BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 431 



noting, however, that he says that teitensis is only doubtfully dis- 

 tinct from ardens. The ranges given for these two forms are a little 

 difficult to grasp — teitensis was described from the Bura Hills, not 

 far from Voi, while suahelioa is said to range to Kilimanjaro. It 

 appears from this that if teitensis be chiefly a coastal race, then topo- 

 typical birds would really be intermediate between it and suahelica. 

 If the two occur together, they would have to be considered distinct 

 species. 



In Ethiopia a longer-winged, shorter-tailed race, latieauda^ re- 

 places the present one. In view of the fact that Blanford, Antinori, 

 Lovat, Erlanger, and others observed and collected laticauda^ it is 

 rather surprising that Mearns never met with it. The wholly black 

 phase, concoloT^ has never been recorded from Ethiopia, and it is of 

 extreme interest in that it appears to be a frequent mutant in much 

 of western equatorial Africa, even becoming the dominant, if not 

 the sole, form in some regions, such as around Masindi, Uganda, and 

 the Uelle district of the Belgian Congo. 



The Kenya red-naped whydah and the Abyssinian form have the 

 posterior part of the crown, nape, throat collar, and hind cheeks 

 red in adult breeding males, while in ardens and teitensis the red is 

 confined to the throat collar, Granvik®° has found that male birds 

 from near Mount Elgon have the band on the throat broader and 

 darker red than in Kikujai examples (typical suahelica)^ but he does 

 not suggest describing them as a racial group. I have seen no 

 Elgon birds, but a good series from the Kikuyu and Ukamba areas 

 shows a good deal of variation in this character. It seems better 

 not to attempt any further splitting. 



This species is common in the grassy areas of Kenya Colony. 

 Van Someren ^^ found nests in "grassy patches in the scrub and by 

 the swamps. The nest is constructed of grass. * * * The eggs 

 are bluish or greenish, with numerous spots and blotches of ash- 

 brown and darker brown. Two is the usual clutch, but as many as 

 four have been found." The birds have be^i found breeding in 

 August and in May, and the nesting season probably includes other 

 months as well. In Ethiopia laticauda has been found nesting in 

 May. 



Since the above account was written Delacour and Edmond- 

 Blanc ®^^ have monographed this species with conclusions with which 

 the present account is in harmony. 



Mearns noted about 500 of these birds at the Lekiundu River, 

 August 8, about 1,000 near Meru, August 9-10, and 500 at Escarp- 

 ment, September 4-12. 



"ojourn. fiir Oin., 1923, Sonderheft, pp. 170-171. 



" Ibis, 1916, p. 418. 



«a L'Oiseau, new ser., vol. 3, pp. 710-715, 1933. 



