BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 269 



named ^^ does not discuss the Indian birds but apparently considers 

 them distinct from the African ones. He, however, considers serra- 

 tus, which is quite a distinct species, as a southern race of jacohinus 

 with two color phases — a normal phase (usually known as hypoyi- 

 7iarus) and a black phase (typical ser7utus). The range of this sup- 

 posed dichromatic race is given as southeast Africa, south of the 

 Zambesi. This point of view is quite untenable as black birds, typi- 

 cal serratus, occur as far north as Ethiopia (possibly only as migrants, 

 however), and a resident east African race of the black cuckoo 

 {albonotatus) is known from Tanganyika Territory and Kenya 

 Colony. 



Judging by Hartert's data and the examination of a series of 23 

 Indian and African specimens I have come to the conclusion that the 

 recognizable subspecies of this cuckoo are as follows : 



1. Claniator jacohinus jacohinus. — India north to Baluchistan, and 

 tropical Africa generally, south to the Zambesi. It should be noted 

 that Roberts ^* writes that both this bird and hypopinarus breed in 

 South Africa. I am quite certain that the breeding records of jaco- 

 hinus in that country really refer to light individuals of hypopinarus. 

 Hartert ^^ makes the same claim as does Roberts. 



2. Clamator jacohinus hypopinarus. — South Africa. This form 

 is characterized by having the sides of the throat and neck darker, 

 the middle of the throat and breast with duskier streaks, than in the 

 typical form, but the two overlap considerably. It is a curious fact 

 (and one which argues for the validity of the race) that hypopinarus 

 lays pure white eggs while jacohinus., in Indian and Ethiopia, at 

 least, always lays green ones. 



3. Clamator jacohinus taprohanus. — Ceylon. Said to differ from 

 jacohirms in being somewhat smaller ; not seen by me. 



4. Claniator jacohinus caroli. — Gaboon, known only from the type, 

 and probably not valid. Hartert ^^ suggests that this name be ap- 

 plied to the birds of Benguella, which are intermediate between 

 jacohinus and hypopinarus. This suggestion appears rather unfor- 

 tunate as Angolan birds naturally should be intermediate between 

 those two forms on geographic grounds, and intergrades between 

 very similar races are not constant enough in their characters (if they 

 have any) to warrant nomenclatural distinction. At any rate, the 

 type of caroli is apparently not like the Benguella birds to begin 

 with, being much larger, and, to judge from the colored figure,^" 

 darker as well. As long ago as 1905 Erlanger ^" ^joticed that the 

 birds of southwestern Africa (contiguous to Angola) were not ex- 



^iNov. Zool., vol. 22, 1915, pp. 253-254. 

 "^Journ. f. Ornith., 1924, pp. 79-83. 

 " Ann. Transvaal Museum, vol. 10, 1924, p. 153. 

 ^° Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. 19, pi. 11, fig. 1. 

 "sjourn. f. Ornith.. 1905, p. 483. 



