Ibis olivacea of Dubus. 181 



tarsus plated with distinct transverse scales. " As the speci- 

 men of Ibis olivacea which I had from Prince's Island had 

 the " anterior aspect of the tarsus reticulated with numerous 

 hexagonal scales," I could not believe otherwise than that 

 my bird was absolutely different from those from Denkera. 

 Strange to say, Mr. Ogilvie-Grant, having, at my request, 

 examined the specimens from Denkera in the British 

 Museum attributed to Lampribis olivacea, has found that 

 they have the anterior aspect of the tarsus reticulated with 

 hexagonal scales, shewing that Sharpens Key to the genera of 

 the Ibises is quite wrong and misleading, so that in respect 

 of the tarsi my bird does not differ from those from Denkera. 



Rothschild, Hartert, and Kleinschmidt (Nov. Zool. iv. 

 (1897) p. 377) thought that the bird found by Ussher in 

 Denkera, and figured by Elliot, P. Z. S. 1877, pi. li., was 

 different from Ibis olivacea Dubus, and they proposed for 

 the former the name of Lampribis vara, saying that " it is 

 probable that Dubus's bird is nothing more than an old 

 Hagedashia hagedash, or a closely allied species not yet 

 known to us except by the type/' This opinion has been 

 shared both by Dr. Sharpe (Cat. B. xxvi. p. 266 ; Hand-list, 

 i. p. 187) and by Dr. Reichenow, who, in his recent work 

 'Die Vogel Afrikas' (i. (2) p. 326), has utterly ignored 

 /. olivacea Dubus, and has included the name among the 

 synonyms of Hagedashia hagedash. 



I think that I am not mistaken in stating, first, that Ibis 

 olivacea Dubus is a perfectly distinct species from H. hage- 

 dash, to which it is very distantly allied * ; secondly, that 

 Ibis olivacea is known not only from the type in the Museum 

 of Brussels, but also from specimens in the Museums of 

 Philadelphia, Leyden, and Lisbon, and probably others in 

 the Museums of Paris and Stettin. 



The bird which I possess — obtained by Siguor Leonardo 

 Fea in Prince's Island — is labelled "3, 26 January, 1901." 

 It appears to be an adult having a very long and full crest ; 



• In this opinion I am supported by Dr. Dubois, who lias, in the 

 Museum of Brussels, the type of I. olivacea, and by Dr. Finsch, who has 

 at least one specimen in the Leyden Museum. 



