Manchester Memoirs, Vol. liii. ( 1 909), No. 24. 9 



5. Macronyx ascensi. 



Macronyx ascensi., Salvad., Boll. Mus. Torino., vol. 22, 

 No. 570, p, 6 (1907). 



Hah. LuconzoUva, W. of Lake Moero, to the S.W. ot 

 Lake Tanganyika {Asccnso : Salvad., I.e.). Upper Lualaba 

 River, May 16, 1907 (S. A. Neavc). Caconda, Benguela, 

 Dec. 4, 1901 (C H. Pcnibcrtoti : Mus. Rothschild): 

 Kamesgori, 3 days' march from Pango Andongo, Angola, 

 July 21, 1903 {W.J. Ansorge : Mus. Rothschild). 



I have examined the type of M. ascensi which was 

 kindly sent over to England by Count Salvadori, and I was 

 enabled to compare it with an example of the true M.filllc- 

 borni from Ngomingi, received by the Tring Museum from 

 the Berlin Museum, and identified by Dr. Reichenow. The 

 differential characters of the two forms were as pointed 

 out by Dr. Reichenow, and I follow him in keeping them 

 distinct. At the same time, the differences between 

 M. ascensi and M. fiilleborni are extremely slight, and I 

 imagine that when a larger series is available, we shall 

 find that the species are not separable. This is the more 

 probable from the evidence of their geographical distribu- 

 tion, so far as is known at present. This species is said 

 by Count Salvadori to resemble M. croceus, but to differ 

 in the tint of the yellow under surface, which is 

 more chrome than lemon-yellow in appearance. The 

 absence of streaks on the flanks is another character. In 

 this respect it approaches M. fiilleborni oiTix. Reichenow, 

 to whom Count Salvadori sent his specimen for com- 

 parison. Dr. Reichenow came to the conclusion, after 

 comparing the type of J/, ascensi \v\\.\\ that o{ M. fiilleborni, 

 that the two species were not identical, and that M. ascensi 

 was to be distinguished by the greyer colour of the rump 

 and upper tail-coverts, which had, moreover, no black 



