from Deelfontein, Cape Colony. 325 



i. ? ad. Deelfontein, Sept. 5, 1902. 



k. S ad. „ Dec. 10, 1902. 



The winte? plumage seems to be browner than the breeding- 

 plumage, when the brownish edgings fall off and leave the 

 summer dress grey. On the under surface there is a very 

 distinct shade of rusty colour pervading the throat, abdomen, 

 and under tail-coverts. The upper tail-coverts are slaty grey, 

 but they shew a good deal of white near their bases, and 

 some of the lateral feathers are entirely white. We shall 

 thus have three forms : — 



a. Upper tail-coverts white. 



«'. Larger : ashy grey ; throat and breast light 



ashy grey cinerea (Gt. Namaqua-land). 



b'. Smaller : light brownish grey ; throat and 



breast delicate isabelline schleyeli (Damara-laud). 



b. Upper tail-coverts ashy grey, the lateral white. 



Dark ashy grey ; throat and breast cindery 



grey , pollux (Cape Colony). 



The series brought by Messrs. Seimund and Grant is very 

 interesting as shewing the plumage of the species throughout 

 the year, though there is little change as regards colour ; the 

 sharpness of the indentation on the first primary varies some- 

 what, being slightly less marked in freshy moulted specimens. 

 The bird which is found in Great Namaqua-land, with the 

 upper tail-coverts entirely pure white, is, I believe, the 

 veritable CEnanthe cinerea of Vieillot, founded on the "Trae- 

 trae" of Levaillant from Outeniqua-land. P. schlegeli seems 

 to be a light form of P. cinerea. 



[The large grey Sickle-wing Chat was not very common. 

 It was difficult to distinguish it by its habits from Saxicola 

 moniicola. It was very fond of sitting on telegraph-wires 

 and tall bushes.] 



74. POLIOCICHLA LAYARDI. 



Saxicola layardi Sharpe, ed. Layard, pp. 236, 818 (1875- 

 84) ; Seebohm, Cat. B. v. p. 399, pi. xviii. (1881); Stark, 

 Faun. S. Afr., Birds, ii. p. 200 (1901) ; Sharpe, Hand-1. B. 

 iv. p. 176 (1903). 



