Vol. xlii.l 60 



Mr. W. L. ScLATER communicated the following notes on 

 the nomenclature and taxonomy of African birds (no. 3) : — 



Geobiastes and Cokapitta. 



In the ' Hand-list ' (vol. ii. p. 45) Sharpe states that the type 

 of Atelornis Pucheran is sqiiamigera Lafr., and for pittoides 

 Lafr. he uses Corapitta Bp., or as he has emended it Coraco- 

 pitta ; but there can be no doubt that under the rules the 

 type of Atelornis Pucheran is Braehypteracias pittoides by 

 subsequent designation of Gray (Cat. Gen. Subgen. Bds. 

 p. 13), while the type of Cor^apitta Bp. by monotypy is the 

 same species. These two genera, Atelornis and Corapitta, 

 are therefore synonyms. This leaves Bracliypjteracias squa- 

 migera to be placed in Sharpe's own genus Geobiastes, and 

 the arrangement in the ' Catalogue of Birds ' (xvii. p. 4) is 

 the correct one rather than that in the ' Hand-list.' 



Indicator variegata and its allies. 



Zedlitz (Journ. Ornith. 1915, p. 8) was the last writer to 

 revise this group. He recognized six forms, but probably, 

 owing to scarcity of material, did not disentangle the confusion 

 into which those from western Africa appear to have been 

 plunged. 



An examination of the material in the British Museum 

 leads one to the conclusion that there are two distinct species 

 in western Africa side by side, and that each comprises a 

 paler and a more richly coloured race. 



All the forms can be arranged as follows : — 



1. 1. variegatus variegatus Lesson, 1831 : Africa. 



Crown black with white edges to some of the feathers, 

 giving a spotted appearance ; these edgings olivaceous or 

 buffy in younger birds ; the mottling on the underparts does 

 not extend below the breast. 



Distr. Throughout east and south Africa, from southern 

 Abyssinia through Uganda and Kenya Colony to Nyasalaud, 

 Angola, and Cape Province. 



