48.2 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie Grant on Birds 



NuMENius TENUiRosTRis (Vieill.). Slender-billed Curlew. 

 Seen in Cairo market on Jan. 22nd. Rather a rare species 

 in Egypt. 



Rhynch^a capensis (Linn.). Painted Snipe. 

 Unusually abundant this winter in the market both at 

 Cairo and Alexandria. 



XLIII. — Notes on some Birds from the higher mountains of 

 Nyika, west of Lake Nyasa, British Central Africa, ivith a 

 description of a new Species of Francolin (Francolinus 

 crawshayi). By W. R. Ogilvie Grant. With Field- 

 Notes by Richard Crawshay. 



(Plate XII.) 



Through the kindness of Mr. Richard Crawshay, who has 

 recently returned to England from British Central Africa, 

 the National Collection has recently received several rare 

 and interesting birds from the highlands of Nyika, which lie 

 to the west of Lake Nyasa. Among the specimens brought 

 home is a Francolin which is certainly undescribed, and I 

 therefore propose to name it, in honour of its discoverer, 



---4- Francolinus crawshayi, sp. n. (Plate XII.) 



•\ This Francolin, at present only known from a male, is 



most nearly allied to F. levaillanti, and must be placed along 

 with that species in the section of the key which reads : 

 " e^. Black and. white superciliary stripes meet at the back 

 of the head, and are confluent on the nape.^'' \_Cf. Grant, 

 Cat. B. Brit. Mus. xxii. p. 129 (1893).] This character alone 

 is sufficient to separate the present species from F. gariep- 

 ensis and other nearly allied forms, and up to the present 

 time F. levaillanti has occupied a somewhat isolated position, 

 the section of the key quoted above serving to distinguish it 

 from all other members of the genus. F. crawshayi may be 

 at once recognized by the following characters : — The lower 

 pair of bands on the sides of the face, commencing just above 

 the angle of the gape, are mostly pure white, though some of 



