NO. 1411. BTRDS FROM MOUNT KTLnfANJARO—OBERffOLSER. 887 



The generic name Spreo has commonly l)cen credited to Lesson." Imt 

 he used it oiil}^ in a vernacuhir sense. In his "Traite'' he sets out the 

 group headinji;"s, correspondino- t() oui' jreneric or subg'eneric divisions, 

 with the vernacuhir name in capitals, followed by the technical term 

 in small italic letters — for example: 



IV''. Sous-genre. Merle; Meruhi. 



In the case of Spreo^ however, the Latin name is omitted, thus: 



III''. Sous-genre. SruEO. 



Tnder such circumstances this term, at least as dating from Lesson, 

 can. of course, not be accepted. Bonaparte was apparently the first 

 author to emplo}' Spreo in a correct nomenclatural form,'' and the 

 name thus fortunately continues prior to Notaugex Cabanis.'' 



ARIZELOPSAR,'' ne^A^ genus. 



Chars, gen. — Similar to Sp7'e<> Lesson, ])ut bill relativel}^ much 

 broader; feet falling much short of the end of tail, the combined 

 lengtli of tarsus and middle toe with claw only about two-thirds the 

 length of the tail; tail emarginate and nearly three-foui'ths the length 

 of the wing. 



Type. — Pholidauges femorali )< Richmond. 



From Cmnyricinclus {— PJwlidangcx)^ in which the type and sole 

 species of this new genus was placed by its describer,- Arizelopsar 

 tliffers chiefly as follows: Feathers of forehead not extending to distal 

 end of nasal fossie; outermost (spurious) pr'imary broad, and longer 

 than primary coverts; tarsus decidedly longer than middle toe and 

 claw; tail about three-fourths of wing; and four primaries sinuate on 

 their outer webs. Doctoi' Keichenow has referred J*]i(>J Idauges femo- 

 ralis to Spreo,' but that it is almost as nmch out of place in that genus 

 as in Clnin/rk-inchix the above diagnosis indicates. An additional 

 difierential character is the absence of the rounded notch on the distal 

 third of the inner we])s of several of the outer primaries, which is 

 present in Spreo. 



The Spreo allncapiUux of Blyth,'/ which has been referred to Hete- 

 ropsar by Doctor Sharpe,''' seems not to belong to either of these groups, 

 being in many of its characters very much nearer Arizelopmm\ from 

 which, however, it so much diflers in its long, much rounded, almost 

 graduated tail, not to mention its peculiar coloration, that its generic 

 separation seems advisable. 



«Traite d'Orn., 1831, p. 407. 



ft Consp. Avium, I, 1850, p. 416. 



cMns. Hein., I, 1851, p. 198 (type, T?fr*/s ?-/>o/o/- Gnieliii). 



<^ dp7?;//log, evidens; i^ctp, sturnus. 



" Riclnnond, Auk, XIV, 1897, p. I()0. 



/ V('.u:el Africas, II, 1903, p. 678. 



J/ Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, XXIV, 1856, p. 301 (Somali Laud). 



/'Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., XIII, 1890, p. 186. 



