BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 179 



apparently absent elsewhere. HaAvker ^^ found it very common on 

 the White Nile south of Abba Island. 



It appears to be absent (or at least very scarce and has not been 

 taken) in the arid portions of northern Kenya Colony (eastern 

 Rendile to Jubaland) but has been found at the south end of Lake 

 Rudolf, thence south to the Trans-nzoia, the Uasin Gishu, etc., to 

 the Kavirondo, Kikuyu, and Sotik districts, and to Ukambani, the 

 Athi River, Simba, and to the Tanganyika border. 



One of the females from Gato River, April 30, is a young bird. 

 It has a bare space around the eyes, and the bill is only 8 mm long 

 (as against 9 to 10.5 mm in adults) . The plumage is as in the adults. 



The measurements of the adults reveal rather little variation; 

 thus, the six males have the following dimensions : Wing, 45-48 ; tail, 

 42.5-46.5; culmen from base, 9-10.5; tarsus, 14.5-16.5 mm. Seven 

 females: Wing, 43.5-47; tail, 41-43.5; culmen, 9-10.5; tarsus, 15- 

 16 mm. 



On November 30, at Dire Daoua, Mearns shot a mated pair. This 

 is the only clue I know of as to the breeding season in Ethiopia. 



SYLVIETTA BRACHYURA HILGERTI Zedlitz 



Sylvietta hrachyura hiJfjcrti Zedlitz, Journ. fiir Orn., 1916, p. 99: Dire Daoua, 



Ethiopia. 

 Specimens collected: 1 male, Dire Daoua, Ethiopia, December 6, 1911. 



I have not enough material to attempt a revision of the forms of 

 this crombec and therefore follow Sclater's arrangement.^ In the 

 regions traversed by the Frick expedition two races occur, as follows : 



1. S. h. hilgerti: Eastern Eritrea, northern Somaliland, and east- 

 ern Ethiopia. Wing, 52-58 mm. 



2. S. h. leucopsis: Southern Somaliland, Gurraland, Arussi Galla- 

 land, west through the Rendile country to the east side of Lake 

 Rudolf, south through the thornbush and scrub country of northern 

 and eastern Kenya Colony to the dry plains east of Mount Kiliman- 

 jaro and to Nguruman. Similar to hilgerti but smaller; wings, 

 47.5-52 mm. 



The present specimen is rather small for its race (wings, 53; tail, 

 21; culmen, 10; tarsus, 19 mm), but it is undoubtedly hilgerti, as it 

 comes from the type locality of that form. 



The validity of hilgerti has not gone unquestioned in literature, 

 and with apparently good reason, as the only difference between it 

 and leucopsis is one of size, in which regard the two forms overlap to 

 a considerable extent. 



"Ibis, 1902, p. 419. 



» Systema avium jEthiopicarum, pt. 2, pp. 531-533, 1930. 



