Collection of Birds made in Northern Somaliland. 297 



As the female of this species does not appear to have 

 been described, I add the following description : — 



Adult female. Entire upper parts brownish-grey, the feathers 

 on the mantle tipped with blackish-brown ; a broad buff 

 superciliary streak ; under parts light yellowish white, washed 

 witli greyish on the throat and breast. 



It most nearly resembles Passer yatei Sharpe, but lacks 

 the pronounced yellow band across the fore-neck. It is also 

 allied to P. cinnamomeus Gould, but in this latter species the 

 upper parts are much darker and the lower back is washed 

 with rufous. 



Passer swainsoni (Riipp.). 



Passer sivainsoni Reich, iii. p. 229 (1904). 



a. £ . Dubar, 29th May, 1905. 



POLIOSPIZA TRISTRIATA (Riipp.). 



Poliospiza pallidior Lort Phillips, Ibis, 1898, p. 398. 



Poliospiza tristriata Reich, iii. p. 259 (1904). 



a-m. <J ? et (J ? iram. Waghar, 1st July-31st Oct., 1905. 



Iris brown ; bill horn-coloured ; legs and feet pale brown ; 

 toes dark brown. 



Mr. Lort Phillips has separated the Somaliland bird from 

 P. tristriata under the name of P. pallidior, on the ground 

 that the tormer is very much greyer on the breast and sides 

 of the body ; he also mentions the dark colour of the bill as 

 a conspicuous character. I have compared the series of 

 birds obtained by Mr. Bury at Waghar with a series of 

 P. tristriata in the British Museum, and also with Mr. Lort 

 Phillips' examples from Somaliland, and I cannot see the 

 necessity of separating them under different specific names ; 

 the colour of the breast in at least two specimens procured 

 by Mr. Bury is exactly similar to that of an example from 

 Abyssinia, and though in some examples from Somaliland 

 the belly is certainly whiter than in birds from Abyssinia, 

 there are others from that country which shew as much 

 white on the lower surface as the type of P. pallidior. 

 Immature birds of both races are indistinguishable. 



