BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 



211 



maintained as a valid race. Others have come to the same conclusion 

 from other series of birds.^ 



Neumann * noted that northeastern specimens (from Ethiopia) 

 have somewhat more slender, thinner bills than birds from the Cape 

 Province, South Africa, but that individuals from Tanganyika Ter- 

 ritory vary in this respect, some with thicker, others with thinner 

 bills, and that consequently the bill character could not be regarded 

 as important. In the present series the Abyssinian birds (four speci- 

 mens) all have shorter, stouter bills than the South African examples 

 (two specimens) ! The following table shows that the size varia- 

 tions of the southern and eastern race of this pigeon have no 

 geographic significance. 



In 1912 ^ Madarasz redescribed the Ethiopian speckled pigeon 

 under the name Coluniba sodalicia^ overlooking Bonaparte's name 

 entirely. According to this writer the Abyssinian birds differ from 

 specimens from East Africa in being generally darker, especially 

 on the occiput and nape ; the tarsus is said to be feathered for at least 

 the upper half if not more, and the toes shorter (28 millimeters with- 

 out claw as against 32-35 in arquatrix). Although no mention is 

 made as to which toe or toes are measured, it is obvious that the long, 

 middle one is indicated. However, none of the characters of 

 sodalicia holds with any degree of constancy and the name may there- 



" See Gyldenstolpe, Kungl. Sv. Vet. Alcart. Ilandlgr., 1924, pp. 304-305 ; Lonnberg, Idem, 

 1911, pp. 44-45 ; Van Someren, .Tourn. E. Afr. and Uganda Nat. Hist. Soc, 1927, pp. 72-75, 

 €tc. 



*. Tourn. f. Ornith., 1904, p. 346. 



» Orn. Monatsb., vol. 20, p. 40. • 



94312—30- 



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