Birds from the White Nile. 401 



4. Lamprotornis porphyropterus. 



Lamprotornis porphyropterus Riipp. ; Sharpe^ Cat. B. Brit. 

 Mus. xiii. p. 156 (1890) [part.] ; Grant, Ibis, 1900, p. 121. 



Lamprotornis brevicaudus Sharpe, Bull. B. 0. C. vi. p. xlviii 

 (1897); id. Ibis, 1891, p. 591. 



a. ? . Fashoda, 26th March. No. 189. 



be. c? ? . 20 miles N. of Fashoda, 6tli-llth April. 

 Nos.298t, 301, 302, 312 t. 



Iris pale straw-coloured ; bill aud legs black. 



In the 'Catalogue of Birds ' (xiii. p. 156) two rather well- 

 marked forms are united under the title L. porphyropterus 

 Riipp : — 



(A) A smaller shorter-tailed species is found in Southern 



Abyssinia, Somaliland, Uganda, the Equatorial 

 Province, aud at Fashoda. This bird is the true 

 L. porphyropterus Riipp., the type of M'hich was pro- 

 cured in Shoa. There are two cotypes in the British 

 Museum received from Riippell in 1845, but these 

 are omitted from the list of specimens given in the 

 'Catalogue of Birds ■" (xiii. p. 156). Only specimens 

 //, i, h, I belong to the true L. porphyropterus. 



(B) A larger longer-tailed species inhabits the highlands of 



Bogosland, and ranges south-westwards to the lower 

 valley of the White Nile and Kordofan. This bird 

 should bear the name L. ceneocephalus Heugi. (t/. 

 J. f. O. 1863, p. 22) . Specimens a to g in the above- 

 mentioned list belong to this form. 



Dr. Sharpe (c/. Bull. B. O. C. vi. p. xlviii, recognised 

 the fact that he had united two distinct forms under tJie 

 heading L. porphyropterus, and proposed to separate the 

 shorter-tailed southern species under the name L. brevicaudus ; 

 but, as shown above, this name is synonymous with typical 

 L. porphyropterus Riipp., and the longer-tailed form already 

 bears Heuglin's name, L. ancocephulus. The latter was the 

 species obtained by Mr. Witherby at Ed-Duem, on the 

 White Nile. 



t Breeding. 



