276 NOVTTATES ZOOLOQICAI: XXIV. 1917. 



Voyage up the Gamhia [formerly often called Gambra], in the Year 1723, we 

 find, on p. 287, in the Captain's " Journal of a Voyage up the Gambia," * 

 the folloT\dng : 



" Thereabouts are great Stocks of diverse Sorts of Game, particularly Rock 

 Partridges : I call them so, as being mostly amongst Rocks and Precipices. 

 They are of a dark-speckled Colour, having a round Snufi'-colour'd Spot on 

 the Breast about as big as a Half-Crown, the Legs and Beak are red, as also a 

 Circle about the Eyes, just as some Pigeons have ; they are not altogether no 

 big as Partridges, but in Shape exactly like them and run as fast, only then 

 this erects the Tail, and appears like a large Chicken. They are exceeding 

 fine Meat, but difficult to kill." 



First of all, we must consider where Stibbs obtained these birds : Not 

 far from Barrucunda, about two degrees of longitude up the river, many days 

 inland, under about 14° long. west. It is quite clear that no Alectoris (Caccahis) 

 is found there. Then the " dark-speckled Colour " disagrees (Bufion left out 

 the important " speckled "), the spot on the breast is only the size of a " half- 

 crown " (in Alectoris barbara it is much larger), the size of the bird itself is con- 

 siderably less than that of a Partridge (while A. barbara is not), and, last but 

 not least, it erects its tail when running ! No Partridge does this, but the 

 African Ptilopachus fuscus (Vieill.) does it, and, in fact, there can be no doubt 

 this is the bird described by Stibbs, and which GmeHn called Tetrao petrostcs, 

 the dark speckled plumage, the light brown patch on the breast, red feet, beak, 

 and circle round eyes, approximate size, the habit of running with tail erect, 

 and the locality, all agreeing with it, so that the name Ptilopachus petroaus 

 will have to take the place of that of P. fuscus. 



Fortunately, another name is available for the Barbar}' Partridge. Bonna- 

 terre {Ta^l. Encycl. et Meth. i. p. 208 (1791)) called it " Perdix Barbara." This 

 was taken from Edwards, Nat. Hist. B. ii. p. 70, pi. 70 (1747). Edwards called 

 the bird " The Red-legged Partridge from Barbary," and figured and described 

 a dark bird. He saj's : " A pair of these birds were sent to me alive by my 

 good friend Mr. Thomas Rawlings, Merchant, residing at Santa Cruz, in that 

 part of Barbary which lies without the Streights of Gibraltar, on the Atlantic 

 Ocean." We have thus a definite locality, but which " Santa Cruz " can this 

 have been ? It is not the old Spanish fort of Santa Cruz near Oran, and I doubt 

 if at that time (though some portions of " Barbary " were safer then than 

 afterwards) Englishmen resided at the present Agadir (formerly Santa Cruz 

 de Berberia), or at Hini, stUl farther south, formerly called Santa Cruz de Mar 

 Pequeiia). Santa Cruz being a very frequent place, Edwards's place of that 

 name was probably in, North Marocco, not very far from the Straits of Gibraltar. 

 In any case, the name barbara is doubtless applicable to the dark North 

 African Barbary Partridge. Its name will therefore henceforth be : 



Alectoris barbara barbara (Bonn.). 



It inhabits Tunisia, Algeria, and Marocco from Tangiers to the southern Atlas. 

 In Tunisia it is found in the north of the Atlas, in Algeria also, and on the Hauts 



• A translation is also found in Arkstee & Markus, Allgem. Historic der Beisen^ iii. p. 78, 

 1784, but it is not quite complete, the — to the translator — less important sentences being left out. 



