300 Report on a Zoological collection [No. 4. 



Oxtlophus glandarius, (L.) " Only this specimen obtained." 



*'Corvus aefinis, Riippell. Two specimens. " Common all 

 over the country. Somali, Tuk7ca, ^>. 



" In the Harar hills I remarked another variety, very large, with 

 a bright white patch on the back of the head, and a tremendous 

 beak, arched and exceedingly hard. It is a very strong bird, taking 

 a powerful load to kill: my Somalia had never seen it before." The 

 Corvultur crassicollis, Riippell, is here intended. 



*C. umbrinus (?), Sundevall. Not having seen a description of 

 this bird, we are not quite certain that it is correctly identified ; 

 especially as the late H. E, Strickland remarked of it, after noticing 

 C. scapulatus (phceocephaltjs, Cabanis), — " Distinguished by the 

 length and curvature of the beak, and by the grey-brown tint of the 

 head and neck."* In the Somali specimen under examination, the 

 beak resembles that of C. scapulattjs ; and there is a further general 

 agreement of size and structure, extending to the shape of the feathers. 

 The bird was evidently young, and a dull brown tint prevails on the 

 plumage, especially on the head and neck, which might well have sug- 

 gested the appellation umbrinus. Can it, however, be the young of 

 C. scapulatus ? Lt. Burton writes — " A common Crow. Sometimes 

 the breast-feathers are tipped ivitJi white, in small semi-circles extending 

 as far as the abdomen. The Somali do not distinguish between this 

 and the other Crow:" On the other hand, may it be a variety of 

 C. scapulatus, as C. coeone is certainly a black variety of C. 

 C0KNix,t and as the black variety of C. splendens which inhabits 

 Burma ? 



*Amydrus ruppelli, Verreaux; Lamprotornis morio apud Eiip- 

 pell, but distinct from A. morio, (L., verus), of S. Africa. Male 

 and female. As compared with fine specimens of both sexes of 

 the Cape species, this bird has a shorter and deeper bill, with 

 more arched upper outline ; longer wings ; and much longer tail : 

 but the colouring of the plumage is nearly the same ; except that 

 in the female of the northern bird, the head, neck, and breast, 

 are paler and unmixed ash-gray ; and in both sexes there is much 

 more black tipping the primaries. Both have the rudimentary 

 first primary black ; but in the Cape species, the rest have both 



* Ann. Mag. N. H. IX (1852), p. 345. 



f We possess an intermediate specimen from Norway. 



