BIRi)^ OF S. W. PROTECTORATE 97 



often going about in large tiocks during the winter 

 months. 



Eremomela datnarcnsis — Dauiara Bush-Warbler. 

 Fairly common amongst the thorn bush round Win.lhuk, 

 always seen in pairs. 



^axicola monticola — Mountain Chat. Very common 

 throughout the more mountainous parts of the Windhuk 

 district, especially round fanns and about the town of 

 Windhuk. ;Much has already been written on the 

 puzzling plumages of this species and no very detinite 

 conclusion has even now been reached, the most favoured 

 theory and that adopted by Sclater when he wrore on 

 this species in his "Fauna of South xlfrican Birds, Vol. 

 II. '', was that propounded by Messrs Butler, Fielden and 

 Reid, viz., that the males of this species passed through 

 a more or less regular series of plumages from black to 

 grey. I however doubted this theory and wrote an article 

 in the Journal S.A.O.U. in which I suggested that ^here 

 were two adult forms of plumage in the male, one black 

 — with or without the crown grey — the other grey, 

 and that all the intermediate forms were the result of 

 interbreeding. My observations of this species in the 

 Windhuk district have still further confirmed me in 

 the belief that my theory is correct. In the Windhuk 

 district where, as I have already stated, this species 

 is very common, and where I must have seen hundreds, 

 the black form occurs for the most part, and all the time 

 I was there I only saw and collected a single grey speci 

 men, which I believe tc have been a migrant. Now surely 

 if this species changed from black to grey, I would have 

 found a good number of both the grey and also inter 

 mediate forms, y^t I found only one grey bird and no 

 intermediate forms. I paid particular attention to this 

 species and collected a good number of specimens during 

 the two years I w^as at Windhuk. I did not meet with 

 the form with the wMte or creamy tvhite crown, which 

 Sharpe considered might be named leucomeloena I how- 

 ever collected some with the crown very pale grey, Almost 

 white. 



