248 Count T. Salvadori on the 



167. FULIX MARILA. 



Also common during the winter. 



168. Podicipes PHILIPPENSIS. 



Very common on the creeks and rivers. A resident. 



The nomenclature followed is nearly that of the ' Catalogue 

 of Birds in the British Museum/ 



XIX. — On the Melicrax metabates of Heuglin. 

 By T. Salvadori, H.M.B.O.U. 



The real status of the bird described by Heuglin under the 

 name of Melierax metabates is still uncertain, and I wish to 

 otter a few remarks on it. 



The bird was described by Heuglin* in this journal, the 

 author having been assured by the late Dr. Hartlaub that it 

 was " a good and new species." In fact, Hartlaub repeated 

 the same statement t, saying that " zwischen dieser Art 

 (Astur musicus) und M. poly z onus steht zwischeninue als 

 gute Art M. metabates Heugl." 



The type and only specimen obtained was said by Heuglin 

 to be from the "upper Bahr el abiad/' or White Nile. 



The late Marchese Orazio Antinori, in his catalogue J, 

 mentions two specimens of a Melierax from the White Nile, 

 which, along with others from the Blue Nile, he attributes 

 to M. polyzonus (Riipp.). 



Heuglin again, in 1869 §, mentions and describes Melierax 

 metabates as follows: — " Similis prsecedenti \_M. polyzono~\, 

 ex toto obscurius tinctus ; rectricibus lateralibus fasciis 

 4-6 nigricantibus : pedibus et ceromate ttavis." The dimen- 

 sions given by Heuglin are somewhat greater than those 

 of M. polyzonus. 



Dr. Finsch, who, in the second volume of Heuglin's work, 

 published some additions to it, has no remarks about M. me- 

 tabates; but in a previous work, published in conjunction 



* Ibis, 1861, p. 72. 



t Journ. f. Orn. 1361, p. 100. 



\ Catalogo descrittivo di una Collezione di Uccelli, p. 17 (1864). 



§ Orn. N.O.-Afr. i. p. 63. 



