Birds from British East Africa and Uganda. 427 



Therefore three well-marked forms of C. s. superciliosus 

 are recognisable ; the two forms of Centropus burcJiellii are 

 as follows : — 



Centropus burchellii burchellii. 



Centropus burchellii Swains, op. cit. 



Of this Centropus natalensis Shelley (Ibis, 1882, p. 246 : 

 Natal) is a synonym. 



Young in first dress have the head, ear-coverts, and nape 

 mottled and streaked as the mantle, wing-feathers banded. 



Judging by the specimens collected by myself, the sexing 

 of which I think I can rely on, the adult female has the 

 head, ear-coverts, and nape dullish sooty-black ; the adult 

 male, on the other hand, has these parts metallic blue or 

 greenish black ; also the female is somewhat larger than the 

 male. 



More than one stage of dress is assumed before the full 

 adult is reached, two of which seem to be recognisable as 

 follows, though many more, especially carefully sexed speci- 

 mens, are required before any definite conchisions can be 

 arrived at. 



From the first young dress a second pluinage appears to 

 be assumed, haviug a more or less distinct eye-streak, head, 

 ear-coverts and nape blackish, the nape and upper back 

 streaked and the wing-feathers banded. 



From this dress apparently a third plumage is donned : — 

 Eye-streak very imperfect, more confined to between the 

 eye and the base of the bill, nape and upper back generally 

 less streaked than in the second plumage, the wing-feathers 

 being as in the adult. After this the bird appears to assume 

 the full adult dress. 



Range. Cape Colony, Natal, north to the Transvaal and 

 the Inhambane district of Portuguese East Africa. 



Should the female of C. b. burchellii prove to be con- 

 stantly different in the coloration of the head from the female 

 of C. b. fasciipygialis, then the immature female from 

 Coguno, Inhambane district, would belong to the northern 

 race, as the two blue feathers on the nape appear to be 

 metallic and not sooty-black. 



SER. X. VOL. III. 2 a 



