214 BULLETIN" 15 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Soft parts: Iris, pale pinkish orange; region around eye and the 

 feet, vinaceous red ; bill, plumbeous black ; claws, olive brown. 



This dove is entirely restricted to eastern Africa from Ethiopia 

 to northern Nyasaland, although a closely related bird, possibly only 

 subspecifically distinct, is known from the highlands of northern 

 Cameroon and northern Nigeria {/S. hypo'pyi'rhus Reichenow). 



Van Someren ^^ separated the birds of Kenya Colony from the 

 typical Ethiopian ones on the basis of smaller size and darker color. 

 To the southern form he gave the name funebrea (Mount Elgon-type 

 locality). According to his description funebrea has a wing length 

 of from 175-180 millimeters as against 185-192 millimeters in typical 

 lugens. Also funebrea is said to have the pinkish-buff breast band 

 darker and narrower, the gray of the breast and abdomen much 

 darker, and the buff on the throat less extensive than in lugens. 

 Gyldenstolpe ^^ writes that of the several characters pointed out by 

 Van Someren, only one is confirmed by his series of nine birds from 

 the Uganda-Congo border region. He had but a single Ethiopian 

 specimen, however, and therefore recognizes funebrea rather than 

 synonymize it on such slender material. He writes that his Congo 

 birds only confirm — 



* * * that the gray color of the head and nape is darker than the same 

 parts in the Abyssinian bird. It is only on account of this difference that I 

 have accepted E. I. fnne'bra as a distinct subspecies * * * when a large 

 material of Abyssinian birds becomes available for examination, it seems 

 * * * that Van Someren's * * * fune^ra must be placed as a synonym 

 to 8. I. lugens * * *. 



The material assembled for the present study consists of 14 birds 

 from Ethiopia and 8 from Kenya Colony, and corroborates Gylden- 

 stolpe's observations. Not one of the characters of funebrea (not 

 funebi'a as spelled by Gyldenstolpe) holds good. Ethiopian birds 

 are not larger as a rule, although it is true that the largest Ethiopian 

 examples are larger than the biggest ones from Kenya Colony. Of 

 the 14 Ethiopian birds only 2 have wings more than 185 millimeters 

 in length, and 8 have them under 180 millimeters. They range 

 from 170-188 millimeters, while the 8 birds from Kenya Colony 

 range from 176-178.5 millimeters. In color there are no constant 

 differences, not even the one noted by Gyldenstolpe, a fact which 

 suggests that the western birds (Ruanda and eastern Congo) may 

 be separable from eastern ones on the basis of darker head and nape 

 color. 



Van Someren ^^ writes that in south Ethiopia is found an inter- 

 mediate race which is not as pale as typical lugens but not 



" Bull. Brit. Orn. CI., vol. 40, p. 21, 1919. 



^''Kung. Sv. Vet. Akad. Ilandlgr., 1924, pp. 307-308. 



"Nov. Zool., vol. 29, 1922, p. 38. 



