no. 2076. DESCRIPTIONS OF NEW AFRICAN BIRDS— MEARNS. 393 



blue; tail, china blue above, black below; entire under parts pure 

 white, with a black spot on under wing-coverts at base of primaries ; 

 bill with maxilla peach red, becoming dusky brown at apex and on 

 sides of basal half, and with mandible jet black; feet, in dry skin, 

 blackish brown. 



Measurements of type. — Wing, 112; tail, 74; culmen (chord), 54; 

 tarsus, 17. 



Measurements of adult male of Halcyon malimbicus malimbicus 

 (Shaw) from Efulen, Kamerun, West Africa (Cat. No. 159986, U. S. 

 Nat. Mus.). — Wing, 106; tail, 74; culmen (chord), 5.3; tarsus, 15.5. 



Remarks. — This subspecies most closely resembles a Cameroon 

 specimen of malimbicus, and is not closely related to the forms 

 forbesi and torquatus from northwest Africa — Cameroons to Sene- 

 gambia. 1 



MELITTOPHAGUS VARIEGATUS LORINGI, new subspecies. 



NYANZA BEE-EATER. 



Type-specimen— Adult male, Cat. No. 216565, U.S.N.M.; collected 

 at Butiaba, Lake Albert, Uganda, Africa, January 6, 1910, by J. 

 Alden Loring. (Original number, 674.) 



Characters. — Most closely related to Melittophagus variegatus varie- 

 gatus (Vieillot), but larger and much paler and purer yellow on the 

 under parts. 



Description of type (adult male). — Upper side of head and neck, 

 mantle, back, rump, and upper tail-coverts calla green; outer wing- 

 coverts and scapulars calla green; primaries yellowish oil green with 

 subterminal blackish spots and orange-citrine bases to the inner webs ; 

 secondaries ochraceous-tawny at base, subterminally broadly banded 

 with black, and narrowly tipped with pale gray; elongated innermost 

 secondaries green, marked with turquoise-blue apically; tail with 

 middle pair of feathers cedar green, becoming bluish on distal por- 

 tion, and tipped with pale gray, the remaining rectrices ochraceous- 

 buff tinged with green on outer webs, broadly black subterminally, 

 and narrowly tipped with grayish white; a narrow eyebrow pale ceru- 

 lean blue; eyelid beryl blue; a broad black band passes through and 

 behind the eye; chin and throat light cadmium, below which is a 

 double collar of an twerp blue anteriorly and hessian brown posteri- 

 orly; abdomen, sides, flanks, thighs, and crissum olive-ocher; edge of 

 wing honey yellow; axillars, lining of wings, and bases of quills cin- 

 namon-buff. Iris red; bill and feet black. 



Measurements of type (adult male). — Wing, S9; tail, 69; culmen 

 (chord), 35; tarsus, 11. 



Measurements of one adult of Melittophagus variegatus variegatus 

 (Vieillot) from West Africa. — Wing, 84; tail, 66; culmen (chord), 2S; 

 tarsus, 9. 



1 Oberholser, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 22, No. 1180, p. 12, 1899. 



