NOVITATES ZOOLOQICAE XXIV. 1917. 289 



was described as being large, the rufous ring round the neck wide and very dark 

 chestnut, underside strongly spotted with white, even on the chest and sides 

 of chest. Of these characters (and some others not worth mentioning) the 

 width of the chestnut ring is of no value as it varies according to preparation ; 

 the large size and dark chestnut colour of the neck-ring agree fully with F. 

 francolinus francolinus. I have only seen one male of this supposed subspecies, 

 in the British Museum ; it is said to be from Lenkoran and was received from 

 the Florence Museum, or rather its late director. Professor Giglioli, who had 

 got it from Badde. The locahty must be wrong, as Radde expressly stated 

 that it was never found near Lenkoran, and it is probably from the Kura Valley 

 or the Lower Araxes. It agrees with F. francolinus francolinus, but is more 

 profusely spotted on the underside, there being some white spots even on the 

 chest — just as described by Buturhn, *'ho had seven males ! In this great amount 

 of white spotting the specimen is approached by two males from Cyprus and 

 Asia Minor, but under the circumstances we must, for the time being, provision- 

 ally admit this form, F. f. Caucasians, as a subspecies. On the same page Buturhn 

 also described a "Francolinus orientalus sarudnyi " * from four males from North 

 Persia and the Lower Atrek. I have hardly any doubt that this "sarudnyi" 

 is the same as caucasicus, as it differs, in the opinion of Buturlin, merely by 

 wider white bars on the rump, which are about 1 mm. instead of 05 mm. wide ; 

 the width of these bands varying to some extent, this character cannot, without 

 further material, be admitted as of any value. 



A third, very distinct, form is the one inhabiting Sindh, Baluchistan, South- 

 eastern and Southern Persia to Fao and Baghdad. It is altogether paler, lighter, 

 and much smaller. The females, too, are very much Kghter. I accept for 

 this form Bonaparte's name henrici {Compt. Rend. Acad. [Paris], xlii. p. 882, 

 1856, Sindh). It is true that the description is insufficient, all that is said being 

 " major, alis brevioribus," but as it has smaller wings, this, in connection with 

 the definite locality, makes the name acceptable. That the type was generally 

 larger, was probably due to a greater amount of straw on cotton-wool. As the 

 Sindh birds are quite like those from Persian Baluchistan and Seistan in East 

 Persia, Zarudny's name hoglanovi (" Francolinus orientalis bogdanovi," Orn. 

 Monatsber. 1906, p. 151) becomes a synonym. As I find that examples from Fao, 

 from Farsistan (collected by Witherby), and Baghdad (British Museum) are 

 indistinguishable, I am almost sure that " Prnncolimis orientalis arabistanicus" 

 Zarudny and Harms, Orn. Monatsber. 1913, p. 54, from the " Zagrossische und 

 Mesopotamische Gebiet Persiens," described on feeble grounds, must be the 

 same, too. 



Quite different from F. francolinus francolinus and henrici is the bird from 

 the north-western parts of India. It is, in both sexes, very much like F. f. 

 francolinus in coloration, but considerably smaller. The spurs of the male are 

 always short and blunt and sometimes absent. In order not to be obliged to 

 riiake a new name or to accept the absurd name " europaeus," we are justified 

 in adopting Bonaparte's name "asiae" for this form. It is true that the whole 

 diagnosis is " Minor ex Asia " — but not " Asia Minor," as Ogilvie-Grant wrongly 

 quoted in the Catalogue of Birds ! The above of course means that " asiae " 



• In phonetic transliteration this ornithologist's name is spelt with an S in German, with a 

 Z in English. Therefore species or subspecies named in his honoiir have also been spelled with 

 8 and z ; we have, of course, to preserve the original speUing in each case. 

 19 



