BIBDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 427 



central Tanganyika Territory it intergrades with stegmanni. Scla- 

 ter ^° does not recognize this race, but it seems perfectly justifiable 

 from the material I have examined (15 specimens). Van Someren ®^ 

 also agrees that suahelicus is a valid race. It differs from melano- 

 leucos in having wider white stripes on the sides of the head. 



3. L. m. geloetuh. — Southwestern Ethiopia south to Mount Kenia. 

 This form is somewhat like suahelicus, but darker, the general color- 

 ation blacker, the white stripes forming a more or less definite band 

 over the eyes according to Neumann. I have seen five specimens of 

 geloensis and find that the supraorbital stripe is not a constant char- 

 acter. Van Someren ®^ writes that, because the amount of white on 

 the sides of the head varies so greatly, he doubts the validity of 

 this form, which he treats as a probable synonym of suahelicus. 

 However, the darker, blacker general color of the upper parts seems 

 to me to be a good character and I therefore admit it. Sclater ^° has 

 also found it valid. 



4. L. m. stegmanni. — The central African lake district from Lake 

 Nyasa north through western Tanganyika Territory and the eastern 

 Katanga and Ituri, through Uganda and the Ikoma country, east 

 into western Kenya Colony, northeast to the Uasin Gishu. This 

 subspecies differs from melanoleucos and suahelicus in several ways. 

 It is much darker, being more blackish with a slight touch of a 

 greenish sheen, agreeing in general color with geloensis more than 

 with either of the other two. The white streaks on the sides of the 

 head are wider than in suxihelicus and the bill is slightly darker with 

 a duskier tip, and the size, especially the length of the wing and bill, 

 larger than suahelicus. Neumann ^^ gives the wing length of steg- 

 manni as males, 247-267, females, 230-250 as against those of 

 suahelicus., males, 235-245, femates, 205-232 millimeters. The mate- 

 rial available for examination is not sufficient to enable me to form a 

 definite opinion as to the validity of this race, but I suspect that it 

 may prove to be the same as geloensis. The three birds collected by 

 Mearns near Mount Kenia are from the southern end of the range of 

 geloensis and may therefore be more or less intermediate between it 

 and stegmanni. If the white supraocular stripe is not constant in 

 Ethiopian birds, then stegmanni must be synonymized with geloensis. 

 Neumann ®- stresses this character of the superciliary so it seems that 

 north Kenian birds are not true geloensis, but intermediates between 

 it and stegmanni. 



5. L. m. alhotenninalis. — Angola, possibly through Ovampoland to 

 the Southwest African Protectorate. This is the only form of which 

 I have seen no material, but it is said to have the general color of 



soSyst. Avium Etliiop., 1924, p. 228. 

 « Nov. Zool., vol. 29, 1922, p. 75. 

 "Orn. Monatsb.. 1923, p. 75. 



