496 Anxals of the Carnegie Museum. 



white, with scattered and irregular barrings of dull brown. Length 

 of wing, 198 ; tail, 172 ; exposed culmen with cere, 22 ; culmen with- 

 out cere, 16.5 ; tarsus, 59; middle toe, 33 ; middle claw, 12.5 ; hind 

 claw, 18 mm. 



The considerable differences which separate this race from true 

 Astiir tachiro have already been indicated by Dr. Reichenow." Its 

 range includes probably at least the eastern, or coastal, portion of both 

 British and Cierman Hast Africa. The original Astur tachiro^ came 

 from southern Africa, as did also the Nisi/s polyzoniis of Lesson,* so 

 that the present form seems hitherto to have received no name. 



Cisticola heterophrys, sp. nov. 



Specific cliaractcrs. — Similar to Cisticola cliiiiiana, but lacking 

 any well-defined superciliary stripe; upper surface duller and much 

 more uniform, the pileum darker and without trace of dusky streaks, 

 the feathers of back and wings without conspicuously light edges, 

 lower surface not so purely white, and laterally more shaded with 

 grayish. 



Descri/^tio/i. — Type, adult male, No. Si 25, Carnegie Museum; 

 Mombasa, British East Africa, September or (Jctober, 1900; William 

 Doherty. Pileum uniform rufescent mummy-brown; remainder of 

 upper surface hair-brown, somewhat rufescent on the cervix, the 

 feathers mostly with darker centers which on back and scapulars pro- 

 duce a streaked effect ; tail bistre-brown, indistinctly and narrowly 

 barred with dusky ; the middle pair of rectrices with a wider subterminal 

 bar of dark brown, the remaining feathers with a broad terminal bar 

 of buff and a subterminal one of black ; wings fuscous, the greater, 

 lesser, and median coverts, together with the tertials, edged rather 

 broadly with hair-brown, the greater coverts more rufescent, the 

 primary coverts, primaries, and secondaries margined with chestnut 

 and rufous chestnut ; lores and orbital ring dull buff; sides of head 

 dull light brown mixed with buff; sides of neck hair-brown ; ventral 

 surface dull white, slightly washed with buffy, the sides of breast and 

 body shaded with gray ; thighs rufous ; lining of wing buffy white ; 

 bill black, the base of mandible whitish. 



2 Vogel Afrikas, I, igoi, p. 552. 



^ Falco tachiro Daudiii, Traite d'Orniih., II, iSoo, p. 90 (" pays d' Auteniquoi "). 



* Nisiis potyzoiius Lesson, Traite d'Ornith., 1S31, p. 58 (Cape of Good Hope). 



