Thrushes of the -^Ethiopian Region. 165 



and scarcely any in wiug-formula. The colour of the upper 

 parts varies, according to climate, from slate-grey through a 

 neutral brown to olive-brown. In all of them the sides of 

 the upper throat are streaked with brown or black. In all 

 of them the axillaries and under wing-coverts are of an orange 

 chestnut and the under tail-coverts white, with more or less 

 brown margins on the basal half. They have all pale legs 

 and feet and yellow bills. 



Four fairly good species and half a dozen climatic forms 

 or local races of this group are at present known. The four 

 species may be distinguished as under : 



Upper parts varying from brown to dull slate-grey ; centre 

 of belly wliite. 



Streaks on the throat nearly black T. libonyanns. 



Streaks on the throat pale brown T. pelios. 



Upper parts bright slate-grey ; very little white on belly ; 

 breast dull slate-grey ; inner margins of quills orange- 

 chestnut ; a bare space behind the eye T. tephronotus. 



Upper parts brown ; belly orange-chestnut with no white 



except on the feathers round the vent. 

 Flanks orange-chestnut T. olivacinus. 



T. libonyanns inhabits South Africa, having been obtained 

 in Damara Land, the Bechuana country, and the Trans- 

 vaal. Two supposed new tropical races of this species, an 

 eastern and a western one, have been described by Cabanis. 

 They are both slightly smaller than the typical form. The 

 eastern race (var. tropicalis) is found in Mozambique, and is 

 paler and more buffy on the breast than the typical form, 

 and is browner and less grey on the upper parts. The western 

 race (var. schuetti, Cab. J. f. O. 1882, p. 319) is of the same 

 colour on the breast as the eastern race, but is slightly paler 

 on the flanks, and is somewhat greyer in the colour of the 

 upper parts than the typical form. The difference in size is 

 very trifling between these two northern races. The western 

 race was described by Cabanis from Angola; but in the 

 British Museum there is an example from Damara Land and 

 another from the Zambesi. The latter skin seems to dispose 

 of the supposition that they are local races. I take T. 



SER. v. VOL. i. x 



