282 BULLETIN 15 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



only on the basis of Fischer's, Johnston's, and Abbott's specimens. 

 The last-named explorer obtained three birds identified as sublacteius 

 by Oberholser.^^ These specimens have been accessible to me in the 

 present connection and are all miibiguus. It appears, therefore, that 

 while svMacteus occurs in the lowlands near Kilimanjaro (Great 

 Arusha, Lake Jipe, etc.), the form inhabiting the higher ground of 

 the mountain mass itself is the race of the interior plateau of East 

 Africa, cmibiguus. This example, together with the fact that 

 aethiopicus occurs in high altitudes near the Equator (Kikuyu 

 Escarpment), again serves to emphasize the great importance of in- 

 terpreting distribution in a tridimensional way. This has been done 

 w itli notable success in North America and in mapping the bird life 

 of the South American Andes, but hitherto it has been much neglected 

 in works on the birds of Africa. 



Aside from the question of altitudinal distribution, feather wear, 

 especially in those races characterized by white outer edges on some 

 of the secondaries, is of much importance. A specimen of mujor in 

 worn plumage might easily pass as aethiopicus. Furthermore, aethi- 

 opicus varies somewhat, some specimens having a narrow whitish 

 margin on the inner secondaries. One of the males from Escarp- 

 ment is of this type, and van Someren has found similar examples 

 among Ethiopian specimens. 



It may well be that the aggregate known as Laniarius ferrugineus 

 aethiopicus may be separable into a larger northern, and a smaller 

 southern group. Zedlitz ^^ writes that his birds from Eritrea and 

 extreme northern Ethiopia have wing lengths of 97, 100, 103, 103, 109, 

 and 110 mm, respectively. I have personally seen no north Ethi- 

 opian birds, but the present series measure much smaller, as may be 

 seen from table 56. 



Blanford "'^ found this bird to be abundant in the pass leading to 

 Senafe between 3,000 and 6,000 feet, in January and February, and 

 says : "In May they were common at a much greater elevation, even 

 at 8,000 and 9,000 feet near Senafe, where none were met with three 

 months before. * * * They thus appear to have a considerable 

 range in altitude, being, however, most common at all periods of the 

 year in the subtropical regions." 



The breeding season in the Hawash district is in April. Er- 

 langer ^* found a nest just finished, with the female sitting on it, on 

 April 9 near Harrar. According to Zedlitz,^^ the race somaliensis 

 breeds in May and June. 



" Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 28, p. 923, 1905. 



"Journ. fur Orn., 1910, pp. 798-799. 



" Observations on the geology and zoology of Abyssinia, p. 341, 1870. 



" Journ. fUr Orn., 1905, p. 697. 



'^ Journ. fur Orn., 1915, p. 60. 



