Ornithology of the Egyptian Soudan. 311 



Nile between Khartoum and Wad Medani ; and north as 

 far as Shendi. 



On the bird described by Captain Shelley as P. butter i 

 I have the following note : — " Dec. 30th to Jan. 3rd, 1903. 

 Large numbers of them from Omdurman to 40 miles 

 west of it. A very much shier bird than P. melanocephala, 

 and rather hard to get at with a collecting-gun. Males 

 have a habit of soaring 25 or 30 yards into the air, 

 uttering a twittering call-note, and then parachuting down 

 with wings raised above the back. I found a new nest, 

 ready for eggs, placed against the stem of a Blepliaris-\Aiu\t. 

 The white cheek-feathers are very long, and stand out like 

 Avhiskers in a living or newly killed bird." 



On the whole this is much more of a deseit species than 

 P. melanoceplada. 



Captain Flower shewed me in Cairo a cage full of 

 living Finch-Larks, probably captured on the lied Sea 

 coast, which he had purchased ; these seemed to be of the 

 form or species P. melanauchen (Cab.), differing from 

 the Eastern Soudan bird in its narrower white forehead 

 and black nuchal band. In some of the presumably younger 

 individuals, however, the latter characteristic was absent. 



22. PVKKHULAUDA MELANOCEPHALA (Licht.). 



23. Pyrrhulauda leucotis (Stanl.). 



a. S. Kawa, White Nile, Nov. 16, 1902. 



b. S • Khartoum, Dec. 2, 1902. 



c. S • „ Dec. 22, 1902. 



d. S jr. „ Dec. 28, 1902, 



e. <$ . „ Dec. 29, 1902. 

 /. <$. „ Feb. 1903. 



h. S ■ Gcdaref, May 1901. 

 i. S ■ „ May 17, 1903. 



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"' O • J) >> yj 



Mr. Ogilvie-Grant ('Ibis/ 1902, p. 411) gives a key for 

 distinguishing P. melawocephala and P. leucotis, which, he 



