136 BULLETIN 15 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



who gives its variational limits as 23 to 30 millimeters. However, 

 he writes that southern examples have larger, longer helmets than 

 more northern ones. The present series varies in this respect from 

 30 to 52 millimeters. It is obvious that Erlanger's birds are not 

 what he calls them but somewhat intermediate between major and 

 7nacroce7'as, but closer to the former race. 



Seven adult males have wings varying from 281 to 292 millimeters 

 in length (288.5 millimeters average) ; the corresponding figures 

 for three adult females are 272 to 287 millimeters (280 millimeters 

 average). 



Aside from actual specimens collected, Mearns observed this bird 

 as follows : Dry River south of Hor, July 1-2, feathers found ; plains 

 at base and to south of Endoto Mountains, July 19-24, 250 birds; 

 near Er-re-re, July 25, 25 seen; No. Guaso Nyiro River, July 31 to 

 August 3, 25 noted; Lekiundu River, August 4—8, about 700 birds; 

 Meru Swamp, August 9, 200 seen. 



ACRYLLIUM VULTURINUM (Hardwicke) 



Nitmida vtilftirhia Hardwicke, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1834, p. 52: "West Africa," 

 ciTore; I propose Tsavo, Kenya Colony. 



Specimens collected: 



Male, southeast Lake Stefanie, Kenya -Ethiopian border, April 

 23, 1912. 



Two males, 2 females, Endoto Mountains (north base), Kenya 

 Colony, July 20, 1912. 



The specimen from southeast of Lake Stefanie indicates that 

 the range of this handsome guinea fowl is more extensive than pi"e- 

 viously considered. It is found only in the low, eastern thorn bush 

 plains in Tanganyika Territory from the Pangani River northwards. 

 In Kenya Colony it occurs from the Tanganyika border (the Kili- 

 manjaro district west to the LTkamba countrj') then north (keeping 

 to the east of the high plateau of the Kikuyu districts) , to the North- 

 ern Guaso Nyiro, and then west to the Karamojo country (north of 

 Mount Elgon), eastern Uganda, and east through Jubaland to south- 

 ern Somaliland and southern Gallaland. The Lake Stefanie speci- 

 men serves to connect tlie Galhiland part of the range with eastern 

 Uganda, and suggests that this bird will be found to inhabit tlie 

 Turkana and Rendili country as well. This species is absolutely 

 confined to the semiarid thorn-l)ush country of tropical east Africa. 



This genus agrees with Numkla in that the postnatal molt is in- 

 complete, the dorsum of the head retaining the down. It differs, 

 however, in that it goes through only four plumages, the subadult 

 stage being omitted. Tlie juvenal plumage is not represented in the 



