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Famiiy ORIOLIDAE. 



Oriolus brachyrhynchus laetior. 



Oriolus laetior Sharpe, Bull. B. O. C, VII, 1897, P- xvii. — 

 Type localitv : Gaboon. 



I consider that there are two spécimens from Southern Nigeria 

 of this Golden-inantled Black-headed Oriole in the national collec- 

 tion, both of whicb bave been wronglv named in the past. An adult 

 female shot at Burutu in April by Robin Kemp, and another bird 

 which we must now include from Rio del Rev (until recentlv in 

 Cameroon) obtained bv Sir H. Johnston. 



O. h. laetior may be distinguished from O. h. brachyrhynchus 

 bv its conspicuous vellow collar, the vellow spreading over the 

 mantle; and by its usually smaller size. 



Range. — Gaboon, Cameroon, Southern Nigeria, North Belgian 

 Congo, Uganda. 



It will be noticed that I bave broken away from the nsual 

 method of considering O. laetior a subspecies of Oriolus larvatus. 



The Orioles, especiallv the Black-headed Orioles, are not bv anv 

 means an easy group and I maintain that if we can with the aid of 

 the trinomial nomenclatural System, simplify our work we are 

 entitled to make somewhat drastic revisions. The African Black- 

 headed Orioles mav be conveniantlv grouped as follows. 



Group A. 

 I . — Oriolus nigripennis .... 



) 

 Oriolus percivali \ 



central pair of tail-feathers 

 black. 



Group B. 



Oriolus larvatus larvatus. . ) centrai pair of tailfeathers 



( green ; inner webs of the 



i inner secondanes entirely 



Oriolus larvatus rolleti . . ] biack. 



