886 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. vol. xxviii. 



The .specitic name prmc2^:»rt/is-, " by which this bird has been gen- 

 erally known, sliouM give place to jtuieroiird.,''' as al read}' clearly shown 

 by Dr. C. W. Kicliniond.' 



Family STLTRNID.^L 



BUPHAGUS AFRICANUS Linnaeus. 

 Ih(/)Ji<i<ja ((friaimi Linn.eus, Syst. Nat., 12th ed., I, 1766, p. 154 (Seneo;al). 



One a(biit male, from the llseri River, Mount Kilimanjaro, July 10, 

 188i». Another specimen in the U. S. National Museum, from the 

 Transvaal, is ai)parently immature, as the bill lacks the red spot; the 

 I'ump is duller; the other upper parts less rufescent brown; and 

 the lower surface more grayish, most of the posterioi* portion, includ- 

 ing the inferior tail-coverts, being light l)rownish gra}" instead of 

 briglit ochraceous. 



The name of this genus is usually spelled Bupjicuja^ and credited to 

 Linnanis;'' but the Buj>ha<jt(s of Brisson'' is of identical application and 

 earlier date. Doctor Reichenow has made this change,' and should be 

 followed ])y all who accept Brissonian genera. 



SPREO SUPERBUS (Riippell). 



Lamprotomis i^tiperbiix Ruppell, Syst. Uebers. V()g. Nord.-Ost.-Afr., 1845, p. 65, 

 1)1. xwi (Shoa, Abyssinia). 



Three specimens, from the plains of Kilimanjaro, August 25, 1888, 

 and the i)lains east of Mount Kilimanjaro, October 3 and 6, 1888. An 

 immature male differs from the adult in having the throat, breast, 

 and entire upper parts, excepting the wings and tail, dull blackish, 

 with only slight metallic reflections; the superior wing-coverts with- 

 out velvety l)lack spots; the white breast-band barely indicated; and 

 the posterior lower parts paler rufous. 



SPREO HILDEBRANDTI (Cabanis). 



Notangex lilkkbrandtl ('abanis, Journ. f. Oniith., 1878, p. 233, pi. hi, fig. 1 

 (Ukaiiiba, Britisli East Africa). 



One inunature specimen from the plains of Taveta, July 1, 1888, 

 which diflers from the adult in having the upper parts dull black 

 with comparatively inconsiderable metallic sheen; the wings and tail 

 duller; and the entire lower surface rufous, the throat and l)reast 

 darker and more grayish than the abdomen. Doctor Abbott icported 

 the species common at Taveta in July, 1888. 



(t Euiberiza 2^rmcipalis Liniiieus, Syst. Nat., 12th ed., I, 1766, p. 313. 

 '> Pallas in Vroeg's Catal., 1764, A(kimbrat., p. 3. 

 '•Smithson. Quart., II, 1905, p. 345. 

 '/Syst. Nat., 12th ed., I, 176(>, p. 154. 

 'Ornitli, II, 1760, p. 437. 

 / \'6gel Africas, II, 1903, p. 665. 



