143 Mr. W. L. Sclater on [Ibis, 



constant distinction between the African and Arabian birds. 

 There is a good seriesin the British Museum from Aden and 

 the neighbourhood as well as from north-eastern Africa. 



Estrilda rufibarba. 



Habropyga rufibarba Cabanis, Mus. Hein. 1851, p. 169: 

 Arabia. 



Yerbury, 86, p. 18, 96, p. 27; Shelley, Ibis, 1886, p. 334; 

 Barnes, 93, p. 82 ; O.-Grant, 1900, p. 215. 



a,b. S ^ ' Menakha, 7000 ft. 28.xii.12. 



c-f. 2 c? , 2 ? . Wasil, 4000 ft. 27. ii. ; 3. iii. 13. 



^. ? . Sok-al-Khamis, 7000 ft. ll.vii. 13. 



" Iris dull dark brown, bill black with a line of red along 

 the lower edge of the upper jaw, feet blackish ; length of 

 male in flesh 10*5. Crops full of grass seeds." 



A note on the example '' c," dated 27 Febr., states : " an 

 influx of these little finches occurred to-day from below 

 working up hill through the coffee." 



There seems to be no appreciable difference in the sexes. 

 Five other examples in the British Museum are as 

 follows: — 2 Lahej, i.88 {Yerbury) \ 1 Aden {Chevalier)', 

 2 El Kubar, Amiri distr., ll.vii. {Bury). 



Rhynchostrntbus percivali yemenensis. 



Rhynchostruthus percivali yeme?iensis O.-Grant, Bull. 

 B. O. C. xxxi. 1913, p. 112: Yemen. 



G, 6. (J ? . Wasil, 4000 ft. 3. iii. & 25. ii. 13. [Types 

 of the subspecies.] 



A note on the ticket states that the male was feeding on 

 cactus and the crop was full of the seeds. The stomach of 

 the female also contained small seeds. 



This Grosbeak is closely allied to R. percivali, also described 

 by Mr. O.-Grant from southern Arabia. It differs in having 

 a more restricted black patch on the face and chin which 

 does not extend on to the frontal region as in jR. percivali. 

 Of this latter form there are now four examples in the 

 British Museum, all obtained by Mr. Bury, as follows : — 

 Yeshbum, Hadramut, 17.i.00 (Type) ; c? , El Kubar, Amiri 

 dist., 14. xii.; cJ ? Ichaf, Amiri dist., 7.i. 



