BIKDS OF ETHIOPIA AT^D KENYA COLONY 109 



interscapulars, and upper back generally being narrowly barred 

 with black in the females, and without bars in the males. However, 

 within either sex, differences occur, the extremes of which might, at 

 first sight, be thought of as different subspecies. A dark male from 

 Gato River, Ethioj^ia, has the entire under parts except the middle 

 and lower abdomen, dull tawny olive, the feathers with narrow whit- 

 ish shaft streaks; the middle and lower abdomen tawny buff. The 

 other extreme is represented by a male from Dodoma, Tanganyika 

 Territory, which has the lower breast pale tawny olive with wide white 

 shaft streaks; the feathers of the upper abdomen white with a nar- 

 row longitudinal tawny olive wavy line on each web, the rest of the 

 underparts white, with only a very slight tinge of buffy on the flanks 

 and under tail coverts. This bird also has the lower back and 

 upper tail coverts grayer and paler than the dark Gato River speci- 

 men, and has arrow-shaped, blackish subterminal marks on the upper 

 tail-coverts, which the other lacks. One specimen (a male from 

 Tana River, near mouth of Thika River, Kenya Colony) has faint 

 reddish shaft stripes on some of the feathers of the abdomen and 

 flanks, approaching in this respect the more southern race, 

 roviima. 



The wing length may be taken to suffice for the size variations in 

 grantii. It is as follows: 



Males, 137.5-156, average 145.6 millimeters. 



Females, 127-144, average 136 millimeters. 



These figures are somewhat different from those given by Mack- 

 worth-Praed,'^^ the extremes being greater, and surpassing his figures 

 for both minimum and maximum. The size of the series examined 

 was slightly larger in his case (64 specimens). 



The following notes on the nesting of this francolin are extracted 

 from Mearns' field books. 



A set of three eggs was found at Gato River (4,000 feet), Ethi- 

 opia, April 25, 1912. The parent birds were collected. Another set 

 of three eggs at the same place, April 29, 1912 ; a third set of three 

 eggs, same locality. May 12, 1912 ; and a fourth set on May 3. The 

 eggs are soiled white, unspotted, measure 40 by 29, 40 by 30 and 

 40 by 29.5 millimeters; the shells are enormously thick and hard. On 

 June 3. 1912, two dried eggs were found at Sagon River, Ethiopia. 



On July 21, 1912, in the Endoto Mountains, Kenya Colony, the 

 birds were found in pairs, a male and a female being killed together 

 with the same shot. This indicates that the breeding season is later 

 in Kenya Colony than in Ethiopia. 



What may have been a sign of territorial desire on the part of 

 two males was witnessed at Gardula on the Gato River, on the 10th 



"Ibis, 1022, pp. 110-113. 



