382 BULLETIN 15 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



This specimen is much darker above than any of the series of 

 afer or aethi-opicus examined, and, until praedi is definitely shown to 

 be unrecognizable, is best referred to the present race. It may be 

 more correct to say it is intermediate between aethiopicus (or afer'i) 

 and the characters given for pi^aedi^ but is nearer the latter. I 

 have seen one other like it — a male from Hora Daka, Arussi district 

 (Kovacs collection), now in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 

 The latter specimen has the central upper tail coverts deep bluish, 

 while the former has them with the whole inner web rufous 

 brown, the outer web deep bluish black. E. a. praedi is said to 

 have them dark blue (almost black in the type), but I doubt the 

 geographic constancy of this character. Van Someren '- writes that 

 his Moroto and Kisumu birds have the upper tail coverts dull black- 

 ish blue, the central ones brownish tinged with blackish. 



On geographic grounds the three specimens of aethiopicus col- 

 lected by Mearns should be praedi^ but they certainly are not, being 

 lighter, not darker, above than afer. 



Family UPUPIDAE 



UPUPA EPOPS EPOPS Linnaeus 



Upupa epops Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., eU. 10, vol. 1, p. 117, 1758 : Europe ; re- 

 stricted type locality, Sweden (Hartert). 



Specimens collected: 



Two males, two females. Dire Daoua, Ethiopia, December 5-15, 

 1911. 



One male, one female, Sadi Malka, Ethiopia, January 28, 1912. 



One female, Sirre, Ethiopia, February 13, 1912. 



One female, Gidabo River, Ethiopia, March 17, 1912. 



Upupa epops has been studied by so many ornithologists that there 

 is little that I can add to its systematics. I have examined a series 

 of 60 specimens (40 of the typical form and 20 of sonialiensis) 

 and find the brief statements of range given by Sclater "^ to be cor- 

 rect. As to the validity of waibeli of eastern Cameroon, I can not 

 form an opinion as I have seen no material. 



Nicoll '* revived Brehm's name tnajor for the resident form of 

 Egypt which he found was separable from typical cpops in having a 

 longer bill. Hartert "^ recognizes major and figures the bill, which is 

 noticeably heavier than in epops. Sclater does not mention it, but 

 this is not to be construed as meaning that he considers it identical 

 with epops. but is due to the fact that lower Egypt is not in the 



'2 Nov. Zool.. vol. 29, 1922, p. 74. 



"Syst. Avium Ethiop., 1924, p. 2:V2. 



" Ibis, 1909, p. 483, and Bull. Brit. Orn. CI., vol. 23. 1909, p. 100. 



■^VOg. pal. Fauna, vol. 2, p. 869. 



