Vol. xli.] 132 



Mr. W. L. ScLATER communicated the following note 

 on the races of the Two-handed Courser : — 



Ehinoptilus africanus (Temm.). 



Erlanger (Journ. Ornith. 1905, p. 60), discussing the 

 subspecies of the Two-banded Coursers, rightly stated 

 that there were two races in South Africa, a pale one found 

 in Namaqualand and Damaraland and a more richly-coloured 

 one in Cape Colony (" Siidosten "). To the Damaraland 

 race he gave the name R. a. sharpei, while for the 

 " Siidosten " race he retained the typical name. A reference 

 to the original description will show that the type-locality 

 of R. africanus is Great Namaqualand, as Temminck's species 

 is founded on a bird obtained by Levaillant in that country, 

 it!, a. sharpei is, therefore, obviously a true synonym 

 of R. a. africanus, and the more richly-coloured race of 

 Central Cape Colony requires another name. Claude 

 <^ Grant ('Ibis,' 1915, p. 6^) further complicated the matter 

 by suggesting Deelfontein, Cape Colony, as the type-locality 

 of R. a. sharpei, and making the name ref6r to the dark 

 instead of the pale race. I would therefore propose 



Ehinoptilus africanus granti, nom. nov., 



for the more richly-coloured race from Cape Colony and the 

 Orange Free State. 



Tyj^e. A male from Deelfontein, Cape Colony, collected 

 by C. H. E. Seimund and C. H. B. Grant, 9.ii.01. B.M. 

 Reg. No. 1901 . 9. 5. 75. 



The following is the synonymy of the two races : — 



RhINOPTILUS AFRICAN us AFRICANUS. 



Cursorius africanus Temminck, Cat. Syst. C^ab. Orn. 

 pp. 175, 263 (1807): Great Namaqualand (Levaillant). 



Tachydromus co/Zam Vieillot, N. Diet. d'Hist. Nat. viii. 

 p. 293 (1817) : Africa (ex Temminck coll. also apparently 

 founded on the same bird). 



Cursorius bicinctus Temminck, Man. d'Orn. 2nd ed. ii. 

 p. 515 (1820) : apparently founded on the same bird. 



