Birds of the Gold Coast Colony ^c. 357 
no specimens of this bird in the British Museum from Tunis. 
That country is supposed to have a separate resident form^ 
C. ruficollis desertorum (Erlang. J. f. O. 1899, p. 521). 
184. Caprimulgus sharpii Alexander. 
Caprimulgus sharpei Alexander, Bull. B. O. C. xii. p. 29 
(November 1901). 
Two adult males from Gambaga. 
Similar to C. trimaculatus , but smaller and darker; upper 
parts less spotted, especially on the nape, and more uniform ; 
under parts with the blackish bars on the chest running into 
each other, which causes this part to appear much darker than 
in C. trimaculatus. The two species may be compared as 
follows :— 
C. sharpii. 
Ad. ^ . Gambaga, Feb. 22, 1901. Total length (measured 
in the flesh) 9"3 inches, wing 7, tail 5*], tarsus 0"06. Iris 
black. Sexual organs in breeding condition. 
C. trimaculatus. 
Ad. S. Eustenburg, South Africa. Total length 10*5 
inches, wing 7*8, tail 5*8. 
C. trimaculatus is a South-African species, of which our 
bird is the northern form. 
We met with only two specimens of this new Nightjar at 
Gambaga, where it appears to be uncommon. It inhabits 
tree-grown kopjes, and is extremely hard to discover, since its 
plumage assimilates so well with the black slabs of rock, 
which it never seems to leave. 
185. Macrodipteryx longipennis (Shaw). 
Macrodipteryx macrodipterus Hartert, Cat. B. xvi. p. 594; 
Keichen. J. f. 0. 1897, p. 24 (Togoland) ; Sharpe, Bull. 
B. O. C. X. p. vii (Gambaga). 
Gambaga and Salaga. 
This Nightjar is common at Gambaga, being found in 
colonies in the open bush-land. On Dec. 28 a part of the 
native village took fire. It was quite a sight to see these 
Nightjars flitting to and fro near the burning houses, 
2b 2 
