— ^5 — 



irides in cf red, in 9 ^"d young birds reddish brown ; 

 bill dark greyish blue; legs greyish green, 



Coliidae. 



• Colius striatus Shell. — Rchw. II. p. 205. 

 Inywii . . . ki-kamba. 

 3 (5(5 27. 4.; 3 2Q 27. 4. Mombasa. — Q 66 14.-17. 4.; 2 QQ 18. 4. Kiambu 

 5.700 ft. — 2 66 23.4.; 1 Q 23. 4. Lake Naiwasha 7.000 ft. — \ 6 5. 5.; 

 2 ee 5. 5. Londiani 7.500 ft. — 2 66 ^- 5- Eldoret 8.000 ft. - 1 Q 18. 5. Soy 

 8.000 ft. - 5 5(5 21. 5.-24. 7.; 4 gQ 21. 5.- 24. l.\ \ 6 juv. 7. 6. Elgon 

 7.000 ft. - 1 (5 18. 8. Kisum. 



Of this bird, very common everywhere, I have in all 34 skins, 

 from the coast right up to Victoria Nyanza and Mount Elgon. 



Were I to divide these after the localities and give the 

 sub-special names which van Someren (Bull. Brit. Orn. CI. 

 Dec. 1919, p. 26—27) has given them, I should have 6 C. s. 

 mombassicus, 14 C. s. kikuyensis and 14 C. s. ugandensis. 



However by carefully comparing my own specimens with 

 those found in Berlin Museum and in the Natural History 

 Museum at Stockholm, I have not been able to find the slightest 

 difference between C. s. kikuyuensis and C. s. ugandensis. As a 

 difference between these two Someren mentions, among other 

 things, that the latter resembles the former but has "crown and 

 mantle lighter above" and the "wings and tail greyish olive" 

 while in C. s. kikuyuensis they are "deep greyish olive". The 

 other characters, which should account for the existence of these 

 two sub-species, seem to me to be very weak and by no means 

 characteristic for birds from the localities given. 



As regards the character given for C. s. ugandensis i. e. 

 "lighter above" than C. s. kikuyuensis, this does not agree at 

 all with my Elgon and Victoria Nyanza specimens, for a 1 1 of 

 them are considerably darker than C. s. kikuyuensis. 



On the other hand there is a more distinct difference be- 

 tween C. s. mombassicus and all those from Kikuyuland and 

 farther east and north, and I can therefore only establish two 

 forms: one coastal form and one from the interior parts of the 

 country. The former I name C. s. mombassicus v. Som. while 

 C. s. ugandensis may stand for the latter. It might as well 

 perhaps have retained the third name, but as I consider this 

 only an intermediate form between the two given above 1 exclude 

 it altogether. 



Colius striatus mombassicus van Som. — Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 

 No. CCXLV Dec. 1919, p. 26. 



The six specimens I procured in the regions of Mombasa 

 are the same in colour as v. Someren has described them. 



