440 



BULLETIN J 5 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



Granvik^* writes that a yoim*ii: bird procured by him is not, 

 " * * * bhickish brown on the lower back, like the adult, but. 

 predominantly white with a few brownish feathers here and there. 



"Undoubtedly the plate given by Lounberg * * * (Birds coll. * * * 

 Swed. Zool. Exp. * * * B.E.A., 1911) is a picture of a young bird changing 

 to full dress, because in my example the white band on the shoulders extends 

 right across and blends, without any noticeable termination, into the lower 

 white part of the back. As the bird gets older this band gradually disappears, 

 and in the full grown * * * there is no trace of this band at all." 



Takin<jj into consideration only the two races of alMcaudus^ it ap- 

 pears that senex is more recent than the typical form, as the former 

 occasionally produces individuals with fuscous streaks on the under- 

 parts, approaching, but never even closely approximating, the con- 

 dition found in alhicaudus. Such cases are commoner among young 

 birds than in adults. 



The measurements of the seven specimens examined are as follows : 



In adult birds the only noticeable color variation is in the amount 

 and extent of the white spotting on the upper wing coverts and the 

 scapulars. In some birds the coverts are entirely without white spots ; 

 others have these feathers broadly tipped with white. The width 

 of the white scapular band is variable, but this is due, in part at 

 least, to the make of the skin. 



According to Van Someren the breeding season is in June. At 

 Mwanza, Tanganyika Territory, alhicaudus has been found nesting in 

 November. 



LYBIUS BIDENTATUS AETHIOPS Neumann 



Lybius hidcntatus acthiops Neumann, Bull. Brit. Orn. CI., vol. 23, p. 29, 1908, 

 Omo region, Ethiopia. 



Specimens collected: 



Two male adults, Botola, Sidamo, Ethiopia, March 5, 1912. 

 The validity of the present subspecies has been much debated, a 

 fact which indicates, to say the least, that the characters on which 



I'Journ. f. Ornith., 1928, Sonderheft, pp. 87-88. 



