PARASITIC WEAVERBIRDS 61 



name here. There is no doubt among recent authors that sharii is 

 a synonym of camerunensis, but the question meriting some 

 discussion and elaboration is the suggested identity of camerunensis 

 and nigeriae. The latter has, it is true, a somewhat less bluish, more 

 greenish sheen in the nuptial plumage of the adult male than does 

 camerunensis. Specimens fitting the characters of nigeriae are all from 

 witbin the range of camerunensis, although the latter, if the two were 

 to be kept distinct, is also known from a little farther east (perhaps to 

 western Ethiopia). Chapin (1954, p. 573) compared nigeriae with 

 camerunensis, and noted the greener gloss of the former; however, he 

 was not convinced that the difference is enough to validate the specific 

 status of nigeriae. The two "forms" are seasonal visitors to north- 

 eastern Belgian Congo, with the same dates of occurrence, further 

 suggesting their identity. Delacour and Edmond-Blanc (1934) con- 

 sidered nigeriae as "probably" a race of amauropteryx, but did not 

 specifically state that nigeriae and camerunensis are the same. It is 

 not, however, possible to assign discrete ranges to them as one is 

 wholly contained within the other. I therefore conclude that they 

 are identical although this arrangement gives a greater range of color 

 variation (in the adult breeding male) than is found in any of the other 

 combassous. 



V. chalybeata has five races — chalybeata, codringtoni, neum.anni, 

 orientalis, and vltramarina. This arrangement is in agreement with 

 Delacour (1951) and Chapin (1954, pp. 567-569) with the exception 

 that Chapin listed codringtoni tentatively as a species, although he 

 wrote that "if not a valid species, codringtoni may perhaps be a south- 

 eastern race of H. chalybeata, more greenish than orientalis but of 

 similar size." 



V. funerea has tliree races — funerea, nigerrima, and milsoni. 

 Here the only point at which the present arrangement differs from 

 those of Delacour and Chapin is that purpurascens is considered a 

 synonym of nigerrima. Delacour may have come to the same con- 

 clusion as he did not mention nigerrima, but listed purpurascens. 

 The name to be used, however, is nigerrima, which has 12 years pri- 

 ority over purpurascens. Although he kept the two separate, Chapin 

 (1954, pp. 564-565) admitted that he found "it difficult to fix the limits 

 between nigerrima and purpurascens and can only assume that tbe 

 former ranges from Angola west to the Lualaba River near Kasongo." 

 He stated of the species funerea that "in Angola and the Kasai 

 region it is supposed to be replaced by nigerrima, of which the males 

 are blue-black, not very gloss}^; and in Tanganyika Territory, the 

 Katanga, and the Kivu by purpurascens, probably more purplish 

 though not very glossy." 



