.N0.1411. Binm FROM MOUNT KILTMANJARO—OBERHOLSER. 919 



iiiimc only a .single foi-ni, although he admits that there are other 

 reeognizable raees, and that they oecupy detinitc oeog-raphie areas. 

 His reason for refusing- them recognition in nomenclature — ''. . . 

 gehen indessen derartig ineinander iiber''" — is havdly sufficient, par- 

 ticular! 3^ from a modern standpoint! At least three subspecies of 

 D/crurm ads!iiilli.s may readily be distinguished, as follows: 



I. Dicrurus adsimilis adsimilis {llechMcin). 



CWnts rt/(T LicnTENSTEiN, Cat. Rer. Nat. Rar. Hamburg, 179.3, p. 10 (not Lin- 



nreus) (South Africa). 

 CorvuK adsimilis Bechstein, Latham's Allgem. Ueliers. V<"igel, II, 1794, p. 362 



(South Africa). 

 Dia-iirus musicus Yieillot, Nouv. Diet. d'Hist. Nat., IX, 1817, ]>. 586 (Cape of 



Good Hope). 

 Muscicapu cDKirginata Lichtenstein, Ver/. Doubl. Zool. Mu«. Berlin, 1823, p. .52 



(Caffraria). 



Size largest, the wing measuring 133-14:(> mm.; wing-ciuills brown 

 or blackish brown, paler on the inner webs. 



Cape Colony, north probably to Transvaal and German Southwest 

 Africa. 



Doctor Reichenow has used the specific name <//'("/■ of Lichtenstein * 

 for this species,'" and in this he has been followed by some other 

 authorities; but aside from the fact that CorrKs afer Lichtenstein '' 

 is pi-eoccupied by Cormis aftr Linnanis,'^ and thus of course untenable, 

 this name of Lichtenstein's is not, as has apparently been supposed, a 

 new name at all, but as may easily be seen by reference to the origi- 

 nal,'' indicates merely a dou))tful identification of the specimen in hand 

 with the Cormis afer of Linnanis. All of Lichtenstein's novelties in 

 the '•'■ Catalog-US " are followed V)y the word " nol)is,"''' but in the pres- 

 ent instance he writes only " !>9 Corvus afir ? Linn. spec. 12,'' prefer- 

 ring to use this name with a query instead of descril)ing his ])ird as 

 new, though he goes on to point out the fa(^t that it does not agree 

 entirely with the species to which he refers it, and is proliably unde- 

 scribed. There are a large number of similar cases in this work, and 

 it is perfectly evident that Lichtenstein did not even intend any of 

 these citations as new names. The proper designation for the species, 

 after afer is disposed of, seems to be undoubtedly Cormoi adsiz/u'lis 

 Bechstein,' which rests upon a lirm basis, l)eing adequately described, 

 and furthermore a renaming of Lichtenstein's ('<>rru>t afer. Doctor 

 Sharpe quotes and uses this name, ' though he cites the wrong page, 

 which mistake may possibly account for the apparent inability of 

 Doctor Reichenow to verity the reference, the latter giving it only on 

 Doctor Sharpens authority." 



" Vogel African, II, 1903, p. 647. 



6 Cat. Rer. Nat. Rar. Hamburg, 1793, p. 10. 



c Vogel Africa;^, II, 1903, p. 646. 



6?Syst. Nat., 12th ed., I, 1766, p. 157 { = Cn/ptorhhm afra) . 



''Latham's Allgem. Uebers. V(')gel, JI, 1794, p. 362. 



/Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., Ill, 1877, p. 247. 



