— 148 — 



Ndjaro) and in the Ithanga Hills (south of Nairobi). The lattet 

 writer mentions that he shot two, perched on the same bush, in 

 a locality where Oriolus was not common, and it then turned 

 out that the cT was 0, I. rolleti but the 9 ^ ^- la^vatus. He 

 therefore considers it best not to separate them at present but 

 calls them — in conformity with Shelley — 0. larvatus 

 simply. 



Perhaps Mackworth-Praed gets nearest the truth, 

 for Reichenow (op. cit.) has shown that there is no precise 

 difference in size (length of wing) between the South-African 

 and Central African specimens, and were I to judge my speci- 

 mens by Zedlitz's measurements, the full-grown specimens 

 should undoubtedly be placed under Oriolus I. larvatus (see 

 above). 



culmen, 



26 5 mm. cf ad. Kiambu. 



24.5 mm. d' ad. Lake Naiwasha. 



22 mm. cf ad. Elgon. 

 25 mm. cf juv. Lake Naiwasha. 



23 mm. cT ad. „ „ 

 With reference to the length of bill in both races Rei- 

 chenow states (Vog. Afr. 11. p. 658—659) that 0. I. larvatus 

 has a 26—29 mm. long bill, but 0. I. rolleti 23—26 mm. In 

 that case it seems to agree with my specimens. 



Lonnberg writes (op. cit. p. 95) that of his specimens 

 the one with the longest bill (25 mm.) was without a doubt the 

 oldest. Of my series the bird with the longest bill but one — 

 25 mm. — is a joung bird, as is clearly shown by the plumage 

 and the colour of the bill. This individual thus proves that 

 Lonnberg's opinion, that the size of the bill varies, is correct. 



In all the individuals lying before me the central tail-fea- 

 thers are olive-green, while a feather on both sides is somewhat 

 darker olive-green that the central ones and has a black band 

 about 10 cm. in width above the yellow tip. The other tail- 

 feathers have a black basal patch and yellow tips (the yellow 

 patch larger towards the outer tail-feathers). 



Lonnberg mentions (op. cit.) that he shot both 0. I. rolleti 

 and 0. I. percivali on the same spot in the Nairobi country. 

 And in the vicinity of Elgon (below the eastern slopes) where 

 I shot four specimens of the latter, I also shot a specimen of 

 the former. I have also from Elgon an individual, which to all 

 appearances is an intermediate form between these two, whose 

 tail-feathers have the same colour as the one reproduced in 

 Lonnberg's work (PI. 3, 3b). 



If both these two forms, rolleti and percivali, are good 

 ones (and the latter thus not a higher developed phase of the 

 former — vide Lonnberg — ) and as they occur together it 



