capensis (L.) 

 1 ad., Zaria. 



I do not think that 0. c. ononi/ma Oberh. is separable. The supposed differ- 

 ences appear to be merely individual. 



4<i. Ptilopachus fuscus fuscus (Vieill.) 



1 ad., province of Zaria. 



P. f. keniensis Mearns is evidently a synonym of the very distinct P. f. 

 Horentiaa O.-Grant. P.f. major Neumann is also very distinct, and so is apparently 

 P.f. brehmi ; but the distribution of the latter is as yet uncertain, as darker birds 

 occur also in parts of Kordofan.— Cf. Bull. B. 0. Club xxi. p. 68, Ibis 1915, p. 22. 



41. Prancolinus bicalcaratus (L.) 



2 c?c?, Zaria, 1 River Niger, below Timbuktu. 



These three birds are rather pale, like all from the Senegal colony, while 

 specimens from Sierra Leone and Adamaua are darker; there is, however, much 

 individual variation, even in the same localities. 



42. Serpentarius serpentarius gambiensis (Ogilby) 



Gjipoije.ramts Gambiensis Ogilby, Proc. Zonl. Soc. London, 1835, p. 105 (Gambia). 

 Serpentarius orientalis Verreaux, Proc. Zool. Soc. London, 1856, p. 352 (East Africa). 



Two adult birds, province of Zaria. 



These birds agree with others from Eritrea and N.E. Kordofan, west of Omdur- 

 man, in being slightly paler on the upperside, and especially on the wing-coverts. 

 The under-surface is white, while in South African specimens there is generally 

 a distinct, though very pale greyish tinge. It seems also that the crest-feathers 

 are wider in S. s. gambien.si.s, but this is to be confirmed, as, apparently, they are 

 wider in the male than in the female. 



Erlanger {.Tourn.f. Orn. 1904, p. 1.56) and Zedlitz {op. cit. 1910, p. 366) used 

 for this form the name orientalis, but I think that gambiensis must be accepted, 

 though the diagnosis is not correct, e.'ccept, perhaps, for the broader feathers of 

 the crest. Erlanger's plate {.Journ. f. Orn. 1904, pi. IV.) by Kleinschmidt is 

 exaggerated ; at least the South African serpentarius which I have seen are not 

 as dark as on the plate. 



Ogilby (/.('.) described also a Philippine species, after Sonnerat's figure in the 

 Voi/agc a la Souvdle Guince, but needless to say the figure is somewhat incorrect 



