432 BULLETIN 15 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



DREPANOPLECTES JACKSONI Sharpc 



Drepanoplectes jacksoni Sharps, Ibis, 1891, p. 246, pi. 5: Masailand, near 



Lake Nakuru. 

 Specimens collected: 3 males, Escarpment, Kenya Colony, September 5, 1912. 



These specimens are all in off-season plumage. One of them is 

 rather abraded ; the other two are freshly feathered. 



Jackson's whydah is one of the most remarkable of the long-tailed 

 weavers, forming a monotypic genus and inhabiting a relatively 

 small area. It is found in the highlands of western and central 

 Kenya Colony from western Ukamba and Kikuyu to Nandi, Eldoret, 

 Lake Baringo, and Mount Kenya. It is common in wet meadows, but 

 is somewhat local. It does not get into the Uasin Gishu Plateau 

 beyond Eldoret and is not known from Mount Elgon. 



Because of the unusual individual dancing grounds made by the 

 males, much has been written concerning this fine bird. Shelley ^^ 

 has summarized previous observations. On the whole, the majority 

 of the birds molt in January and February and in September and 

 October, although some molt in June and even July and November. 

 Nests with eggs have been found in May, Jinie, and July. 



Mearns saw about 100 of these birds at Escarpment, Sep- 

 tember 4-12. 



SPERMESTES CUCULLATUS SCUTATUS Heuelin 



Spermestes scutatus Heuglin, Journ. fiir Orn., 1863, p. 18; Dembea, Abyssinia. 

 Specimens coli,ected : 



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



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



1 male, Meru Forest, Kenya Colony, August 10, 1912. 



1 female, Tharaka district, Kenya Colony, August 14, 1912. 



The Abyssinian bronze mannikin differs from the West African, 

 nominate race in that it lacks the greenish patches on the sides of the 

 breast, found in typical cucvUatus. The present race occurs from 

 Ethiopia south throu^ eastern Africa to Natal and the eastern Cape 

 Province. 



Dembea, north of Lake Tsana, appears to be the northernmost 

 locality from which this bird is known. It has been taken on a 

 number of occasions, by various collectors, in Shoa, but not in eastern 

 Gallaland or in Somaliland, except for Erlanger's specimen from 

 Umfudu-Gobwin, in Jubaland.^^ Lovat obtained it at Telagubaie 

 near Kosso, north of Harrar; Pease met with it near Lake Zwai; 

 Erlanger found it in the Hawash region, near Adis Abeba, and in 

 the Shoan lake district. Zaphiro obtained specimens at Gibbe River, 



^2 The birds of Africa, vol. 4, pp. 55-58, 1905. 

 »3 Journ. fiir Oru., 1907, p. 17. 



