BIEDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 129 



bill dark brownish red above at base, bright red below at base, 

 tipped with greenish olive. 



The great variability of the bony helmet in this guinea fowl has 

 been the source of much confusion among ornithologists and has 

 been made the basis of several races now usually considered as in- 

 distinguishable. I have not examined material of all the proposed 

 races, but as far as the available material goes, the following forms 

 seem distinct. 



1. A^. mitrata mitrata. — Madagascar and Comoro Islands, the 

 coastal districts of East Africa from southern Kenya Colony to the 

 delta of the Zambesi ; inland along the Zambesi Valley to the Rho- 

 desian border. (Specimens examined: Madagascar 2, Tanganyika 

 Territory 7.) 



2. N. mitrata coroimta. — Southeastern Africa north to southern 

 Rhodesia where it intergrades with mitrata. (Specimens examined: 

 Natal 1.) 



3. iV. mitrata reiclienowi. — Kenj^a Colony from the district around 

 Mount Kenia (Meru, Embu) to the Ukamba, Loita, and Kedong 

 districts, south through the Teita and Taveta country into Tangan- 

 yika Territory, where it is known to occur in at least the following 

 area: Kilimanjaro district (Moshi and Kahe) southwestward 

 through Arusha to Mtali's, Zengeragusu, along the east side of the 

 Wembere steppes to Mdjengo's, Singida, and south to Mbonoa, Itigi, 

 and Saranda. Typical reiclienowi probably does not occur any great 

 distance to the east of Dodoma as the Kilosa district is inhabited by 

 birds somewhat intermediate between reichencywi and mitrata., but 

 much nearer to the latter, with which they are best identified. 



4. N . mitrata 7iiaxima. — This form I have not seen, but according 

 to Sclater ^1 it occurs in the high plateau of southern Angola. 



5. N. mitrata manmgensis. — None seen ; said to occur in Katanga 

 and north Rhodesia. 



6. N. mitrata interinedia. — Of this race I have seen no material. 

 Sclater ^^ gives its range as the Ankoie country west of Lake Victoria. 



From this form he considers the following to be only doubtfully 

 distinct: TV. ansorgei Hartert, from Lake Nakuru, Kenya Colony; 

 N. uhehensis Reichenow, from Uhehe district, Tanganyika Territory ; 

 N. rikwae Reichenow, from Lake Rukwa, Tanganyika Territory, and 

 N. fromiiii Kothe, also from Lake Rukwa. The last two are, from 

 geographical reasons, certainly the same, and the other two have 

 definite characters which, however, ma}^ be individual rather than 

 racial. Thus, uhehensis is said to have a shorter, blunter bony helmet 

 than reichenowi and to differ from intermedia in the color of the 

 wattles, which are entirely red in uhehensis., and blue tipped with red 



"Syst. Avium Ethiop., 1924, p. 96. 



