BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 169 



This plover is a bird of the highlands, and is unknown in the 

 lower parts of Ethiopia. Blanford ^^ writes that it occurs above 

 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) but that he never met with it below 7,000 

 feet (2,100 meters). 



STEPHANIBYX MELANOPTERUS MINOR Zedlitz 



Stephanilyyx mehinoptcrus minor Zedlitz, Orn. Monatsbr., vol. 16, p. ISO, 

 1908 : S. Africa. 



Specimens collected : 



Female, Juja Farm, Athi River, Kenya Colony, August 31, 1912, 



Soft parts: Iris, brown; bill, black; legs and feet, vinaceous; claws, 

 black. 



As indicated under the typical form, this race is characterized by 

 its smaller size. The single specimen collected is unusually small, 

 however, having a wing length of only 199 millimeters. Van 

 Someren^* gives 215 millimeters as the minimum for his series, 

 but a male from Kenya Colony (see table under preceding race) 

 has a wing 211 millimeters long. 



The width of the black pectoral band varies from about 12 to 

 25 millimeters (depending partly on the make of the skin, but 

 mostly on the birds themselves). East African examples are not 

 separable from South African birds. This bird is one of the few 

 plovers that is more an inhabitant of dry plains than of the neigh- 

 borhood of water. It occurs at lower altitudes than the northern, 

 typical form. It is worthy of note that size and altitude are appar- 

 ently correlated in the species of Stcphanibyx^ the larger birds 

 existing at higher elevations. 



HOPLOPTERUS SPINOSUS (Unnaeus) 



Charadrius spiiwsus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. 10, vol. 1, p. 151, 1758: Egypt. 



Specimens collected: 



Male adult, Bilan, Ethiopia, December 19, 1911. 



Male adult, Wadi Malka, Ethiopia, December 21, 1911. 



Three male adults and 6 female adults, Sadi Malka, Ethiopia, De- 

 cember 20, 1911 to January 30, 1912. 



One male adult, no locality, Ethiopia (probably), March 3, 1912, 



One unsexed, Black Lake Abaya, Ethiopia, March 24, 1912. 



One unsoxed, east Lake Rudolf, Kenya Colony, May 23, 1912. 



Male adult, immature male, immature female, Hor, Kenya Colony, 

 June 26-28, 1912, 



Male adult. Tana River at mouth of Thika River, Kenya Colony, 

 August 25, 1912. 



»» Geol. and Zool. Abyss., 1870, pp. 429-430. 

 "Nov. Zool., vol. 29, 1922, p. 15. 



