MIRAFRA AFRICANA. 55 



in Equatorial Africa than its ally, M. athi, with which it has 

 been sometimes confounded, for Mr. Jackson's collections 

 contain only two from Ntebi ; all his other specimens, and 

 those obtained by Dr. Hinde, referred to M. africana, from 

 Kakuru and Naiwasha lakes and from Machako's, belong to 

 M. athi. 



Specimens of the present species have been recorded as 

 collected by Bmin at Bukoba; by Dr. Ansorge in Ukamba and 

 at the Biboko river ; by Mr. Oscar Neumann at Lolela to the 

 north of Lake Manjara, and by Fischer at Usaramo and on the 

 Shashi mountains to the north-east of Speke's Gulf, so it is 

 apparently known to occur throughout the Victoria Nyauza 

 district ; but as with Tephrocorys cinerea and Corvus ca^en.ns, 

 there is a large intermediate tract of country from whence 

 none of these species have yet been recorded. 



This species is apparently generally distributed over 

 Benguela, for according to Anchieta it is plentiful at Quil- 

 lengues, and known there by the name " Kipembe " and at 

 Huilla as " Kirule." He has also collected specimens near the 

 towns of Benguela, Quissange and Catumbella. 



It has not been recorded from German S.W. Africa by 

 Chapman nor Mr. Fleck ; but there are two of Andersson's 

 specimens from Elephant Vley in the British Museum. On 

 the labels of these Dr. Bowdler Sharpe has written the name 

 M. pallidior, and at first sight they appear to belong to a well 

 marked species ; but they are both in such sadly worn plumage, 

 that their sandy colouring and large amount of rufous exposed 

 on the crown may be accounted for as the result of the abrasion 

 of the feathers, and the dry nature of the country may have 

 retarded the moult. They do not agree any better with birds 

 from Benguela than with those from Cape Colony or the 

 Transvaal. 



In Cape Colony the species appears to be restricted to the 



