BIEDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 181 



of the head and neck, and the breast. Thus, a bird from western 

 Uganda taken on April 8, has only begun to molt on the back and 

 upper wing coverts, while another from near by (Lake Edward, eastern 

 Belgian Congo) May 7. is in complete fresh summer plumage. There 

 is no fixed date at which all birds in a given region molt however; 

 as another bird from western Uganda, April 7, is also finished 

 molting. 



The wood sandpiper is a regular and numerous migrant to Africa, 

 extending its range in winter south to South Africa. It seems, 

 however, to be less abundant than the green sandpiper {Tringa 

 ochropus) or the common sandpiper {Actitis hypoleucos) . It occurs 

 both on the coast and along streams and ponds in the interior, 

 chiefly the latter. 



The two specimens collected are small, having wings measuring 

 120 and 122 millimeters, respectively. The minimum size given by 

 Hartert^^ is 124 millimeters. 



Mearns recorded having seen 35 of these birds at the Abaj^a 

 Lakes, March 18-26. 



Family RECURVIROSTRIDAE 



HIMANTOPUS HIMANTOPUS (Linnaeus) 



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

 Sc uthern Europe. 



Specimens collected : 



Two males, Arussi Plateau, 11,000 feet (3,300 meters), Ethiopia, 

 February 18, 1912. 



Soft parts : Iris red ; bill black ; legs and feet pink. 



Specimens from Madagascar were separated from the typical Afri- 

 can form by Bangs -- on the basis of smaller size. The wing length 

 of the Madagascan birds is given as 220 to 237 millimeters, average 

 226 millimeters. I have remeasured the same series (11 specimens) 

 that Bangs studied, and find that the wing varies from 206 to 242 

 millimeters, and that of the 11 individuals, 6 have wings more than 

 230 millimeters long. An equal series of adults (12 specimens) from 

 the mainland of Africa, Europe, and Palestine, have wing lengths 

 (regardless of sex) of from 236 to 246.5 millimeters. It follows that 

 the wing length is obviously not a valid basis for subspccific differ- 

 entiation. Likewise, taking only birds in full adult plumage, the 

 Madagascan examples have, as a rule, considerably shorter tarsi than 

 those from Africa, Europe, and Palestine, but the limits of the two 

 overlap, but to a lesser extent than in the case of the wing length. 



'"Vog. pal. Fauna, p. 1620. 



2^ Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool., vol. 61, 1918, pp. 493-494. 



