from the Aruwhimi River. 157 



of the interior of Africa, which might give us some explana- 

 tion of the distribution of species. The majority of the 

 birds collected on the Aruwhimi are identical with species 

 from the Lower Congo, and as these are mostly the same as 

 the forms of Gaboon, the affinities of the avifauna of these two 

 districts receives ample confirmation. Thus, when a species 

 inhabiting the Gold Coast or the Niger Region is represented 

 by an allied species in Gaboon or in the Congo district, the 

 Aruwhimi bird will be found to belong to the Congo species 

 and not to that of the Gold Coast. But this is not inva- 

 riably so ; for the Pholidornis discovered by Mr. Jameson is 

 allied to the species of the Gold Coast, as are also Pytelia 

 schlegcli and Diaphorophya blissetti, which are purely Guinean 

 species, Many birds recorded by Mr. Sharpe as found in the 

 Niam-ISSiam country, from Mr. BohndorfFs collection in 

 1884*, are now shown to have an intermediate habitat, and a 

 zoological connection is thus established with the Monbuttu 

 country explored by Emin Pasha. Mr. Jameson's collection, 

 therefore, limited though it be by reason of the distractions 

 and responsibility of his position at Yambuya, is of great 

 importance for our knowledge of the geographical distri- 

 bution of African birds, and had he lived there is no doubt 

 that he would have added s greatly to the renown of the 

 Stanley Expedition, to which he contributed a considerable 

 sum of money and ultimately sacrificed his lifef. 



In the accompanying paper 1 have quoted only from 

 articles which refer immediately to the ornithology of the 

 Congo district and the adjacent countries. Reference should 

 be made to the papers on Dr. Bohm's and Dr. Fischer's 

 collections in the ' Journal fur Ornithologie/ where several 

 Congo species are recorded. 



1. ASTURINULA M0NOGRAMM1CA. 



Asturinula monoyrammica, Sharpe & Bouvier, Bull. Soc. 



* See Journ. Linn. Soc. (Zool.) xvii. p. 419. 



t [Mr. Jameson died at Bangala, on the Upper Congo, on the 17th of 

 August, 1888. See notice of his death, Proc. R. Geogr. Soc. x. p. 646. 

 —Ed.] 



