Letters, Extracts, Notices, 8^c. 153 



Bush-Shrike {Laniarius poliocephalus, Sharpe's edition of 

 Layard) will require a new specific name. The names by 

 which the bird has hitherto been known are : — (1) blanchoti 

 (Malaconotus blanchoti Stephens, General Zool. xiii. p. IGl, 

 1825) ; (2) icterus {Laniarius icterus Gray, Genera of Birds, 

 i. p. 299, 1847) ; and (3) poliocephalus {Lanius poliocephalus 

 Licht. Verz. Doubl. p. 45, 1823). 



Of these three, the first two are founded on Le Vaillanl/'s 

 'Pie-grieche Blanchot' (Ois. d^Afr. vi. p. 122, pi. 285, 1808), 

 which is stated to have been obtained in West Africa ; while 

 Lichtenstein's L. poliocephalus was also founded on a Wtst- 

 African bird. Laniarius hypopyrrhiis Hartl. (Verz. Brem. 

 Summl. p. 61) again is West-African ; while Archolestes 

 appruximans Cab. (von der Decken's Reise, iii. p. 27) is East- 

 African. 



I have not been able myself to compare the Grey-headed 

 Bush-Shrikes of South Africa with those from North-east 

 and West Africa; but Capt. Shelley has kindly done so for 

 me, and tells me that he can easily distinguish three species 

 as follows : — 



A. Larger, wing 4'8 inches; no trace of chestnut on the crop. 



(Senegal to the Quanza R.) 



B. Smaller ; crop washed with chestnut. 



a. Crop chestnut-yellow ; wing 4*5 inches. (Suuth-east Africa 



northwards to the Pangani River.) 

 h. Crop rich chestnut. (East Africa north of the Pangani River.) 



Of these the first will stand as Laniarius poliocephalus 

 (Licht.), the last as Laniarius approximans (Cab.) ; and for 

 the middle one, from South-east Africa, I propose the name 

 of Laniarius starki, in memory of my friend and collaborator 

 Dr. A. C. Stark, the author of the first volume of the ' Birds 

 of South Africa,' whose untimely death at Ladysmith is 

 deplored by all of us. 



Yours &c., 



W. L. SCLATER. 



South African INIuseum, Cape Town, 

 Oct. 1st, 1900. 



