E. LÖNNBERG, BIRDS FROM EASTERN CONGO. 31 



municated by Neumann^ consists of the following words: 

 »Similar to N. r. rufus Fisch. & Reich,, from German East 

 Africa, but much smaller». To this some measurements are 

 added, but to judge from Neumann's words the colour of 

 gabunensis should be identical with that of the East x4fricari 

 rvfus. The latter is described by Reichenow with the follow- 

 ing words :^ »Kopf triib olivenbraun, Kehle blasser; iibri- 

 ges Gefieder rotbraiin, Nacken, Riicken und Schulterfedern 



triiber in das Olivenbraun des Kopfes iibergehend»; . 



To this description is added a coloured figure. If Neumann's 

 gabunensis really is coloured in accordance with this de- 

 scription, and the figure of rufus, the bird from Beni evid- 

 ently represents a different subspecies, which is much darker, 

 and in such a case I propose to name this N eocossypJius 

 rujiis arrhenii in remembrance of the collector. It has the 

 colour of the head most similar to, but not quite identical 

 with »fuscous» in Ridgway's »Color Standards» of 1912, 

 Pl. XLVJ. The upper back is »mummy brown» (Pl. XV), 

 with concealed light shaft streaks. This colour blends gradu- 

 ally in to the colour of the head on one side and on the 

 other it passes gradually into »Prouts brown» on the wing 

 coverts and the lower back. On the latter it shades through 

 chestnut to burnt Sienna on the rump and upper tail coverts. 

 The sides of the rump and lower tail coverts are brighter 

 and more orange. The outer web of the wing quills chestnut. 

 The inner web blackish brown, basally and on the inner 

 edge cinnamon to pinkish cinnamon. The throat is paler 

 than the upper part of the head, a dark shade of drab. On 

 the lower neck this colour gradually blends with the cin- 

 namon-rufous of the lower parts. The under wing coverts 

 are »apricot buff». Length of wing 117 mm., tail 104 mm., 

 culmen 15 mm. 



These measurements agree rather closely with the cor- 

 responding ones for the male N. r. gabunensis, although this 

 is a female. It appears thus probable that the present 

 specimens represents a darker forest race which is inter- 

 mediate in size between the East African Neocossyphiis rufus 

 and its western representative gabunensis. 



^ Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club. 1908, p. 77. 

 ^ Vögel Afrikas III, p. 670. 



