Birds from British East Africa and Uyanda. 469 



1900, p. 58 : Abyssinia), judging by the description, has 

 nothing to do with M. g. goertce and its ally, but is obviously 

 applicable to M. s. spodocephalus and its ally. Rcichenow 

 says that M. spodocephalus and M. rhodeogaster are synony- 

 mous, but with this I do not agree, and consider, despite 

 the fact that he has examined the type of M. spodocephalus, 

 that the, presumably, western Abyssinian bird will not prove 

 separable from the central Abyssinian typical form, seeing 

 that slight individual variation has to be taken into account. 

 As for Dendruhates immaculatus Svvains. (Birds West 

 Africa, vol. ii. 1837, p. 152 : type locality unknown), 

 which has been placed by Hargitt (Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. 

 vol. xviii. 1890, p. 368) as a synonym of M. guertce, and by 

 Reichenow (Vog. Afr. vol. ii. 1902, p. 184) as a doubtful 

 synonym of M. griseocephalus ^{Picus griseocephalus Bodd. 

 Tabl. PI. Enl. 1783, no. 49, ex BufPon : Cap de Bonne Es- 

 perance), the description fits in every detail the latter species, 

 and should in future without question be placed as a 

 synonym of it. 



210. Mesopicus spodocephalus rhodeogaster. Eastern Green- 

 backed Woodpecker. 



Picus (Mesopicus) rhodeogaster Fischer & Reich w. Journ. 

 fiir Orn. 1884, p. 180 : Massailand, northern German East 

 Africa. Wing given as 105 mm. 



a. S ad. Loita, 6300 ft. Nov. 28. 



Total length in flesh : 8 inches. Wing : 106 mm. 



This specimen is in good dress, but rather faded, especially 

 on the flight- feathers. 



[Irides brown; bill, upper mandible black, lower greyish 

 horn J legs and toes dark plumbeous. Rare in Loita plains, 

 but tolerably common elsewhere. — W. P. L. This field-note 

 probably also refers to M. g. centralis. — C. H. B. G.] 



Two races of this Woodpecker are recognisable, as 

 follows : — 



Mesopicus spodocephalus spodocephalus. 



Dendrohates spodocephalus spodocephalus Bonap. Consp. 

 Av. vol. i. 1850, p. 125 : Afr. occ. = Afr. or. This name was 

 founded on plate 34 in Riippell, Vog. Nord-Ost-Afr. 1845, 



