BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 185 



and Gardula, March 26-29, 50; Sagon River, June 3-6, 2 noted; 

 Tertale, June 7-12, 5 birds ; Wobok, June 18, 2 birds seen. He noted 

 the song as a pleasant triUing warble similar to that of some of 

 the Mniotiltidae of North America. 



SYLVIETTA ISABELLINA Elliot 



SylvieUa isabelUna Elliot, Field Columbian Mus. Publ. Oru. Ser., Publ. 17, 



vol. 1, no. 2, p. 44, 1897 : Le Gud, Somaliland. 

 Specimens colleoted : 1 female, 24 miles south of Malele, Kenya Colony, July 29, 



1912. 



I have not enough comparative material to attempt a critical study 

 of this species and therefore follow Sclater ^^ in considering gaikwmi 

 Sharpe, erlangeri Reichenowi, and inacrorhyncha van Someren as 

 synonyms of isdbelUna Elliot. I must admit, however, that I am 

 not convinced of the accuracy of Sclater's conclusions. Reichenow's 

 form erlangeri is synonymized with gaihwaH by Zedlitz ^* on appar- 

 ently good grounds (the type of gaikivari having an abnormally 

 long bill as shown by further material), and these two may well be 

 the same, but I feel that isahelUna, galkwari, and niacrorhyncha 

 are probably distinct. The first is said to be washed with greenish 

 on the upperparts, which the latter two certainly are not; niacror- 

 hyncha is less pure grayish above than gaikiuari and has a longer, 

 more slender bill, and paler underparts. If these races are recog- 

 nized, as I feel they will have to be when more material becomes 

 available, the present specimen will have to be referred to van Som- 

 eren's race inacrorhyncha, of which form it appears to constitute 

 the northernmost record. Its dimensions are as follows: Wing, 59.5; 

 tail, 24.5; culmen from base, 16; tarsus, 18 mm. It is in rather 

 abraded condition. 



According to van Someren,^^ birds from Mandaira are like niacro- 

 rhyncha but paler below and also smaller; wing, 54—56 mm. 



Erlanger -^ found this bird (gaikwari, if distinct) breeding late 

 in March in Gurraland. The nests are said to be purse-shaped and 

 suspended from the tips of small branches of the acacia trees. Two 

 or three eggs appear to comprise a set. 



SYLVIETTA LEUCOPHRYS LEUCOPHRYS Sharpe 



SylvieUa Jeucophrys Shaepe, Ibis, 1891, p. 120 : IMount Elyon. 

 Specimens collected : 1 male, Escarpment, 7,390 feet, Kenya Colony, September 

 10, 1912. 



Sclater ^^ considers keniensis Mearns a synonym of leucophrys. I 

 am not aware that he has examined a topotypical specimen of the 



'^ Systema avium iEthiopicarum, pt. 2, p. 534, 1930. 



2<Journ. fur Orn., 1916, p. 24. 



="* Journ. East Africa and Uganda Nat. Hist. Soc, 1930, p. 43. 



2»Journ. fur Cm., 1905, pp. 731-732. 



^ Systema avium .ISthiopicarum, pt. 2, p. 535, 1930. 



