Birds from the White Nile. . 401 
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4. LaMPROTORNIS PORPHYROPTERUS. ^-iaa/|><v\^^^> 
Lamprotornis porphyropterus E/dpp. ; Sharpe^ Cat. B. Brit. 
Mus. xiii. p, 156 (1890) [part.] ; Grant, Ibis, 1900, p. 121. 
Lamprotornis brevicaudus Sharpe, Bull. B. 0. C. vi. p. xlviii 
(1897) j id. Ibis, 1891, p. 591. 
a. ? . Fashoda, 26tli March. No. 189. 
be. S '^ ' 20 miles N. o£ Fashoda, Gth-llth April. 
Nos.298t, 301, 302, 312 1. 
Iris pale straw-coloured ; bill and legs black.- 
In the ' Catalogue of Birds ^ (xiii. p. 156) two rather well- 
marked forms are united under the title L. porphijropterus 
Riipp : — 
(A) A smaller shorter-tailed, species is found in Southern 
Abyssinia, Somaliland, Uganda, the Equatorial 
Province, and at Fashoda. This bird is the true 
L. porphyropterus Biipp., the type of which was pro- 
cured in Shoa. There are two cotypes in the British 
Museum received from Biippell in 1845, but these 
are omitted from the list of specimens given in the 
'Catalogue of Birds '' (xiii. p. 156). Only specimens 
h, i, kj I belong to the true L. porphyropter^us. 
(B) A larger longer-tailed species inhabits the highlands of 
Bogosland, and ranges south-westwards to the lower 
valley of the White Nile and Kordofan. This bird 
should bear the name L. ceneocephalus Heugi. {cf. 
J. f. O. 1863, p. 22) . Specimens a to g in the above- 
mentioned list belong to this form. 
Dr. Sharpe (cf. Bull. B. O. C. vi. p. xlviii, recognised 
the fact that he had united two distinct forms under the 
heading L. porphyropterus, and proposed to separate the 
shorter-tailed southern species under the name L. brevicaudus ; 
but, as shown above, this name is synonymous with typical 
L. porphyropterus Biipp., and the longer-tailed form already 
bears Heugiin's name, L. ceneocephalus. The latter was the 
species obtained by Mr. Witherby at Ed-Duem, on tlie 
White Nile. 
t Breeding. 
