74 BULLETIISr 15 3, UNITED STATES ISTATIOlSrAL. MUSEUM 



The species Buteo rufofuscus has three good races — the typical 

 form of South Africa characterized by the chestnut breast, the pres- 

 ent race extending from Ethiopia to Southern Rhodesia, and the 

 Somaliland form archeri with rufous underparts. 



This hawk was observed in many places during the trip — ^Loco, 

 Gidabo River, March 13-15, 2 seen; the Abaya Lakes, March 20-26, 

 14 birds; near Gardula, March 26-29, 4; Gato River, March 29 to May 

 17, 4 birds; Bodessa and Sagon River, June 3-6, 5 seen; Tertale, 

 June 7, 2 birds; Turturo, June 15-17, 2 seen; Wobok, June 18, 2; 

 the plains at the base and south of Endoto Mountains, July 19-24, 

 4 seen; Er-re-re, July 25, 2; Le-se-dun, July 26, 2; Malele and the 

 district immediately south of it July 27-30, 4 birds ; Lekiundu River, 

 August 4-8, 8 birds noted. 



ACCIPITER MINULLUS (Dandin) 



Falco minullus Datidin, Traits, vol. 2, p. 88, 1800: Gamtoos River, Cape 

 Province (from Levaillant). 



Specimens collected: 



Male, immature, Wobok, Ethiopia, June 19, 1912. 



The supposed geographic races of this hawk are rather poorly 

 understood, and, as a consequence great diversity of treatment has 

 been accorded them. The typical form is the southern one, the 

 Gamtoos River, Cape Province, being terra typica for the species. 

 A tropical, eastern form tropicalis, a northeastern form intermedius, 

 and a western form erythropus have been recognized by some recent 

 authors, such as Sclater.^* C. H. B. Grant ^^ and Swann^*^ regard 

 tropicalis as a synonym of nimuUus. Lonnberg " refers birds from 

 Nairobi to intermedius, as do also Zedlitz ^^ and Granvik,^® while 

 Van Someren*'° records specimens from Nairobi, Fort Hall, and 

 Kyambu as tropicalis. According to Sjostedt ®^ the birds of the 

 Kilimanjaro district are inte7vnedius, while both Zedlitz and Granvik 

 feel that tropicalis is the coastal and subcoastal form in east Africa. 



I have brought together all the material available in American 

 museums, have critically examined the specimens, some 23 in num- 

 ber, and have come to the following conclusions: The so-called race 

 tropicalis is indistinguishable from typical minnllus and the former 

 name becomes a synonym of the latter; the western erythropus is a 



"Syst. Avium, 1924, pp. 67-GS. 



^5 Ibis, 1015, p. 242. 



^ Synopsis of Accipitres, 1922, p. 54. 



s^Kungl. Sv. Vet. Alcad. Handlgr., 1911, p. 56. 



"Journ. f. Ornitli., 1914, p. 667. 



""• Idem, 1923, Sonderheft, p. 67. 



00 Nov. Zoo!., 1922, p. 41. 



«i Kilimanjaro-Meru Exp., vol. 1, 1910, p. 78. 



