BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 307 



CAPRIMULGUS RUFIGENA FRAENATUS Salvadori 



Caprimulgus fraenatus Salvadori, Ann. Mus. Civ. Geneva, vol. 21, p. 118, 

 1884: Daimbi. Slioa, 



Specimens collected: 



Female, Bodessa, Ethiopia, June 3, 1912, 



"Female" [male ?], Turturo, Ethiopia, June IG, 1912. 



The Turturo specimen has the outer tail feathers broadly tipped 

 with white and is therefore probably a male, although originally 

 labeled " female." 



I have not sufficient material to decide the point, but I rather sus- 

 pect that Sclater's arrangement of the races of O. rufigena and 0. 

 pectoralis '^ is incorrect. It seems to me more logical and natural to 

 call fraenahis and ugandae races of pectoralls and to entirely restrict 

 ruflgena to Africa south of the Zambesi River. However, until 

 better series, particularly of ■pectoi^alis, are available, I prefer to 

 adhere to Sclater s system, but if the above suspicion should be sub- 

 stantiated the races would stand as follows : 



1. C. pectoralis pectoralis. — South Africa. 



2. G. pectoralis guttifer. — Usambara Mountains, Tanganyika Ter- 

 ritory. 



3. G. pectoralis fraenatus. — Shoa to southern Kenya Colony. 



4. G. pectoralis ugandae. — Probably not distinct from the pre- 

 ceding; only known from Mujenje, Uganda. 



5. G. ruflgena. — South Africa and Southern Rhodesia. 



One is led to wonder if it may not be that guttifer and fraenatus 

 are identical, but on the other hand, it is not likely that Grote, work- 

 ing with the rich material in the Berlin Museum would have over- 

 looked fraenatus when identifying and describing the type of gutti- 

 fer. Furthermore, the type (and only known specimen) of gutti- 

 fer is said to be probably a female. Whether this is intended to be 

 taken to mean that the sexes are alike in having white tips to the 

 outer rect rices (and thereby agree with pectoralis and not with 

 ruflgena) is not clear, but since only one specimen is known (and 

 that one unsexed), such an assumption is hardly justified. 



Doctor Van Someren '^^ described a new species G. keniensis from 

 Mount Kenia, said to superficially resemble, " * * * G. fraenatus, 

 but very dark with much bigger and more numerous dark buffy 

 tips to the wing coverts * * * " etc. Hartert ""^ writes of this 

 type as follows : " The alleged ' more numerous ' and larger spots 

 on the wing coverts are not different from several other true 



~* Syst. Avium Ethiop., 1924, pp. 248-240. 

 '= Nov. Zool., vol. 29, 1922, p, 84. 

 ^« Idem, vol. 29, 1922, p. 401. 



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