BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 341 



otherwise dry river beds are flooded, it might be thought that the 

 birds would wander about, but this is not the case. It appears that 

 many of these periodic streams contain but little fish life and there- 

 fore offer little attraction to the kingfishers. However, Von Heuglin 

 found that when the Nile and its tributaries overflowed, these birds 

 seemed to move about in numbers from their nesting areas. It is 

 quite likely that many river fish are breeding at this time and come 

 into shallow spots where they are more accessible to the kingfishers, 

 and also the discoloring of the water may have some effect. 



In Egypt the breeding season begins as early as December accord- 

 ing to Adams ; in Uganda and Kenya Colony it does not seem to be 

 definitely restricted to the period of the heaviest rains as Van 

 Someren ^^ found the birds nesting in June, August, September, 

 November, and December. 



Blanford ®^ records seeing this bird at about 7,000 feet (2,100 

 meters) above the sea, an unusually high elevation. He notes that 

 the species was rare in the country he traversed, " * * * doubtless 

 in consequence of the few large streams." 



Besides the specimens collected, Mearns observed this bird as 

 follows: Tana River, August 15, 4 birds; Thika River, August 27, 

 2 seen; west of Ithanga Hills, August 28, 10 birds; Athi River, 

 August 31, and September 1, 10 birds seen. 



MEGACERYLE MAXIMA MAXIMA (Pallas) 



Alcedo maxima Pallas, Spic. Zool., fasc. 6, p. 14, 1769: Cape of Good Hope. 



Specimens collected: 



One male, two females, Duletcha, Ethiopia, January 24, 1912. 



One male, Gato River near Gardula, Ethiopia, xVpril 1, 1912. 



This species has two geographical forms, the typical one occurring 

 in all of Africa south of the Sahara Desert, except the West African 

 forest region, and a western forest race, sharpii — characterized by 

 the absence of white spots on the feathers of the interscapulars and 

 upper back, and the reduction of them elsewhere in the upper partSy 

 and b}^ the slate-gray bars on the abdomen of the male. This form, 

 inhabits the West African forest area from Cameroon to the Ituri 

 and Uele districts of the Belgian Congo. According to Sclater "'^ 

 intermediate birds occur in the region from northern Angola to 

 Upper Guinea. There is some doubt as to the name of the western 

 race. Swainson "^ described it as Ispidina gigantea and gave Senegal 

 as tlic type locality. From the geographical data the name would 



«Ibis, 1916, p. 246. 



"J" Geo!, and Zool. Abyss., 1870. p. 325. 



8° Syst. Avium Ethiop., 1924, p. 211. 



« Birds W. Air., vol. 2. 1837, p. 93, pi. 11. 



