156 BULLETIN 15 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



and southwestern portion of Tanganyika Territory, another sub- 

 species, sclateri, is found. Other forms occur elsewhere in Africa. 



Van Someren ^^ writes that vulpina occurs "from the Baringo and 

 Tana district south and west through Ukambani, to the plains east 

 of Kilimanjaro." He refers a specimen from Marsabit to vulpina, 

 which race is distinguished by having the gray of the crown some- 

 what suffused with brownish. I wonder whether van Someren was 

 not misled by youngish birds, which, in first adult plumage, have 

 the crown washed with brown. Thus, a bird from Tertale in south- 

 ern Shoa, and another from the Tana River have brownish crowns, 

 but the rest of the series is grayish on the top of the head. 



Erlanger also noticed similar variation in the grayness and brown- 

 ness of the crown in his large series from Somaliland and Ethiopia, 

 and even went so far as to decide that vulpina was not a valid race. 



The size variations of this bird are as follows: Adult males (13 

 specimens) — wing, 62.5-71.5; tail, 61-72.5; culmen, 15.5-17.5; tarsus, 

 20-26.5 mm. Adult females (14 specimens) — wing, 63.5-72.5; tail, 

 63-75; culmen, 14.5-17.5; tarsus, 23-26 mm. 



This species is widely distributed in southern Ethiopia, both in 

 the mountains and in the lower regions, where its rich, pleasing song 

 forms a conspicuous part of the general chorus of bird life. It does 

 not occur very high up in the mountains, however. 



Erlanger " found it breeding in southern Somaliland. In April 

 he found fresh eggs, while in June he observed fledged young, which 

 suggested to him that the bird might be double-brooded. 



Mearns noted about 50 of these scrub-robins along the Tana River, 

 August 15-23, and 10 at the junction of that river with the Thika 

 River, August 23-26. 



POGONOCICHLA MARGARITATA KENIENSIS Mearns 



PogonocicJila cucuUata keniensis Mearns, Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 56, no. 20, 

 p. 9, 1911 : Mount Kenya, 10,700 feet. 



Specimens collected : 1 male, 3 females, Escarpment, Kenya Colony, September 

 &-10, 1912. 



Gyldenstolpe ^^ has carefully reviewed the nomenclature and sys- 

 tematics of the white-starred bush-robin, and Sclater^^ has largely 

 followed his conclusions. Unfortunately, I find it impossible to recon- 

 cile some of those conclusions with the material I have seen of the 

 races guttifer, keniensis, orientalis, and helleri. Both Gyldenstolpe 

 and Sclater consider keniensis and helleri as synonyms of guttifer. I 

 have examined five adults from Kilimanjaro (topotypical guttifer) 



"Nov. Zool., vol. 29, pp. 236-237, 1922. 



"Journ. fur Orn., 1905, pp. 754-756. 



«Kongl. Svenska Vet.-Akad. Handl., 1924, pp. 155-158. 



" Systema avium iEthiopicarum, pt. 2, pp. 486-488, 1930. 



