BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 183 



write that they "have no specimens from Fort Hall (type locality) 

 * * * but two specimens from the Athi River in the close vicinity 

 are indeed somewhat paler than typical specimens of S. w. jacksoni. 

 This is only to be expected as Fort Hall is a place where the desert 

 famia would naturally meet with the highland fauna and an inter- 

 mediate form be thus produced." 



Van Someren '^^ is "prepared to support this race as a pale form of 

 S. w. jacksoni^ and give as its range the East Ukambani district 

 from south of Fort Hall, extending to the east of Kilimanjaro — 

 i, e., inhabiting the whole of the thorn-bush and scrub country and 

 the Yatta Plains." 



4. S. w. ahaye/nsis: The southern Shoan lake district (north to 

 Djalaban, south of Adis Abeba) and the country immediately around 

 Lake Rudolf, west to Turkanaland and the Turkwell-Moroto-Kara- 

 mojo region of northeastern Uganda. This form is similar to 

 lorhiffi, but paler, the color of the underparts fading to whitish on 

 abdomen; and the upperparts slightly more olivaceous than in 

 lonngi. I have seen nine typical examples (including the type) 

 of abayensis and have seen the type and two others of loringi. 



Sclater and Mackworth-Praed " write that they cannot distin- 

 guish between birds from southern Shoa and typical jacksoni. This 

 is rather difficult to believe; if they had said loringi^ it would be 

 more comprehensible. Zedlitz finds that abayensis is recognizable. 



As intimated above, the present specimens are not really typical 

 jacksoni (typical examples from the Sotik district seen) but are 

 somewhat intermediate between that form and loringi. They are 

 best referred to jacksoni, however. In comparing races it must be 

 remembered that females tend to be more tawny below than males 

 of the same form. Lack of appreciation of this factor appears to 

 be partly responsible for the conclusions (now no longer of much 

 value for other reasons as well) of Ogilvie-Grant ^* and of Reiche- 

 now.^^ 



The present specimens are in somewhat worn plumage. Their 

 dimensions are as follows: Males — wing, 58, 59; tail, 26, 27; culmen 

 from base, 13.5, 14; tarsus, 18, 19 mm. Females — w^ing, 55, 56, 59; 

 tail, 23, 24, 24.5; culmen, 12.5, 13, 13; tarsus, 17, 17, 18.5 mm. 



The reason that I consider Sylvietta minima a distinct species is 

 that it occurs together with S. w. whytii {fischei^i) at Lamu, accord- 

 ing to van Someren.-*' 



'« Nov. Zool.. vol. 29, p. 226, 1922. 



"Ibis, 1918, p. 669. 



"Ibis, 1900, pp. 154-157. 



" Orn. Monatsb., 1900, pp. 21-22. 



» Nov. Zool., vol. 29, pp. 226-227, 1922. 



