432 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant on 
on Abba Island. I bad lighted some reeds to smoke out rats 
when a flock of these birds arrived to catch the insects which 
had been driven out by the fire. The species was only 
observed in flocks in a few localities. The cry is unlike that 
of the typical Bee-eater. — R. M. H.] 
93. "^Upupa epops. 
Upupa epops Linn. ; Witherby, p. 263 ; Grant & Reid_, 
p. 673 ; N. C. Roths. & Wollast. p. 23. 
[The Hoopoe was distributed all along the river^ but was 
not common. — R. M. H.] 
94. Irrisor erythrorhynchus. 
Irrisor erythrorhynchus Grant, Bull. B.O.C. xii. no. Ixxxiv. 
pp. 36, 37 (1901). 
a, b. c? et J" imm. Fashoda, 31st March. Nos. 257, 
258. 
c,d. ? . Goz-Abu-Gumar, 18th May. Nos. 510, 511. 
Iris hazel ; bill and feet red. 
Mr. Hawker^s specimens belong to the true I. erythro- 
rhynchus (Lath.) . 
[The Red-billed Wood-Hoopoe was generally found in 
flocks and made a great deal of noise. — R. M. H.] 
In the ' Catalogue of Birds ^ Salvin divided the forms of 
Irrisor with the head metallic green or purple into two 
species as follows : — 
1. /. viridis. With the tail more or less purple. 
2. /. erythrorhynchus. With the tail more or less 
greenish blue. 
The colour o£ the tail cannot, however, be relied on as a 
specific distinction. 
Salvin considered that the birds with black bills were 
merely the young of those with red bills. It is perfectly 
true that in the red-billed forms the young have the bill 
dusky, but there can be little doubt that the great majority 
of the specimens considered by him to be the young of 
/. erythrorhynchus represent distinct species. Young birds 
may be recognised by the buff feathers on the chin and 
throat. The whole group appears to be much in need of 
