BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 203 



limits overlap. As might be expected, the best marked form is the 

 one most completely isolated from the others — arablcus of western 

 Asia (Arabia to Baluchistan and western India), while the least 

 distinctive one comes from a region inhabited on all sides by other 

 races — the present form ahessinicus. The lightest form is the Asiatic 

 one arahicus in which the abdominal bars are incomplete and the 

 general tone of the abdomen white, and the dorsal dark bars very 

 narrow. Next to arahicus comes hyperythrus of Somaliland, Juba- 

 land, and extreme northern Kenya Colony, which is yellowish, some- 

 what more rusty in color, and with the abdominal bars complete. In 

 the western Sahara (Tuareg and Air highlands) is another light 

 form, targius which resembles hyperytlnrus but is more rufescent 

 and with narrower blackish bands or bars. Next in order of intensity 

 of color comes tlie typical race lichtensteinii of the Anglo-Egyptian 

 Sudan from Darfur to Kordofan and Sennar. This form is darker 

 than targius and more broadly banded or barred. Similar to 

 lichtensteinii but, on the average, considerably darker, is ahessinicus^ 

 the form inhabiting Ethiopia, Eritrea, and northern Somaliland, 

 while its southern neighbor in the country between Lake Rudolf, 

 eastern Turkanaland, Turkwell, Suk, Marsabit, Karoli, and the 

 Northern Guaso Nyiro to the country north of Mounts Elgon and 

 Kenia, is still darker, the darkest of all the races. This is the form 

 known as sukensis. 



While it is possible to roughly describe and characterize all these 

 forms, it is not always possible to identify single specimens with any 

 degree of certainty. This is particularly true of Ethiopian examples 

 which vary more than birds from elsewhere. This is probably what 

 led Geyr von Schweppenburg ^- to write that with larger series he 

 thought it not unlikely that his form ahessinicus might be further 

 subdivided into races. It seems, however, that more material would 

 merely indicate what the present series suggests, that is, that Ethio- 

 pian birds are nothing but intermediates between lichtensteinii, 

 hyperythrus, and sukensis in varying degrees in different individuals. 

 If the plumages of the six adult males in the present collection be 

 carefully examined, the only conclusion possible is that every part 

 varies individually. Thus, two birds (Hawash River and Sagon 

 River) have wide transverse white bands on the anterior part of 

 the crown immediately back of the black preocular band. Others 

 (Hawash River and Bilan) have this white band interrupted medi- 

 ally by the black and rufescent streaked crown; still others (Hawash 

 River) have no such white band, but merely a small white supra- 

 ocular spot on either side. The width and intensity of the black 

 bars on the back vary enormously, but not geographically. The 



8=0rn. Monatsb., vol. 24, p. 57, 1916. 



