I922.] the Near East inid Tropical t^ast Africa. 43 



considered as geographical races of the iipus-gvo\\\). The 

 mur'mus-gvon^^ are sometimes difficult to distinguish from 

 worn specimens of Apus a. peki»ensi$, Init can always be 

 distinguished by having no trace oE darker colour on the 

 mantle, whereas no matter how worn A. a. pekinensis be- 

 comes, it always retains some trace of the dark mantle. 



CAPRIMULGUS EUROP^US. 



The Nightjars of the Mediterranean and Black Sea region 

 have been separated as meridionalis on account of their 

 smaller size and their usually paler and brighter plumage. 

 I find that such birds can only be separated on size, and that 

 on colour only about 60 per cent, have a paler plumage, 

 whilst about 30 per cent, of northern and central European 

 birds (C e. europaus) have as pale a plumage as meridi- 

 onalis. I cannot, therefore, regard the supposed paleness 

 of meridionalis as any more than of occasional assistance. 

 Size is however a good guide, the wing of males of C. c. 

 evropa'us varying from 189 to 204 nnn., and the males of 

 meridionalis varying from 174 to 189 mm. This seems 

 constant. 



I also find that whereas the white on the second primary 

 very rarely extends to the outer web in C. e. eriropceus^ it 

 does so not infrequently in meridionalis. The type, a July 

 bird from Greece, has a considerable amount of white on 

 the outer web, and so have others I have examined from 

 Greece and Algeria. 



C. zarudnyi is said to have the white on the first and 

 second primaries as in uinvini, but with the plumage colour 

 of C. e. exirojncus. I have only seen ten birds which agree 

 with these characteristics, namely, one from the Persian 

 Gulf and one (?) from the Transvaal, in the Tring collection, 

 two shot by Nicoll in Caii'o, two which 1 collected in Pales- 

 tine, and four from Central Asia in the British Museum. 

 Are they merel}'' C. e. europaeus or meridionalis showing a 

 large amount of white on the wing, or are they really a good 

 race ? 



