Birds from British East Africa and Uganda, 29 



NUMIDA PTILOUHYXCHA RENDILIS LoiHlberg. (Text- 



figure 1.) 



Equal in size and colour to the other races, but having a 

 distinctly larger helmet. 



Wing : (J 207-265 mm. ; ? juv. 262 mm. 



Banrje. Tliroughout the Rift Valley^ to the loucr Turkwel 

 River, and eastwards to the Meru district. 



Nine specimens examined. 



This large series of the Tufted Guinea- Fowls show that 

 no great reliance can be placed either on, the nasal tuft^ the 

 size of the bird, or the colour of the plumage. 



With the nasal tufts great variation occurs^ and birds 

 from Uganda have them quite as well develo])ed as birds 

 from north Abyssinia and vice versa, i. e. birds from 

 north Abyssinia have quite as small ones as birds from the 

 farthest south. 



I at first thought that some stress could be laid on the 

 colour of the tufts, but on receiving the series from Tring 

 I found that birds from the same locality have both white 

 and red tufts. 



It is, however, worthy of notice that all the specimens so 

 far seen of X. j)- somaliensis have white and well developed 

 tuits. 



Why the nasal tufts are white in some specimens and 

 red in others still needs explanation ; it may be due to age, 

 but does not appear to be due to season, as specimens 

 killed in the same month and in the same district, have both 

 white and red tufts. 



For instance, one from Gofa has a reddish tuft, and one 

 from Konso has a white tuft ; both were taken in August, 

 and instances again occur in February and May. 



The supposed distinguishing character of N. p. neumanni 

 is said to be a red tip to the face- wattles, but in all the 

 specimens examined from the typical locality — ? . Mlamba 

 (Usoga), wattles blue; ?. Mtauda (Usoga), "wattles blue 

 Avith a few brown specks along lower edge " — the wattles are 

 invariably entirely blue, as in birds from the type locality 

 of JV. p. major. 



