BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 391 



Neumann noted that his male bird from Aveve, KoUu Province, 

 had slightly less gloss on the feathers tiian typical niloticus from the 

 AYliite Nile. The specimen from the Endoto Mountains is similarly 

 somewhat duller than one from the Blue Nile, but the difference is 

 slight and wholly within tiie range of individual variation. It has, 

 however, a shorter bill than the Blue Nile bird. Both are fully adult 

 males (with red bills), and their measurements are as follows: 



Endoto Mountains. — ^AVing 152, tail 236, culmen 52.5 millimeters. 



Blue Nile. — Wing 155, tail 226, culmen 57.0 millimeters. 



The two black-maxillaried adults from the Hawash River have 

 the throat decidedly more purplish, less bluish than the two fully 

 adult birds. "Whether this is due to age or is a geographic character 

 I can not say. These two birds have the following measurements: 

 Wing 143-147, tail 195 + -217+ (both worn), culmen 53-55 milli- 

 meters. 



The young bird is in an early stage of the postjuvenal molt. The 

 head and entire body are dull fuscous brown, the rectrices and remiges 

 are similar to those of the later plumages. New purplish feathers 

 are sprouting on the interscapulars and a few bluish ones on the 

 crown and throat. The postjuvenal molt is incomplete in that the 

 Juvenal wing and tail quills are retained in the immature plumage. 

 Reichenow,°^ in describing the young of the typical race, writes that 

 the remiges and rectrices are similar to those of the adults, but bluish 

 green, less pure bluish. This does not appeaar to hold for niloticus. 



The Endoto Mountains bird was molting the rectrices when shot; 

 the next to the middle pair being new and only partly grown. The 

 same is true of one of the Hawash River males. 



C. Grant considers 7ieglectus a synonym of niloticus^ but the 

 two have nothing to do with each other, the former being a valid 

 race of Phoeviculus somaliensis. 



According to Lynes ^ the present bird is an inhabitant of sylvan 

 rather than of bushy country and breeds in autumn in the Darfur 

 region of the Sudan. The probabilities are that the same statements 

 are applicable to the birds farther east. 



PHOENICULUS GRANTI (Neumann) 



Irrisor (Jamaren^iH granti Neumann, Orn. Monatsb., vol. 11, p. 182, 1903: 

 Ngomeni, Ukainba, Kenya Colony. 



Speeim.en^'i collected: 



Female adult, Tharaka district, Kenya Colony, August 13, 1912. 

 Male adult, Tana River, Camp No. 6, Kenya Colony, August 21, 

 1912. 



''■' Vog. Afr., vol. ■^, p. 3.39. 

 1 Ibis, 1925, p. 377. 



