— 221 - 



Wing, culmen, tarsus, 



55, 56, 58 mm. 18 mm. 17—17.5 mm. 



Irides dark-brown, bill and legs black. 



M earns (Smithson. Misc. Coll., vol. 56, No. 14, 1910, 

 p. 4) has described an allied form, C. m. Jceniensis, from Mount 

 Kenia in British East Africa. This is distinguished by being, 

 among other things, larger than C. m. mediocris. The former, 

 according to M e a r n s , should have the wing 52.3 mm., the 

 latter 56 mm. for cfcf. 



In 1915 M earns described yet another form, C. m. gar- 

 guensis, from the north of Guasso Nyiro River, in British East 

 Africa (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 48, p. 387). The male of 

 this form is said to have the under parts paler than keniensis 

 or mediocris, and to be smaller than keniensis; about the size 

 of mediocris from Mount Kilimandjaro. Female much greyer 

 than the above forms. 



Whether the two forms described by M e a r n s are con- 

 stant and good, I have not been in a position to decide. Yet 

 it does not seem to me to be very probable — at least, as regards 

 keniensis — especially when taking the variation in the wing- 

 measurement of the proximal form C. reichenowi into consi- 

 deration. 



Cinnyris reichenowi Sharpe. — Rchw. Ill, p. 490. 



7 (5(5 ad. 23. 5.-7. 7.; 1 Q ad. 7. 7. Mount Elgon. 



On the eastern slopes of Elgon this species was rather 

 common and was mostly found in the open places overgrown 

 with bushes and creepers, as a rule, about 6.500 — 7.500 feet 

 high, but some times even in the forests. Once a specimen was 

 shot at an altitude of 11.000 feet in an area where thebamboo 

 grew among the rather low trees. 



In the above-mentioned work by Reichenow the follow- 

 ing measurements are given for this speoies: wing 51—53 mm., 

 culmen 15—16 mm., tarsus 16—17 mm., but for preussi Rchw., 

 the measurements are: 55—58 mm., 17—19 mm., 16 — 17 mm. 

 respectively. 



Were I to fix the specimens before me on the strength of 

 these figures, they would agree — as appears from the table 

 below — in the length of the wing with preussi, but in other 

 respects with reichenowi. Og. -Grant has, however, come to 

 the result (Zool. Res. Ruw. Exp., 1910, p. 331) that between 

 these two forms there is "no difference in the length of the 

 wing-measurement", and he is therefore inclined to make preussi 

 synonymous with reichenowi, and as, according to Reichenow 

 (op. cit.) the difference between these two lies in the former 

 being larger than the latter — but this difference is not present — 

 they should without any doubt be synonyms. 



