BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 171 



ritorj' it is known from several localities at the south end of Lake 

 Victoria (Mwanza district), while between the lake and the coast it 

 has been taken at many places — Morogoro, Mambojo, Lake Jipe. 

 Rugeji, etc. 



This species is the northern representative of H. armatus, but as 

 the two overlap considerably in range, and are very distinct in 

 coloration, they can not be considered as anything but well marked 

 species. 



Mearns found the spur- winged plover abundant near water along 

 the route from Bilan to Sadi Malka and also along the Ha wash 

 River where its sharp hick-Jdck-hick notes were frequently heard. 

 At the Abaya Lakes, March 18-26, 162 birds were noted. 



AFRIBYX SENEGALLUS MAJOR (Neumann) 



LoMvaiiellus senegallus major Neumann, Orn. l\Ionatsb., vol. 22, 1914, p. 8: 

 Ghadi Saati, Mareb River, n. Ethiopia. 



Specimens collected: 



Male and female. Lake Abaya, Ethiopia, March 19-21, 1912. 

 Male and female, Gato River near Gardula, Ethiopia, April 16, 

 1912. 



Soft parts: Male; iris white to grayish white, bluish next to the 

 pupil; bill 3^ellow, the maxilla tipped with black above; the upper 

 third of facial wattles vinaceous, lower two-thirds yellow; narrow 

 eye ring yellow; legs and feet primrose yellow; claws black. 



Female; iris white, slightly bluish; wattles yellow, externally red 

 on the upper third; legs and feet greenish yellow to plain yellow; 

 other parts as in male. 



Sclater ^^ does not recognize Neumann's race major^ and includes 

 it in the typical form. However, the characters certainly are con- 

 stant and the race is perfectly distinct. Van Someren ^^ writes that 

 he finds major to be recognizable. In the original description 

 Neumann gives the wing length as 238-258 millimeters. The four 

 birds collected by Mearns have wings measuring 231-251 millimeters, 

 thereby agreeing with those of major. It is true that this species 

 is quite variable individually, but nevertheless the size of Ethiopian 

 birds is constantly larger than corresponding specimens from far- 

 ther south and west. 



Furthermore, the Ethiopian birds are highland dwellers, while 

 typical senegallus occurs in the lower plains and savannahs of the 

 southern Sudan right across to Senegal (Chapin's Sudanese and 

 Ubanghi savannah districts). In the eastern Sudan (Darfur and 

 eastwards) the birds are somewhat intermediate between major and 



^ Syst. Avium Ethiop., 1924, p. 125. 

 8« Nov. Zlool., vol. 29, 1922, p. 17. 



