— Ti- 

 the locality — in many cases — should be conclusive for the 

 determination of races and sub-species, should prove that many 

 of the forms put up are not constant but are purely subject forms. 



From the eastern slopes of Mount Elgon, about 6.500 — 

 7.000 feet above sea -level, there are six individuals in the col- 

 lection. I place them all — in spite of small differences, as 

 appears from the following table — under the above — mentioned. 

 Wing, tarsus, length of bill from cere 



142 mm. 18 mm. 19 mm. 



154 mm. 16 mm. 22 mm. 



154 mm. 17 mm. 21 mm. 



145 mm. 15 mm. 19 mm. 



156 mm. 17 mm. 21 mm. 



148 mm. 15.5 mm. 18.5 mm. 



Three of them have a yellow band on the crown, the 

 fourth, on the other hand, has only some of the feathers of the 

 crown yellow at the tips. A female Specimen has a number of 

 the feathers of the back and the wing -coverts at the tips di- 

 stinctly green, but the others are dark, without any green tinge. 



If I compare my figures for the length of wing, 

 cfcf 154 — 156 mm. 

 99 142-148 mm., 

 with Grant's (op. cit. p. 258), which for cf are 149 — 154 mm 

 and for 9 150 mm, they agree very well, and when I compared 

 them with the specimens in the Berlin Museum it was seen 

 that they agreed with the latter in every respect. 



Among the 6 birds there are two which at first sight could 

 hardly be placed under P. m. saturatus for they most closely 

 agree with the sub-species Foicephalus meyeri naevei, described 

 by G r a n t , the feathers of the upper rump and breast in these 

 birds being distinctly blue, but in other respects they entirely 

 resemble the preceding sub-species. 



Irides red, legs dark-grey (almost black) bill dark-grey. 



But after comparing these two specimens with the large 

 series, found at the Berlin Museum, Prof. 0. Neumann, who 

 very kindly examined them closely, and myself came to the con- 

 clusion that they must undoubtedly be placed under F. m, sa- 

 turates. If one tries to place these two with the help of the 

 descriptions of the numerous subspecies the task would be very 

 difficult indieed, but knowing that they were shot in the same 

 locality and at the same time as the others the matter becomes 

 somewhat easier. Thus, it is also evident that the characters 

 "blue or green rump" are not sufficient to warrant the establi- 

 shing of new sub-species continually. 



No doubt it is the same thing with this parrot as with a 

 number of species of Melittophagus, that is, these characters 

 vary partly with age, and partly also with the different dresses. 



