BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 119 



pletely covered by the overlapping brown terminal spots of the 

 feathers immediately anterior to them. The brown spots increase 

 in size as the black ones decrease toward the bases of the feathers. 



This species is entirely a highland form and, together with two 

 others, erckeli Riippell, to the north, and jacksoni O. Grant, to the 

 south, forms a distinct group of mountain francolins, all three of 

 which are large, brightly colored birds. The amount and extent of 

 briglit rufous marks increase from north to south, erckeli having the 

 least, castaneicollis considerably more, and 'jacksoni the greatest de- 

 velopment of these stripes. 



So little is known of the ecological range of this bird that any in- 

 formation is welcome. Fortunately Mearns noted on several of the 

 specimens the nature of the habitat, and from these notes we learn 

 that this francolin lives in the juniper zone, the camphor zone, and 

 in the yellowwood zone. Neumann ^^ writes that it occurs in the 

 bushy thickets of the highest plateaus but come? down in forested 

 river valleys and to the edge of the bamboo forests. Its altitudinal 

 range, according to Neumann, is between 6,500 and 10,500 feet (1,950 

 to 3,150 meters), but it occasionally is found lower down, as Mearns 

 shot one at Aletta which has an altitude of only 6,000 feet (1,800 

 meters) . 



The breeding season seems to be in January, February, and 

 March. The adult male and female collected on February 28 were 

 a mated pair according to Mearns' notes. 



Fifteen adult males present the following measurements: Wing, 

 215-240; tail, 122-140; culmen, 22-27; tarsus, 61-66.5 millimeters. 

 Eleven adult females: Wing, 188-200; tail, 103-114; culmen, 20-24; 

 tarsus, 46-58 millimeters. The tarsal spurs vary with the age of the 

 males, increasing in size with the passing of years. 



FKANCOLINUS CASTANEICOLLIS BOTTEGI Salvadori 



Francolinus bottegi Salvadori, Ann. Mus. Civ. Geuova, vol. 3S, p. 052, 1898: 

 Badditu, near Lake Stefanie. 



/Speeinie7is collected: 



Male adult, Botola, Ethiopia, March 4, 1912. 



Male adult, Aletta, Ethiopia, March 10, 1912. 



The characters and range of this form have already been dis- 

 cussed under the typical race and need not be repeated here. The 

 bird from Botola, while certainly referable to hottec/i, is slightly 

 intermediate between it and castaneicollis. It has deep chestnut 

 lateral margins on some of the interscapulars. The Aletta specimen 

 is a typical example of its subspecies. 



•«Journ. f. Ornith., 1904, pp. 352-354. 



