— 154 - 



Lamprocolius purpureus amethystinus (Heugl.). — 

 Rchw. II. p. 692. 



1 c5 ad. 8, 6. ; 1 5 ad. 26. 7. ; 2 (5(5 juv. 16. and 17. 5. ; Mount Elgon. 



This race was not so common in the Elgon region as the 

 preceding. It frequented the thorn-bushes in the company of 

 the preceding race. 



Wing, tarsus, 



146 mm. 33 mm. cT ad. (in full nuptial dress). 



146 mm. 35 mm. d* ad. (in transition to nuptial dress). 



135 mm. 31 mm. d* juv. 



134 mm. 30 mm. cf juv. 



Both young birds are very easy to distinguish from chaly- 

 haeus, the young of which have a pale green gloss on the under- 

 parts. These have here and there among the brownish black 

 feathers others purple -glossy, of the same colour as the adults. 

 One of them has the whole fore- neck pale purple lilac glossy as 

 well. The crown is either blue glossy (in a more developed 

 phase) or of the same colour as the under surface. 



Irides reddish-yellow — cition yellow (in juveniles, whitish- 

 yellow or greyish white; juveniles of L. chalyhaeus have brown 

 irides); bill and legs black. 



Lamprocolius splendidus (Vieill.). — Rchw. II. p. 692. 

 1 (5 ad. 14. 5.; 2 QQ ad. 14. and 16. 5. Soy. 



In the small wooded areas along the streams and other 

 water-ways in the neighbourhood of Soy, this exceedingly beau- 

 tiful Glossy Starling was met with. 



V. S m e r e n (Ibis 1916, p. 402 and Nov. Zool. XXV, 1918, 

 p. 279) calls this race L. splendidus glaucovirens Ell., although 

 O.-Grant (Ruw. Exp. Reporto 16, Aves 1910, p. 264) had al- 

 ready shown that they were nothing but old males of L. splendidus 

 (vide also Reichenow: Vogelf. d. Mittelafr. Seengeb. 1912, 

 p. 319). 



In young birds, still in full dress, the under tail -coverts 

 have a predominant green gloss, in adults on the other hand, 

 they have also a pale blue or purplish gloss. 



