I 



L 



3. PTEROCLES. 31 



Steph. Shaw's Gen. Zool. xi. p. 307 (1819); Gra>/, Gen. B. iii. 

 p. 518 (1845); Strickl. &: Schit. in Jard. Contr. Orn. 1852, p. 157 ; 

 Layard, B. S. Afi-. p. 278 (18G7) [Kuruman & Colesberg, Orange 

 R.]; Grmi, Lid B. v. p. 2 (1867); Ayres, Ibis, 1869, p. 298; 

 id. Ibis, 1871, p. 269 [Limpopo R.'\ ; Gurney ed. Andersson's 

 B. DamaraUmd, p. 241 (1872) [Damara & Gt. Namaqiialand]; 

 Buckley, Ibis, 1874, p. 385 [Limpopo to Matabele] ; Elliot, P. Z. S. 

 1878, p. 255; Socage, Orn. Anyola, p. 3115 (1881) [Eiballa, 

 Capangombe, Humbe] ; Sharpe, in Gates' Matabelel. p. 323 (1881) ; 

 Ayres, Ibis, 18^6, p. 292 [Limpopo R.]. 

 (Enas bicincta, Vieill. N. Diet. d'Hist. JS'at. xii. p. 421 (1817). 



Adult male. Head, upper back, and chest as in P. fasciatiis ; rest of 

 back, rump, and upper tail-coverts blackish brown, slightly tipped 

 with white and irregularly barred and marked with rufous buff. 

 Scapulars the same, but the rufous bars are very irregular in shape 

 and direction, and each feather has a rounded terminal white 

 blotch, giving the upper parts a general spotted appearance ; wings 

 as in P. fasciatus, but all the secondaries are brownish black on the 

 outer web to the base and the outer ones are ornamented with one 

 or two oblique white bands ; the secondary and some of the inner 

 median coverts are blackish brown, somewhat widely tipped with 

 white. The chest is separated from the upper breast bv a white 

 and black zone, otherwise the plumage of the underparts is as in 

 P. fa.^ciatus. Tail of 16 feathers. Total length 9-7 inches, wing 

 6-9, tail 3-3, tarsus 0-9. 



Adult female. Resembles the adult female of P. fasciatus, but the 

 black barring on the upper surface and chest is wider and much 

 less regular and the lesser and median wing-coverts and scapulars 

 are tipped with white ; the terminal black bars on the feathers of 

 the upper back, neck, and chest are bridge-shaped, giving these 

 parts a spotted appearance. Total length 9-8 inches, wing 0-6, tail 

 3-2, tarsus 0-9. 



JJab. S. Africa ; extending east to the Transvaal, west to Mos- 

 samedes, and south to the Orange Eiver *. 



a, b. S ad. st. S. Africa. Sir A. Smith [P.]. 



c. 2 ad. sk. S. Africa. Purchased. 



d, e. <S 2 ad. sk. Mahalapsi R., near Shoshong, Capt. G. E. Shelley 



Aug. (Gates). P.^ 



f, ff- 6 2 ad.sk. Limpopo R., May, June (T. J. H.'Gumev, E.<q. 



A)/res). ' IW 



h, i. (S 2 ad.sk. TransvaMl,Julv(r.£.i?i«-A%). Shelley Coll. 

 k. 2 ad. sk. Natal {T. Ayres). Tweeddale Coll. 



I. 2 ad- sk. Cape. Sir A. Smith [P.]. 



* The specimens from Damaraland, in the Museum, are considerably lighter 

 than those from S.E. Africa, and Lave the rufous bars and markings on the 

 upper parts nnicli paler and reduced in width, while the ground-colour is dirtv 

 prey. The Kuruniau bird forms a link so entirely intermediate between the two 

 forms that there is no doubt a larger .series of specimens from intermediate 

 localities will show that they merge gradually iuto one another and are not 

 really separable. 



