466 Mr. C. H. B. Grant on a Collection of 



Thripias namaquus decipiens. 



Mesopicus decipiens Sliarpe, Journ. Linn. Soc, Zool. 

 vol. xvii. 1884, p. 430 : Zanzibar. 



The only specimen available is the tj^pe, and this is a 

 young male. It however differs from young males of T. n. 

 namaquus and T. n. schoensis in having the mantle and rump 

 grey, without any green ; the chest is darker tlian in T. n. 

 namaquus, but much paler than in 7'. n. schoL^nsis ; the 

 wing-quills entirely lack any golden stain; the auricular 

 streak is as in T. n. namaquus. Until further material 

 comes to hand to disprove tlicse characters, I consider that 

 this race should be upheld. 



Range. Island of Zanzibar. 



Two specimens in the British Museum collection, a male 

 and a female respectively from Ugogo and Tete, bear in 

 Hargitt's handwriting " Type of Mesopicus decipiens Sharpe.^* 

 This is not correct, as Sharpe gives his locality as Zanzibar, 

 and states that the type-specimen is in the Hargitt collection, 

 which is now in the British Museum. 



The characters given by Reichenow for his var. angoJensis 

 (V^og. Afr. vol. ii. 1902, p. 190: Malancije, Kuanza River, 

 northern Angola) appear to point to a distinct race, 

 especially the dark brown tail ; but I have no specimens 

 from northern Angola to compare with those from the 

 southern part of the colony. 



208. Yungipicus obsoletus ingens. Little Plain-backed 

 Woodpecker. 



lyngipicus obsoletus ingens Hart. Nov. Zool. 1900, p. 33 : 

 Nairobi, British East Africa. 



a. ? ? juv. Kamchuru, 3300 ft. Feb. 12. 



Total length in flesh (tail not fully grown) : 4| inches. 

 Wing (not fully grown) : 71 ram. 



This single specimen, though marked as " ? ? juv.,^' is a 

 male, as is shown by the red on the occiput. It is quite 

 young, and has not apparently long left the nest, as the 

 wings and tail are barely three-quarters grown. It appears 



