470 



BULLETIN 15 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



2. /. V. jubaensis. — A rather narrow area from southern Italian 

 Somaliland across Jubaland to the Tana River at approximately 38~ 

 east longitude. Intergrading to a slight extent with the typical form 

 west of 38° east longitude and north to the southern Shoan lakes. 



In support of my contention that the present specimens are not 

 intermediate I append their size measurements. 



All three are molting the wings, but I doubt if this is responsible 

 for the small measurements, as the longest primaries are full grown. 

 Males are larger than females as a rule. 



The total series examined, while small, shows considerable individ- 

 ual variation in the abundance and extent of the dusky streaks on 

 the underparts. This is borne out by Van Someren's observations '^ 

 that while some of the birds in his collection are heavily speckled on 

 the breast others have almost uniform underparts. There is also 

 some variation in the markings themselves; some birds are streaked 

 whereas others are more spotted — that is the marks are wider and 

 more terminal, less median, in their position on the individual feath- 

 ers. Reichenow '^ writes that young birds have the throat streaked 

 with dark gray; the adults, spotted with blackish. On the other 

 hand, Ogilvie-Grant '^ is equally definite in his statement the birds 

 with spots are immature ; those with streaks, fully adult. The matter 

 is thus left unsettled and will continue to be so until observations on 

 molting birds are made, preferably on living ones. 



All three birds brought back by the Frick expedition have the 

 forehead and crown as well as the occiput, nape, and interscapulars, 

 washed with olivaceous, and the feathers of the. forehead and crown 

 are laterally edged with yellowish white. Zedlitz "^ notes the same 

 for the three Ethiopian birds he examined. As already mentioned, 

 these birds are replacing the remiges, but there is no sigTi of a caudal 

 molt. The wing molt begins at the wrist joint and extends in 

 both directions. 



The scaly-throated honey-guide is somewhat of a forest bird and is 

 thereby usually ecologically isolated from its congener /. indicator, 

 and is also, consequently, much more local in its range than the 



"Nov. Zool., vol. 29, 1922, p. 5.3. 



^=V6g. All-., vol. 2, p. lOS. 



" Ibis, 1908, p. :5on. 



■^.Tourn. f. Ornith., 1915, p. 9. 



