﻿DESCRIPTION OF A NEW SYLVIETTA 



By HARRY C. OBERHOLSER 



A specimen of Sylvietta rufescens (Vieillot) from Damara Land, 

 collected by Mr. C. J. Anderson, and now in the United States 

 National Museum, differs so greatly from the Cape Colony bird that 

 it appears to represent a well-marked subspecies which, as it seems 

 to be undescribed, may be called : 



SYLVIETTA RUFESCENS OCHROCARA subsp. nov. 

 Chars, subsp.— Similar to Sylvietta rufescens rufescens, but very 

 much paler both above and below, the lores and postocular stripe 

 pale brown instead of blackish; the rump and upper tail-coverts 

 more tawny ; the lower surface not so uniform. 



Description.— -Type, adult, No. 98,155, U. S. N. M. ; Damara 

 Land, western Africa, December 24, 1866; C. J. Anderson. Upper 

 parts pale brownish gray— about the same shade as in Sylvietta 

 micrura— the forehead rather paler and tinged with ochraceous buff, 

 the lower rump and the upper tail-coverts dull pale tawny ; tail light 

 fuscous, narrowly margined and tipped with paler; wings fuscous 

 like the tail, the superior coverts and the quills broadly edged ex- 

 ternally with the color of the back, which color on the primaries and 

 outer secondaries has distally a decided tinge of ochraceous, the 

 quills with basal part of inner margins narrowly paler ; superciliary 

 stripe, cheeks, and auriculars dull ochraceous buff; lores and post- 

 ocular stripe dull light brown; chin, upper throat, and middle of 

 abdomen cream buff; sides of neck, jugulum, breast, sides, flanks, 

 crissum, lining of wing, and thighs ochraceous buff, rather brighter 

 on sides, flanks, and thighs. Length of wing, 62 ; tail, 27 ; exposed 

 oilmen, 13.5; tarsus, 19.5; middle toe, 11 mm. 



Although in size this new form appears to be about the same as 

 true Sylvietta rufescens, the color differences are quite sufficient to 

 warrant specific separation were it not for the great probability that 

 bv continuity of range ochrocara is but a pale geographical race of 

 rufescens. 



The original description of Sylvietta rufescens 1 was based on the 

 bird from Cape Colony, to which therefore the title rufescens should 

 1 Dicceum rufescens Vieillot, Nouv. Diet d'Hist. Nat., ix, 1817, p. 407. 



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