BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 489 



recognizing two intermediate races instead of one. Seniischoensis 

 is said to ditl'er from iniermedius chiefly in having the breast spotted 

 rather than barred. Lonnberg -° writes that the Kasindi birds {semi- 

 schoen^s) agree, " * * * pretty well with two * * * speci- 

 mens from Nairobi * * *." Van Someren -^ records iiiter-niedius 

 from Nairobi and other localities, but notes that "* * * nine out 

 of ten have grey and barred undersurface, while two show a ten- 

 dency to assuming a blackish-olive breast, spotted with white, show- 

 ing gradation into the schoensis type of plumage. Such birds are 

 found from Nairobi to Nakuru and the Elgeyu Escarpment." He 

 lists inter?nedius from Olgerei, Narorsera, Tsavo, Kitui, Kyambu, 

 and Nairobi. It therefore appears that, on the whole, the western 

 birds from the area between the ranges of namaquus and schoensis 

 are spotted on the breast {setnischoensis) while the eastern inter- 

 mediates are more barred {intermedius) . I suspect that intennedius 

 may be best considered a synonym of the nominate form, and semi- 

 schoensis be regarded as the variable assemblage bridging the gap 

 between it and the northern schoensis- Lonnberg ^° himself has said 

 that— 



It is very difl3cult to get a fully clear view of the namaquus-schoensis 

 Woodpeckers and their intergrading especially because sometimes barred and 

 spotted forms appear to occur within the same district. It seems, however, 

 * * * that in the area between tlie habitat of the typical namaquus and that 

 of the typical schoensis intergrading forms are to be found. Naturally enough 

 those which have a more northern distribution, via. in British East Africa and 

 westward to Kasindi-Beni are more similar to schoensis being spotted on the 

 breast, but more olive than typical northern schoensis, and with the black 

 stripes of the head and neck as a rule not joining behind * * * South of 

 the distribution of this * * * intermedins is to be found, thus a barred 

 form. Very probably these forms may mix in the adjoining districts so that 

 all kinds of gradations occur. 



Of the present series, the bird from the Tana River is the lightest, 

 much lighter than the others and approaches the type of plumage 

 Grant named ijitermedius. However, when compared with north 

 Tanganyikan material it is seen to be nearer to schoensis. It con- 

 stitutes one of the southernmost records for the race ; the area south 

 of the Tana River is inhabited by intermedius (if that race be 

 maintained). Further to the west in Kenya Colony schoensis occurs 

 south to Baringo. 



This woodpecker ranges from northern Somaliland through the 

 lower parts of Gallaland to Shoa and the upper White Nile and 

 Bahr el Ghazal regions of the Sudan, south to Turkanaland, the 

 Suk district, and Kerio River in Uganda, to Lake Baringo and the 

 Tana River in Kenya Colony, and throughout Italian Somaliland. 



^Arklv f. Zoo!., No. 24, 1917, p. 18. 

 21 Nov. Zool., vol. 29, 1022, p. 67. 



