Birds from British East Africa and Uganda. 47 



36. Gallinula chloropus meridionalis. African Moorhen. 



Stagnicola meridionalis Brelim^ Yogelf. 1855, p. 331 : 

 South Africa. 



a. ? imm. Lake Naivasha, 6700 ft. Dec. 4. 



Total length in flesh : 1,3^ inches, AYing : 145 mm. 



This example is moulting on the bodj^ alone from first to 

 second plumage (cf. Moults of G. c. chloi'opus, Ibis, 1914, 



p. 3oa). 



[Irides reddish brown; bill greenish and red; legs and 

 toes green. Common.] 



To prove the validity or otherwise of this subspecies I 

 have had to examine the whole of the G. chloropus group, 

 and have come to the following conclusions : — 



Gallinula chloropus chloropus Linn. 



Fulica chloropus Linn. Syst. Nat. 12th ed. i. 1766, p. 258 : 

 South Europe. 



Gallinula minor Hartl. (J. f. O. 1860, p. 341 : Senegal) 

 is a synonym of G. atigulata ; and Stagnicola minor Brehm 

 (Vogelf. 1855, p. 331 : Germany) is a synonym of 

 G. c. chloropus. 



Bartgc. Europe generally, Arabia, Egypt, and Azores. 



Wing measurements : ^ 188-173 mm.; ? 177-167 mm. 



Indian, Ceylonese, Chinese and Japanese birds are in 

 every way similar to those from Europe except that they 

 are slightly smaller ; they should perhaps bear the name 

 of:— 



G. c. PARViFRoxs Blyth. 



Gallinula parvifrons Blyth, J. A. S. Bengal, xii. 1843, 

 p. 180 : nr. Calcutta. 



G. burnesi Blyth (J. A. S. Bengal, xxiii. 1854, p. 737) 

 was founded on a drawing by Burnes of a bird from 

 Kabul, which is stated to have no white under tail-coverts 

 and no white flank-stripes. I can find no bird from Asia that 

 accords with this description. 



The " less developed shield ^' is no character, and it must 

 be borne in mind that Blyth compared his Calcutta bird with 

 one from Mauritius. 



