27(y Mr. D. A. Bannerman on an Ornithological 



(vMcneinus, are all slightly more sandy rufescent in the colour 

 of the upper parts ; they are also more heavily streaked on 

 the underparts, but the most pronounced difference is in tbe 

 size, the wing-measurements varying from 220-232 mm. 

 as against wing-measurements in eight British killed speci- 

 mens of (E. ce. oedicnemus of 233-250 mm. 



Upon examining a series of Thick-knees from the western 

 group it was noticeable that birds from these islands show 

 a marked difference from CE. ce. insularum as well as from 

 (E. ce. oedicnemus. 



From CE. ce. insidarum they are distinguished by 



1. Having the upper parts much darker. 



2. By lacking tbe sandy rufescent tinge. 



3. Being lighter on the underside. 



From CE. os. oedicnemus they differ in being 



1. Darker on the upper parts (the dark centres to 



the feathers being broader). 



2. Lighter on the underparts (especially in birds 



from Gran Canaria). 



3. Smaller in size. 



In my paper on the Birds of Gran Canaria I gave a 

 description of the Thick-knees which I obtained in this 

 island and which were remarkable for their almost pure 

 white underpartSj tbe markings upon the breast and flanks 

 being in consequence much bolder. Other differences are 

 also noted (/Ibis/ 1912, p. 584)*. I therefore propose 



* At the time when I wrote this paper I was very doubtful whether 

 birds from Tenerife could be separated from CE". ce. oedicnemus. A single 

 bird shot in Tenerife in December 1887 appeal's to be very different from 

 the rest of the series. It is very large in size, with a wing-measurement 

 of 250 mm., and in colour is sandy-rufescent. It agrees exactly with 

 examples of (Edicnemus in the British Museum from Egypt. Whether 

 these are typical examples I am not prepared to say ; those which I have 

 examined are relatively larger and more rufescent in colouring than 

 British-killed examples of the Thick-knee. It seems probable that the 

 large bird shot in Tenerife by Mr. Meade-Waldo was a migrant from 

 the mainland ; it is not, however, (E. ce. sahara, but may be a central 

 Saharan form (see remarks by Hartert, Nov. Zool. 1013, p. 68). 



