( 406 ) 



PTEROCLIDAE. 

 If). Pterocles quadricinctus (Temm.) 

 <J ad. and juv., Gambagii 1.1. Is'.cj aiul .i. 3. IfSOs. " Iris browu." 



COLUMBAE. 

 Ki. Vinago waalia (Gm.). 



<? ad. Gambaga, 4. 11. 1898. " Iris tirauge red." 



AVing 177 mm. Abyssinian specimens seem to liave the wing slightly longer, 

 while a female from Niam-Niam (Bohndorff coll.) has the wing very short, only 

 165 mm. Larger series from the different localities shonld be stndied. The /«/««/« 

 differs from the inale in being smaller and in having the vinous patch on the wing • 

 much smaller. 



17. Columba gniinea (L). 



i Gambaga, 28. 8. 1898. " Iris, cere and legs pink." 



18. ? Columba gymnocyclus (Gray). 



? Gambaga, 28. 8. 1898. " Iris pink with yellow edge, cere and legs pink." 

 This interesting pigeon looks very much like some domesticated races of C. Una, 

 and agrees perfectly with the types of C. gymnocyclus^ except that it is of a lighter 

 grey and has a shorter wing, which latter peculiarity may be due to its sex. It has a 

 distinct bare ring round the eye. Captain Giffard kindly tells me about this bird as 

 follows: — "The little blue rock-pigeon is a wild bird. These birds live in a big 

 800-feet scarp, about si.x miles from (Jamliaga, and come down in fair numbers at 

 sowing and harvest time, at other times they are very seldom seen. There is not 

 the least doubt as to their being wihl, and they could not have originated from tame 

 birds, as there is only one pair ol tame pigeons in Gambaga — large white birds — and 

 very likely no more in the whole of tlie Hinterland." Our knowledge of Cnlamha 

 qymnocyclus is very small, and there is no reliable evidence of its distribntion. 

 There are some specimens from " Senaganibia " in Berlin, some from " W. Africa' 

 in the British and Paris Museums ; and we have one that was formerly in the 

 Rioconr collection, without locality, but perfectly agreeing with the types. Probably 

 these dark birds are inhabitants of rocky cliffs somewhere in Senegambia, and 

 possibly the Gambaga birds are a paler sub-species. The wing of our bird measures 

 2U0 mm., that of our dark C. yi/mii.ur//cli<s 'i\'A mm. 



19. Chalcopelia afra (L.). 

 cJ Gambaga, 31 8. 1898. " Iris brown " Rather pale on the breast ! 



20. Turtur senegalensis (L.). 

 S Gambaga, 2U. 2. 1899. " Iris brown." 



Turtur vinaceus (Gm.). 

 Gambaga. 



21. Turtur semitorquatus (Ruiip.). 



? Gambaga, 17. 9. 1898. '' Iris orange, cere red." 



