— 7 — 



systems which, for various reasons, are considered to be better. 

 But as we know very little at present about the genealogical 

 relationship between the larger divisions of the bird kingdom 

 and as it is not clear for the present which is the highest — 

 from a phylogcnetic point of view — (compare J o r d a n s : Die 

 Vogelfauna Mallorcas) I have, for practical reasons, followed 

 Reichenow's system. The references and synonymy have 

 been cut down as much as possible. References to the original 

 descriptions of the species have been given so often before that 

 in many cases I have merely referred to Reichenow's "Vogel 

 Africas". 



It also interested me, as often as this was possible, to find 

 out the names given by the natives to a number of the birds. 

 In doing so I have not been content with information from only 

 one quarter but have, as a rule, consulted the opinions of two 

 or more other persons. My "personal boy", Juraa bin Masudi, 

 who could write and speak English in addition to several negro- 

 dialects, was of great assistance in interpreting and spelling the 

 native-names of the birds. k o t h , the head of the Kavirondo 

 tribe at Kendu, has himself written the kavirondo-names of the 

 birds on a slip of paper, which I checked later on by consulting 

 other members of the tribe. 



The new birds described in this work are the following: 



Streptopelia semitorquata elgonensis, 



Streptopelia fulvopectoralis, 



Centropus senegalensis incertus^ 



Ploceus insignis ornatus, 



Othyphantes reichenowi nigrofemporalis, 



Ureginthus hengalus loveni, 



Cisticola tinniens suhrufescens^ 



Apalis cinerea minor, 



Apalis melanocephala nigrodorsalis, 



lurdinus pyrrhopterus elgonensis. 



Description of the route. 



In the brief description given in the following pages of 

 the districts in which we stayed for a shorter or longer time 

 either to study or collect specimens, I consider it best, although 

 the chronological order was not the same, to commence down 

 at Mombasa in the tropical coast-land and then continue to the 

 west or northwest, staying in geographical order at the places 

 where we halted. 



When we arrived in Africa, disembarking at Mombasa on 

 the 30 th March, the rains of the short rain-period had already 

 begun to fall. According to Cranworth (Profit and Sport in 

 British East Africa, 1919, p. 477) the average monthly rainfall 



