— 198 — 



on the upperparts. All the specimens from Ngong and Lake 

 Naiwasha have a more or less worn and faded dress. The upper 

 surface is greyish brownish (in those not having the brownish edges 

 of the feathers abraded it shades more into brownish yellow); 

 in all of them the throat is white, and the underparts faintly 

 brownish white, sometimes greyish white. The under tail-coverts 

 faintly whitish brown or whitish. 



The specimens from the Elgon regions are considerably 

 unlike those just described from the Kikuyu country. The upper- 

 parts of these birds are more brownish, almost shading into a 

 pale rusty -brown colour — yet without any reddish wash — 

 and they thus resemble more the North-east African cinnamomeus 

 in colour. The throat is whitish yellowish, and the lower sur- 

 face is also light cinnamon-brown; under tail-coverts in all speci- 

 mens brownish yellow or pale cinnamon-brown. 



Whether this rather great difference between more southern 

 and northern East Africans is to be ascribed to individual varia- 

 tions owing to a less worn and faded dress or whether it is to 

 be considered as characteristic for a more northern form may 

 be considered as doubtful. I consider that only the first-men- 

 tioned can be taken into consideration. For specimens, shot in 

 the end of August at Kendu, Victoria Nyanza, which again have 

 the plumage worn and faded, resemble those from April, shot in 

 the Kikuyu country. 



The young bird agrees with the description given by 

 Reicbenow (op. cit). 



Irides dark -brown. Upper mandible dark- brown, lower 

 mandible brownish yellow with dark tip; legs brownish yellow. 



Anthus sordidus longirostris Neum. — Orn. Monatsber. 

 1905, p. 77. 



Anthus nicholsoni longirostris Neum. : Journ. f. Orn. 1906, p. 232. — Anthus 

 nicholsoni Sharpe. Reichenow : Vog. Afr. Ill, p. 316. 



2 <S6 ad. 22. 4., 23. 4. Lake Naiwasha. 



At Lake Naiwasha this race occurred less common. 



According to Sclater&Mackworth-Praed (Ibis 

 1918, p. 615) Hartert (Nov. Zool. XXIV, p. 457) has shown 

 that the old name nicholsoni must be replaced with sordidus. 

 Reichenow (Vog. Afr. Ill, p. 839) considers this form of 

 Neumann synonymous with A. s. sordidus, occurring in South 

 Africa, and strictly speakiiig, the differences between that form 

 and A. s. longirostris are very slight. 



One of the specimens is in moult, the other has assumed 

 the new dress. Both agree very well with Neumann's de- 

 scription and have the following measurements: 



