BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 127 



from elgonensis but fails to see wherein it differs from ahyssinicus. 

 It is noticeably grayer than the latter as well. 



In the regions traversed by the Frick expedition, two races of this 

 thrush occur. They are the present one and abyssinicus. The for- 

 mer occurs in the highlands of Kenya Colony on both sides of the 

 Rift Valley from Mount Elgon to Mount Kenya and Nairobi. The 

 northern race, abyssinicus^ occurs from southern Eritrea to Shoa, 

 Gojam, Kaffa, etc., and from Harrar to Arussi-Gallaland. This race 

 averages more olivaceous above than elgonensis, but otherwise the 

 two look very similar. The northern form averages slightly larger 

 than the equatorial one. 



The adult males have the following dimensions: Wing. 116.5. 108, 

 118. 121.5, 109.5, 112; tail, 96.5, 89, 95.5, 97.5, 94; culmen, 22.5, 20, 22, 

 22, 21.5, 21: tarsus, 31.5, 32.5. 33, 33, 31.5, 32 mm. 



This thrush is a common bird on the edges of forests, and in the 

 denser, taller scrub. Van Someren ^^ found it nesting in April and 

 May, and fledged young were seen in June in the Nairobi region. 

 Mearns saw about 100 of these birds at Escarpment, September 4—12. 



Of the present series, one adult and the two young birds are in 

 worn plumage or in molt, while five adults are in fresh feathering. 



TURDUS OLIVACEUS ABYSSINICUS Gmelin 



Turdns adijsHnicns Gmexix, Syst. Nat., vol. 1, pt. 2, p. 824, 1789: Abyssinia. 



Specimens collected: 



1 male, Adis Abeba, Ethiopia. December 30, 1911. 



5 males, 6 females, Arnssi Plateau, 9,000 feet, Ethiopia, February 18-29, 



1912. 

 1 male, Aletta, Sidamo, Ethiopia, March 8, 1912. 

 1 female, Loco, Sidamo, Ethiopia, March 1.3, 1912. 



Soft parts; Male — iris brown; bill and eye ring orange; feet 

 yellow ; claws yellowish brown. Female — iris brown ; bill and eye 

 ring orange ; feet and claws brownish yelloAv. 



The characters and range of this form have already been stated 

 under the discussion of elgonensis. The dimensions of the present 

 series are given in table 24. 



A female shot on February 20 at Arussi Plateau contained a fully 

 shelled eg;g, bluish green, thickly marked with brown. This is con- 

 siderably earlier than the records of nests given by Erl anger ^'^ who 

 found a set of two eggs on April 23 at Cialanco; another of two 

 eggs three days later at Burko. between Harrar and Adis Abeba ; 

 and a third set of two eggs at Cunni on May 12. 



The birds collected are mostly in fairly fresh plumage. 



"Ibis. 1916, p. 464. 



" Journ. fiir Orn., 1905. p. 741. 



