ANAPLECTES MELANOTIS 339 



the latter tinted with red, and changing into blackish brown on the pinion ; 

 entire sides of head and the chin black ; breast and under tail-coverts white, 

 with a variable amount of red on the front of the chest. " Iris brown ; bill 

 red ; feet dusky brown." Total length 6 inches, culmen 0-7, wing 3-2, tail 

 2-2, tarsus 0-8. <? , 9. 1. 84. Eedjaf (Emin). 



Adult female. Differs in having no red on the head and neck ; top and 

 sides of head ashy brown like the back ; under parts white, with a faint 

 ashy shade across the lower throat and fore-chest. " Iris brown ; bill orange 

 red ; legs dusky brown." Wing 3-3. 



Type of A. blundclli. Differs from the male above described only in 

 having the mantle darker ; blackish brown of the same colour as the least 

 wing-coverts. Total length 57 inches, culmen 0-7, wing 3-45, tail 2-2, tarsus 

 0-8. 



Type of A. rvfigcna. Differs from the male first described in the chin, 

 cheeks and stripes on the ear-coverts being vermilion. Total length 5-4 

 inches, culmen 0'7, wing 3-3, tail 2-2, tarsus O'S. 



The Red-winged Anaplectes inhabits Tropical Africa south- 

 ward from Senegambia and Abyssinia to Beuguela and the 

 northern portion of British Central Africa. 



I here include A. erijtJi.rogeuis (Reichen.) and A. hlwndeUi, 

 Grant, but it should be remarked that the former is known only 

 from the Tanganyika Plateau, Maurni, Pare and Lado, and the 

 latter by the type from Beni Schongul, near the head-waters of 

 the Blue Nile. I have figured each of these forms to show what 

 characters are apparently not of specific value in the genus 

 Anaplectes. It may be remembered that Dr. Butler has proved 

 that the Quelea russi plumage is at times assumed by l)oth 

 Q. qnelea and Q. mthiopica, yet many species are justly separated 

 upon much less marked characters. This is the great diffi- 

 culty one has frequently to contend with. I regard as species, 

 birds which have a well-defined range and either a constant 

 marked form of some of its parts, or a distinguishing pattern 

 in one of the stages of plumage ; as a subspecies, wlien the bird 

 has a well-defined range but is distinguishable from its nearest 

 ally in the shade of colouring only or in its size ; as a variety, 

 when it has no distinctly different range from that of its near 



