— 152 — 



(Nov, Zool. 1918, p. 279) says it is also common on the western 

 slopes of Elgon in the bamboo-forest and mentions further that 

 he found it in flocks of 6— 10 in number. I always met it singly 

 and newer saw it in the bamboo-forest. 



Neumann (J. f. 0. 1905 p. 238) writes that all his 

 specimens have a wing-measurement of 96 — 98 mm. and the 

 culmen 11 — 13 mm. (Reichenow op. cit. gives the wing as 

 104 — 106 inm, bill 14—15 mm, tarsus 23 mm.) 



My 7 specimens have a wing-length of 95, 100, 102, 102, 

 103, 103, 104 and bill of 11.5-13 mm. Not a single one of 

 them attains Reichenow's measurement for the tarsus, 

 5 having 22 mm and 3, 21 mm. 



All the individuals have also the suggestion of the black 

 breast-band mentioned^by Neumann (op. cit), and one — evi- 

 dently a young bird — has small indistinct dark streaks on the 

 belly. 



Irides bright yellow; bill black; legs dark greyish brown 

 (sometimes almost black). 



LamprocoUus chalybaeus chalyhaeus (Hempr. & Ehr.). — 

 Rchw. II. p. 687. 



Ikwiu . . . ki-tamba. — Talingi , . . ki-suaheli. 



1 (5 ad. 10. 4. Nairobi. — A ^S ad. 20. 4., 23. 4. Lake Nawaisha. — 2 <5(5 



ad. 10. 5., 13. 5. Eldoret. - 1 (J ad. 26. 5. Mount Elgon. - 1 (5 ad. 26. 7. 



Soy. — 1 5 ad. 11. 4. 4. Ngong. — 1 Q ad. 18. 4. Kiambu. — 1 Q ad. 23. 4. 



Lake Naiwasha. — 2 QQ ad. 13. 5., 16. 5. Eldoret. 



1 (5 1 Q juv. 9. 5., 3 days, march from Londiani towards Eldoret. 



Lonnberg (Birds coll. Sw. Zool. Exp. to B. E. A. 1911, 

 p. 97J calls his specimeo from Nairobi and its environs L. chaly- 

 baeus. Mackworth-Praed (Ibis 1917, p. 377) also gives 

 the same name to his birds from these regions, and Reiche- 

 now (Vogelf. d. Mittelafr. Seengeb. 1912, p. 319) also styles 

 those from Ruzizi and Burumba, L. chalybaeus. • 



Neumann (J. f. 0, 1900, p. 280) has described a new 

 race which he calls L. massaicus, which name should stand 

 for the East African form. Already in 1902 — 1903 (Vog. Afr. II. 

 p. 687) Reichenow, however, makes this a synonym of L. 

 chalyhaeus and in the above-mentioned work by the same author, 

 he proves further that the characters on which Neumann 

 has described his race are not satisfactory and that massaicus 

 is only a variation of chalybaeus. 



From my own investigations, while comparing the collections 

 in the Berlin Museum and from studies of my own series, I have 

 come to the conclusion that Reichenow is right and that 

 the East African specimens should therefore be named as L o n n - 

 berg and Mackworth-Praed has named them. 



