1920.] Birds of the Canary Islands. 331 



Canarienrie, p. 24) " it arrives sometimes in the Canaries at 

 the beofinning of autumn." It is not included in Busto's 

 list, as has been erroneously stated, 



Cabrera mentions it as an accidental migrant but ac- 

 cording to his catalogue had no skin in his collection, 

 although Polatzek (Orn. Jahrb. 1909, p. 119) notes that 

 Cabrera is said to have shot a specimen in Tenerife. 



Dr. Hartert, who examined Cabrera's collection, tells me 

 {in litt.) tliat he could not find a skin of this species, so 

 that a mistake has probably been made. Hartert correctly 

 states (Vog. pal. Faun. p. 851) that its occurrence in the 

 Canaries is doubtful. 



C. r. riificollis has occnrred in Madeira, and there is no 

 reason why it should not have done so in the Canary gronp. 



Range. The Red-necked Nightjar \_Caprimulgus ruficollis 

 Temm. Man. d'Orn. 2nd ed. i. 1820, p. 438— Type locality : 

 Algeciras] is an inhabitant of southern Spain, Portugal, 

 and Morocco. 



A subspecies, C. r. desertorum Erlanger [J. f. O. 1899, 

 p. 521 — Type locality : Tunisia], takes its place in Algeria 

 and Tunisia. Until an example can be examined it must 

 remain doubtful, which (if either) has occurred in the 



Canaries. 



Family Meropid^. 



Merops orientalis viridissimus. African Green Bee-eater. 



Merops viridissimus Swains. Birds West Africa, ii. 1837, 

 p. 82 — Type locality : Senegal. 



Cabrera says that this species, which he incorrectly calls 

 M. viridis* Gmel., occasionally appears in the Canary Islands 



* Merops viridis Linn, was described ^Syst. Nat. 10th ed. 1758, p. 117) 

 from Java, Benghalia, and is applicable to the Indian Green Bee-eater. 

 I prefer to use Swainson's name for the African Green Bee-eater, as his 

 bird was described from 8eueo-al. It is obviously the African bird which 

 Cabrera intends. 



Merops viridis Gnielin = M. viridis Linn. 



Hartert has shown (Nov. Zool. xvii. p. 482) that M. viridis Linn, has 

 nothing to do with M. viridissimus at all but must be applied to the bird 

 commonly known as M. sumafranus, and consequently M. viridissfiuus is 

 the correct name for the African Green Bee-eater. 



