BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 157 



(female) 15 millimeters. In true seehohmi the bill is said to measure 

 only 12-13.5 millimeters. However, the measurements (for the bill) 

 given by Hartert and Jackson ^^ for alexandrinus and dealhatus are 

 also smaller than mine for these races, so it seems that the difference 

 in our figures is due to methods of measuring the bill. My measure- 

 ments are taken from the very base of the culmen to the tip; one 

 of the arms of the dividers is pushed back to the junction of bill and 

 skull, the other i^ extended till it touches the tip of the bill. My 

 wing measurements are similar to those of Hartert and Jackson. 

 Just as this manuscript was about to go to press the description of 

 Charadrius alexandrinus pons Neumann "'^ reached me. I have not 

 enough material to decide upon the validity of this form, said to 

 inhabit the coast of southern Somaliland from Obbia to Kismayu, but 

 the present specimens appear to be seehohmi and not pons. The 

 latter is said to be noticeably paler above than any of the previously 

 named races, and, to judge from Neumann's figures, is smaller than 

 seehohmi. (He gives the wing length of pons as 100-104 in the 

 males, 98-102 millimeters in the females.) 



CHARADRIUS VARIUS VARIUS VieiUot 



Charadrius varius Vieillot, N. Dist. d'Hist. Nat., vol. 27, 1S18, p. 143 : Africa. 



Specimens collected: 



One male, two females, and one nestling (male), Hor, Kenya 

 Colony, June 26-27, 1912. 



Male, Lake Rudolf, Kenya Colony, July 6, 1912. 



Two females, Lake Rudolf (south end), Kenya Colony, July 7-8, 

 1912. 



Soft parts: Newly hatched young — iris, dad^ brown; bill, black; 

 feet, gray, yellowish on upper half of anterior aspect of tarsus; 

 claws, black. 



In an adult female : Iris, brown ; bill, entirely black ; legs and 

 feet, dark gray ; claws, black. 



Charadrius pecuarius Temminck is a synonym. 



This form occurs throughout Africa from the southern tip to 

 Senegal in the west and to Egypt in the east. It is also common 

 in Madagascar. Another race, sanctae-helenae., characterized by its 

 larger size, inhabits the island of St. Helena. NicoU '^^ described an- 

 other form allenhyi from the delta region of Egypt. This form, 

 said to be larger than varivs but not as large as sanctae-helenae, is 

 not known to occur within the limits of Ethiopian region as limited 



^Ibis, 1915, pp. 528-520. 



««Nov. Zool., vol. 35, 1929, p. 212: Kismayu. 



<= Bull. Brit. Orn. CI., vol. 42, 1921, p. 7. 



