BIEDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 219 



races. Thus, five adults from the Arussi district are noticeably- 

 redder on the underparts. particularly the breast, than four from 

 Maraco, near Lake Zwai, Ethiopia. However, a sixth bird from 

 Arussi agrees perfectly with those from Maraco. 



The female from Bodessa (June 6) and the male from Tana River 

 (August 15) were molting the remiges, a fair indication that they 

 were through breeding. On the other hand, the male and female 

 taken on June 5 at Sagon River were apparently a mated pair. 



Besides the actual specimens recorded, Mearns noted this pigeon 

 as follows : Boran, Lower Chajffa Village, June 23, 10 birds : Endoto 

 Mountains, July 21-24, 20; south of Malele, July 28-29, 6 seen; 

 Kilindini and Mem, August 10, 5*0; on the government trail to 

 Tharaka, August 11, 100; from the Tharaka district to the Tana, 

 Thika, and Athi Rivers, and along the Uganda railway to Escarp- 

 ment, August 12 to September 4, anywhere from 20 to 200 of these 

 birds were seen every day. 



Erlanger -* found the birds breeding in April and May near 

 Harrar; in January and February in the Ginir district of Arussi- 

 Gallaland. 



STREPTOPELIA DECIPIENS (Finsch and Hartlanb) 



This species is represented in the present collection by six speci- 

 mens belonging to three races which are treated separately below. 

 However, the variations and geographic forms of this dove are so 

 puzzling that I have assembled a series of 53 birds, including all of 

 the named subspecies, and have carefully reviewed their taxonomy. 

 Three important reviews of this difficult group have already ap- 

 peared, the first being that by Erlanger,^* the other two by Zedlitz.^^ 

 The latter two correct many of the errors made in the first revision, 

 and were it not for the fact that Erlanger's work has confused the 

 synonymy of the Ethiopian birds we might pass it by without notice. 

 He recorded birds from the Abaya Lakes district, Gandjule, and 

 Sagon Valley as miibigua, a race which occurs, as far as known, only 

 in Angola, the Katanga, and Northern Rhodesia. However, it must 

 be remembered that at the time he worked, the name aiiibigua was 

 used for the birds now known as yerinista as well as true aiiibigua. 

 8. d. permista was not separated until later on in the same year.-^ 



In his first revision Zedlitz considered shelleyi as a western race 

 of decipiens while Erlanger had dealt with it as a form of sertiitor- 

 quatus., which it clearly is not. Erlanger had recognized only three 

 races — decipiens, auibigua, and gnseiventrls, while Zedlitz increased 

 the number to six. In his later work he added a seventh, and it is 



2*Journ. f. Ornith., 1005, p. 125. 



2» Idem, 1910, pp. 34&-850, and 1914, pp. 645-649. 



=»Reichenow, Vogel Afr., vol. 3, 1905, p. 803. 



