232 PARUS NIGER. 



with P. niger that its actual range is difficult to define with 

 certainty. 



The type of the species was discovered by Schlitt in 

 Angola. It is clear from the description of the P. niger, 

 Bocage, " Orn. Angola," p. 285, that Anchieta's specimens 

 from Biballa, Kiulo, near the banks of the Cunene, and from 

 Galanga and Quissange belong to this species, so I have little 

 doubt that Mr. Biittikofer made a similar error, and that the 

 specimens collected by Van der Kellen at the Kasango river in 

 February, 1887, and at Humpata in 1888, in the Upper Cunene 

 district, likewise belong to this species. 



Apparently the range of P. insignis meets that of P. 

 leucomelas in Angola, and of P. niger near the Cunene and 

 Zambesi rivers, for Sir John Kirk and Mr. Boyd Alexander 

 met with only P. niger on both banks of the Zambesi, and in 

 Mr. Alfred Sharpe's last collection from Nyasaland there are 

 two typical specimens of P. niger from Liwonde, while the 

 fine series collected by Mr. Whyte and Col. Manning in 

 the Shire highlands all belong to P. insignis, and comprise 

 examples from Kombi on the Masuku range " 7,000 feet, 

 July," Tanjanyika Plateau, Songwe and Ikawa — in all seven 

 specimens. 



From Dr. Reichenow's description of his P. niger, Vog. 

 D. 0. Afr. p. 213, it is evident that Fischer's specimen from 

 the Usegua country, like that of the late Mr. Joseph 

 Thomson from the Rovuma river, belong to Parus insignis. 



Parus niger. 



Parus niger, Bonn, et Vieill. Enc. Meth. p. 508 (1823) ; Chapman, Trav. 



S. Afr. ii. p. 398 (1848) Lake Ngami, Damara ; Gurney, Ibis, 1862, 



pp. 28, 155 Natal ; id. in Anderss. B. Damara, p. 81 (1872) ; Buckley, 



