Birds from Nyasaland. 589 



The true D. modestus is confined to Prince's Island^ and 

 is replaced on the continent by a similarly coloured small 

 form (Z). cor acinus), which ranges from Loango into Cama- 

 roons. This species is represented in the British Museum 

 by one specimen from Landana^ seven from Gaboon^ and 

 two from the Rio del Rey, in Camaroons. All the Angola 

 and Gold-Coast specimens in the collection belong to D. afer, 

 so I presume that D. coracinus Reichen. (J. f. O. 1897_, p. 34) 

 from Togoland should also be referred to D. afer — the com- 

 mon African Drongo, which ranges over Africa generally 

 southward from about 17° N. latitude. The gloss on the 

 plumage of this species is very evenly distributed over the 

 upper parts, a character that distinguishes it from D. mo- 

 destus and D. coracinus, both of which have the back velvety 

 black. The gloss on the plumage, however, varies from 

 bluish green to violet, being affected by the season and the 

 atmosphere. These changes, however slight, may be held 

 responsible for the number of different names this species 

 has received, the most recent of which is D. modestus atactus 

 Oberholser (Pr. U.S. Mus. xxii. p. 36, 1899), and the oldest 

 is Corvus afer Licht. 1793, wdiich should not be discarded 

 on account of Cnjptorhina afra (Linn.) having been originally 

 placed in the genus Corvus. 



There are three Drongos of the Ethiopian Region which are 

 known to me by the original descriptions only; these are : — 

 D. sharpii, above referred to ; Buchanga atra var.fuscijjennis 

 Milne-Edw. & Oust. Ann. Sc. Nat. Zool. 1887, p. 225, from 

 Great Comoro Island ; and Buchanga aldabrana Ridgway, 

 Pr. U.S. Mus. xvi. p. 597 (1893), from Aldabra Island. It 

 is possible, if not highly probable, that these two last names 

 refer to specimens of Dicrurus waldeni Schl., which is repre- 

 sented in the British Museum by a single specimen from the 

 Island of Mayotte. 



I should add that these remarks on the Ethiopian Drongos 

 aud the following key are based entirely on the specimens in 

 the British Museum. 



SEE. VIII. VOL. I. 3 k 



