ANTHUS BRACHYURUS. 303 



AVhen Dr. R. B. Sharpe united this species with A. 

 brachyurus (Cat. B. M. x. p. 551) there were in the British 

 Museum only two specimens from the Transvaal, and although 

 he had some hesitation in referring them to the Natal bird, he 

 described them as the " young " and " winter plumage " of 

 A. brachyurus. There are now in the Museum three 

 specimens from the Transvaal and three from Swaziland, 

 which all appear to me to be adults, collected in the months 

 of April, July, October and November. A. brachyurus from 

 Natal — January, February, September. 



Regarding its occurrence in the Rustenberg district, Mr. 

 T. Ayres writes : " The Pipits seem to be very locally 

 distributed on the sloping sides of mountains and the neigh- 

 bouring valley, where bush and trees are pretty thickly 

 scattered ; they are frequently to be found close to some 

 scrubby bush, and on being approached they often quietly 

 move round out of sight, or squat close, and then rise almost 

 under one's feet if the cover is at all good. Though generally 

 alighting on the ground, they occasionally settle on a bush or 

 tree ; they have a quicker and more eccentric flight than most 

 of the Pipits, and alight very suddenly." In Swaziland the 

 species is apparently plentiful, for Mr. T. B. Buckley collected 

 three while passing through that country in July. 



Anthus brachyurus. (Pi. 14, fig. 2.) 



Anthus brachyurus, Sundev. ; Sharpe, Cat. B. M. x. p. 551 (1885) pt, 

 Natal ; Shelley, B. Air. I. No. 158 (1896) ; Sharpe, Ibis, 1897, 

 p. 515 Zululand; Stark, Faun. S. Afr. i. p. 248 (1900) pt. Natal. 



Adult Male. Upper parts dull brown, with distinct broad blackish 

 centres to the feathers of the crown, back of neck and mantle, the rump and 

 upper tail coverts being nearly uniform ; wings dark brown with the outer 

 web of the first primary white, and the edge of the other feathers pale 

 brown of a slightly more rufous shade than the back ; axillaries and under 



