354 ZOOLOGICAL RESULTS OF THE RUWENZORI EXPEDITION. 



b. 6 . Luimi Valley, N.E. Ruwenzori, 6000 ft., 1st Oct. [No. 3621. R. B. W.] 



c. rf . South Ruwenzori, 3000 ft., 20th June. [No. 2410. G. L.] 



Iris light brown or hazel ; upper mandible blackish, lower pale horn-colour ; feel 

 brown or light brown. 



The male bird procured by Mr. Leggeon the 20th of June was breeding, and there is 

 a note on the label stating that the sinews in the legs were like wire. This specimen 

 is in very worn plumage and the feathers of the head and throat are in moult. 



[The Fan-tailed Reed- Warbler was found all round Ruwenzori below 5000 ft., but not 

 in the elephant-grass country. It was not uncommon in the Semliki Valley near Lake 

 Edward.— B. B. W.] 



Genus Bradypterus. 

 The species comprising this genus are of particular interest for the following reasons. 

 They may be naturally divided into two sections : — 



I. Possessing 12 tail-feathers, with the shafts moderately stiff and with the vanes normally 



developed. 



B. brachypterus (Vieill.). S.E. & S. Africa. 



B. abyssinicus Blundell & Lovat. N.E. Africa (S. Abyssinia). 



B. syhaticus Sundev. S. Africa. 



B. nyassce Shelley. S.E. Africa (Nyasaland). 



B. alfredi Hartl. C. Africa (Lake Albert : Ruwenzori). 



B. babceculus (Vieill.). S.E. & S. Africa. 



B. victorini Sundev. S. Africa. 



B. cinnamumeus (Rupp.). E. & C. Africa. Typical examples of this species from the 

 mountains of Shoa, Mount Kenya, and Kikuyu possess 12 tail-feathers, but in a 

 large series of specimens from Ruwenzori only 10 tail-feathers are found, though 

 one example has the abnormal number of 11 (six on the right side and five on the 

 left). It is thus evident that the birds from Ruwenzori, though differing in no 

 way in plumage from specimens from Shoa, show symptoms of becoming gradually 

 differentiated into a distinct form, a point which appears to be of the greatest 

 interest. It will be seen that the specimen of B. cinnamomeus from Ruwenzori 

 figured by Mr. Pycraft to show the pterylography possesses only 10 tail-feathers. 

 (See Appendix, text-figure 14, p. 455.) 



II. Possessing 10 pointed tail-feathers, with stiff shafts and with narrow disintegrate webs. 



B. barakce Sharpe. C. Africa (Ruwenzori). 

 B. lopesi Alexander. W. Africa (Fernando Po). 



B. camerunensis Alexander. W. Africa (Peak of Cameroon, 7000 ft.). 

 ? B. castaneus Reichenow, W. Africa (BaugwaDist., N. Cameroon). I have not been able 

 to examine an example of this species, which appears to he nearly allied to B.baraka-. 



It was, at first, my intention to separate the species with 10 tail-feathers under a 

 new generic name, on account of the very different character of their tail-feathers. 



