1920.] South African Accipitres. 623 



feathers of the crown were suffused with rufous. T, however, 

 believe these specimens to be somewhat abnormal, retaining 

 some of the rufous coloration on the head after the moult, 

 as all the feathers were equally fresh and not worn in any 

 way. I secured a somewhat abnormal specimen myself in 

 East Griqualaad. This specimen had just completed its 

 moult into adult plumage, but instead of the head being of 

 a uniform blue-grey, it was streaked with black as in T. rupi- 

 co/us, while the dark spots on the under surface were larger 

 and more numerous, and also several of the scapulars had a 

 slate-grey subterminal spot ; in fact, the bird in some ways 

 gave me the impression of an aberration in the direction of 

 T. arturi (Gurney). I am inclined to think that in this 

 species the spots on the under surface disappear with age ; 

 in some specimens they are very small, in others there are 

 only two or three on the flanks, and in the Transvaal 

 Museum there is one very fine specimen, a typical T. cenchris 

 in every other respect, with no sign of spots on the under 

 surface. 



I am not sure whether the eastern form of this species, 

 T. pekinensis of Swinhoe, is still recognised by ornithologists, 

 but if it is, then many South African specimens appear to 

 be referable to this race, as already noted by the late 

 Mr. J. H. Gurney, sen., in his ' Notes ' and also in 

 Appendix " M." to his ' List.' There are two or three 

 more or less typical specimens in the Transvaal Museum, 

 and I think it is quite possible that the eastern race may 

 accompany Erythropus amurensis in its migration to this 

 country. For the benefit of those who are not aware how 

 T. pekinensis may be distinguished from the typical race, I 

 might mention that Swinhoe stated that it differed in the 

 following particulars, i. e., the mantle and scapulars of a 

 deeper shade of rufous, the under parts without spots, and 

 the greater part of the upper surface of the wing, secon- 

 daries, greater, median, and lesser coverts, uniform grey. Of 

 these three points, as pointed out by Gurney, the only one 

 that appears to hold good is the coloration of the wing- 

 coverts. 



