— 161 — 



Syphantornis nigriceps (Lay.). — Rchw. III. p. 62. 



1 ^ ad. 14. 4. Kiambu. — 2 (J^ ad. 29. 4. Mombasa. — 1 Q ad. 24. 4. 

 Kikuyu. — 2 QQ ad. 26. and 29. 4. Mombasa. — 13 QQ ad. 14. 4., 



19. 9. Kiambn. 



Everywhere in the cocoa groves at Mombasa (Kilindi Bay) 

 this Weaver was the commonest bird found. At Kiambu (in the 

 neighbourhood of Nairobi) I frequently saw them in large flocks, 

 and once 12 birds were shot out of a single flock. All were 

 females. They vary in the colour of the dress as well as that 

 of the bill, and most of them (10 in all) have the posterior half 

 of the lower surface whitish, others have all the underparts 

 pale yellow. In the former there are some with greyish white, 

 others with whitish -yellow lower tail-coverts; the latter have 

 yellow ones. 



As a rule the lower mandible is lighter than the upper, 

 but two have the lower mandible dark and of the same colour 

 as the upper. 



Wing, tarsus, 



cTcf. 80—85 mm. 23 mm. 



99. 77-86 mm. 21— 23 mm. 



Irides brownish red, reddish yellow or red; bill in d'cf 

 black, in 99 dark greyish brown (lower mandible as a rule 

 lighter); legs pale flesh-red or brownish yellow. 



Siiagra jacksoni Shell. — Rchw. III. p. 68. 

 1 Q 22. 8. Kendu. 



On the shores of Kavirondo-Bay at Kendu this race was 

 common. However, believing it to be the same race as that I had 

 procured several specimens of at Kisum {S. dimidiatus) I shot 

 only one individual. 



Og.-Grant (Zool. Res. Ruw. Exp. 1910, p. 276) has given 

 an excellent table to distinguish 99 of the two closely allied 

 8. jacksoni and dimidiatus from one other and mentions as a 

 character for the former that "the culmen is nearly always 

 straight", in the latter "culmen is curved". 



In this specimen the colour of the bill too is unlike all 99 

 of dimidiatus, for the lower mandible is entirely light greyish- 

 brown and the upper mandible somewhat darker. In 99 of 

 dimidiatus the upper mandible is black, just like the edges of the 

 lower mandible. 



Wing 73 mm.; tarsus 23 mm. 



Irides dark-brown; legs brownish grey. 



11 



