new and rare Francolins. 347 



to the present species. I have compared it with Dr. Hart- 

 laub's type, an adult male, kindly sent me by Dr. Schauins- 

 land, of the Bremen Museum, and except for the differences 

 in the plumage between the sexes, it is almost an exact coun- 

 terpart of the type. At all ages both sexes have a dark 

 chestnut oblong spot at the end of the shaft on the feathers 

 of the breast and belly. 



In the male the wing varies from 57-5*9 inches; in the 

 female from 5 "4-5 • 6. 



Francolinus spilogaster, Salvadori. 



(1888) Francolinus spilogaster, Salvadori, Ann. Mus. Civ. 

 Genova, vi. p. 541. 



Count Salvadori has been kind enough to lend me the type 

 specimen of this species, a very fine adult male. Its only 

 claim to rank as distinct from F. kirki appears to me to rest 

 in its greater size, which is considerable. In plumage there 

 is no difference, and I certainly incline to the belief that this 

 specimen is a fine old male of F. kirki ; but it is necessary to 

 see more specimens from Harar before this question can be 

 settled. 



In the type the wing measures 6*5 inches. 



2. Francolinus gariepensis (and its allies). 



The group of Francolins of which F. gariepensis is typical 

 is easily distinguished from F. levaillanti and other allied 

 forms by the disposition of the two black and white stripes 

 which ornament the sides of the head. Both start from 

 the base of the upper mandible and reunite on the sides of 

 the neck; the lower circumscribes the white throat, and 

 separates it from the chestnut or buff-coloured cheek and 

 ear-coverts ; the upper passes above the eye and ear-coverts, 

 and, as already mentioned, joins the lower on the side of the 

 neck. In F. levaillanti the upper lines are confluent on the 

 nape and run down the middle of the neck. 



Francolinus gariepensis was first discovered by Smith, and 

 the types, which he described and figured in his ' Illustrations 

 to the Zoology of S. Africa ' (plates 83 & 84), are preserved 



