2 90 Mr. D. A. Bannerman on a 



Family Fringillid^e. 



Rhynchostruthus louis^ Lort Phillips. 



Rhynchostruthus louisce Lort Phillips, Ibis, 1898, p. 398, 

 pi. viii. ; Reich, iii. p. 280 (1904). 



a-L <J ? • Waghar, 15th Aug.-28th Nov., 1905. 



Bill dark slate-coloured ; legs and feet dark brown. 



Mr. Bury obtained a small series of this fine Finch from 

 Waghar. In 1897 Mr. Lort Phillips found it in the same 

 locality, and single examples were also obtained by him from 

 the Sheihk Pass in 1895 and 1897. This species was fully 

 described and figured in the ' Ibis ' for 1898. Mr. Bury met 

 with this species singly ; it was feeding on the fruit of the tall 

 candelabra-cactus, where its sparrow-like attitude betrayed 

 it. In South Arabia the allied form R.percivali Grant (Bull. 

 B. O. C. xi. p. 30) was usually met with in flocks. 



Petronia pyrgita (Heugl.). 



Petronia pyrgita Lort Phillips, Ibis, 1898, p. 397; Reich, 

 iii. p. 245 (1904). 



a. S imm. Dubar, 26th May, 1905. 



b-m. S ? et S ? imm. Waghar, 6th July-18th Dec, 1905. 



o-p. £ ? . Burao, 10th & 30th Jan., 1906. 



Passer castanopterus Blyth. 



Passer castanopterus Lort Phillips, Ibis, 1898, p. 397 ; 

 Grant, Ibis, 1901, p. 624 ; Reich, iii. p. 242 (1904). 



a, b. S ? • Dubar, 3rd & 8th June, 1905. 



c. <$ . Waghar, 1st July, 1905. 



d-u. S ? • Burao, 15th Dec, 1905-15th Feb., 1906. 



Bill purplish horn-coloured ; lower mandible pale mauve : 

 gape yellow ; legs and feet pale horn-coloured or silvery grey. 



The bird obtained ou the 3rd of June was the first 

 Sparrow of this species seen by Mr. Bury, so we may 

 conclude that it was not very plentiful in that locality. An 

 example labelled "male, Waghar, 1st July, 1905," is in 

 the plumage of a female, for which Mr. Bury first mistook 

 it, but he notes that on dissection the testes were plainly 

 visible. 



