BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 191 



urements are as follows: Wing, 56; tail, 30.5; ciilmen, 10.5; tarsus, 

 16 mm. 



It seems that the Lekiundii Kiver is about the northern limit of 

 the range of ahdomincdis, as a little farther to the north, on the 

 Northern Guaso Nyiro Kiver, van Someren ^^ procured birds of the 

 favicrissaUs (or erlmigeri) type with the yellow on the abdomen very 

 pale and limited in extent, and with wings 49 to 50 mm in length. 

 In his field notebook Mearns records seeing two "yellow-bellied, gray- 

 breasted Eremomelas," similar to the Lekiundu bird, along the 

 Northern Guaso Nyiro River, but in the absence of specimens we 

 can not extend the range of abdoniinalis north of the present locality 

 record. 



Mearns saw 4 of these birds along the Lekiundu River, August 

 4-8; and 2 on the Tana River, August 17. 



CAMAROPTERA BREVICAUDATA ABESSINICA Zedlitz 



Figure 15 



Camaroptera ffriseoviridis abessinica Zedlitz, Journ. fiir Oni., 1911, p. 338: 



Harrar, Ethiopia. 

 Specimens collected: 



1 adult, 1 immature, male, Sadi Malka, Etbiopia, December 20, 1911. 



1 female, Ha wash River, Ethiopia, February 8, 1912. 



1 male, Botola, Sidamo, Ethiopia, March 5, 1912. 



3 males, Aletta, Sidamo, Ethiopia, March 7-11, 1912. 



11 males, 3 females, Gato River near Gardula, Ethiopia, April 10-May 11, 

 1912. 



2 males, Bodessa, Ethiopia, May 23-Jnne 1, 1912. 

 1 male. El Ade, Ethiopia, June 13, 1912. 



In working over the forms of Camaroptera in the Frick and other 

 collections, it became necessary to review all the species and sub- 

 species of this genus. Zedlitz ^^ monographed the group very ably 

 but unfortunately misapplied the names hrevicaudata and griseiven- 

 tiis. This was subsequently straightened out by Hartert.^^ On the 

 whole, I find that Zedlitz's conclusions are correct, but differ in con- 

 sidering erlangen to occupy the entire coastal strip of Kenya Colony 

 from Mombasa, inland to Changamwe, to southern Italian Somali- 

 land. This will be taken up in more detail later on, as will also the 

 ranges of abessinica and griseigula^ which appear to have been much 

 misunderstood. 



It has been my personal experience that a perusal of the literature 

 leaves one with a hazy notion of the specific groups, to say nothing 

 of the racial forms, of this genus. Therefore, I append a brief key 

 to the species, based on adult birds. 



'^ Journ. East Africa and Uganda Nat. Hist. Soo., no. 35, p. 67 (143), 1930. 

 " .Tourn. fijr Orn., 1911, pp. 328-344. 

 "Nov. Zool., vol. 27, p. 459. 1920. 



