Vol. 5, p. 263-266. May 7, 1930. 



Occasional Papers 



OF THE 



Boston Society of Natural History. 



NOTES ON GEOGRAPHIC VARIATIONS IN THE GENUS 

 MACRONYX WITH DESCRIPTION OF TWO NEW 



RACES. 



BY HERBERT FRIEDMANN. 1 



The purely African genus of pipits forming the subject of the 

 present note is peculiar in that it contains four species, each of 

 which has a restricted range (capensis, sharpei, flavicollis, and 

 aurantiigula) , one with two spatially distant races (ameliae and 

 wintoni), and only one form with a very wide, discontinuous 

 distribution. That one, M. croceus, is the bird under immediate 

 consideration. While studying the series of this Yellow-throated 

 Long-claw in the Frick, Roosevelt, and Loveridge collections I 

 became aware of the fact that the birds of southeastern Africa 

 were different from those to the north and northwest. This 

 difference was a dimensional one with regard to the bill, the large- 

 billed form being the one found in Natal and adjacent regions of 

 southeastern Africa. No name appears to be available for it, and 

 I therefore propose to call it 



Macronyx croceus vulturnus, subsp. nov. 



Type. — U. S. Nat. Mus. no. 109591; adult male, collected in Natal, South 

 Africa, by E. H. Richards. 



Subspecific characters. — Similar to M. croceus croceus, but with the bill 

 noticeably longer, the culmen (in the males) measuring from 17.5 to 21.0 mm. 

 as against 15.0 to 17.5 mm. in the nominate form. 



Range. — Natal and adjacent regions of southeastern Africa. 



Remarks. — Gyldenstlope (1924, p. 81) writes that in the Royal 

 Natural History Museum in Stockholm, '. . . . there are a 

 few specimens of M. croceus collected at Port Natal. These 

 agree in color with East and Central African birds but have 

 longer bills, measuring 17-19 mm. ' 



Published by permission of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 



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