SOME NOTES ON BIRDS, AND DESCRIPTIONS 
OF NEW SUBSPECIES 
By Austin Roberts 
During an expedition to the Cape Province for the purpose of obtaining 
topotypes of various species, some new and quite unexpected forms were 
secured. These were unexpected inasmuch as the avifauna of that Province 
is said to have been thoroughly worked, and the records hereafter given serve 
to show the folly of such statement. 
Amongst the records of importance the following may be noted : 
Crithagva leucopteva Sharpe. A single adult $ was obtained at Lormarins 
in the Paarl District, one of a small party, the rest of which flew off towards 
the mountains after I had secured the one; a shower of rain prevented me 
from following the others. There can be no doubt as to the validity of this 
species as the immature of C. albogularis , which it comes nearest to, have the 
rump yellow as in the adults. 
Cryptillas victovini. A specimen was secured in the scrub on the Groot 
Drakenstein Mountains. So far this species does not appear to have been 
recorded from so far west. Its call-note is similar to that of Bvadypterus 
barvatti of the Drakensberg. 
Bvadypterus babaeculus (Vieillot) . A specimen of this species was obtained 
in the rushes on the Berg River at Kersfontein. Reichenow has referred • 
B. barvatti Sharpe to this species and Stark and Sclater have referred 
Lusciniola gvacilivostvis (Hartlaub) to it. All writers have so far been able to 
recognize Bvadypterus bvachyptevus (Vieillot) from Knysna; but owing to 
their not knowing that the call-notes of bvachyptevus and babaeculus are the 
same, some confusion has existed as to the identity of the latter. Levaillant, 
who first collected these birds, figured and described them, recorded bvachy- 
ptevus from Outeniqua only, but babaeculus from both Verloren Vlei (not far 
from Berg River) and Outeniqua (Knysna). This has probably also been a 
cause of error, the explanation of which is very likely that he himself collected 
the bird at Verloren Vlei and noted its call-note, which he probably remem- 
bered also to have heard at Knysna; on the other hand he frequently mentions 
in his Travels the assistance rendered to him in collecting by his faithful Klaas, 
so we may reasonably conclude that Klaas obtained the Knysna specimen 
and informed him of its feeble power of flight. Support is lent to this 
explanation by the fact that he does not mention the call-note of B. bvachy- 
ptevus. As a matter of fact the habitat, habits and call-notes of the two 
species are the same, the only difference between them being that B. babae- 
culus is a much darker bird, as shown by the coloured figure supplied by 
Levaillant. 
Bvadypterus transvaalensis sp. nov. 
Lighter coloured in general effect than specimens of B. bvachyptevus from 
Knysna, but differing more markedly in the shortness of the bill. In bvachy- 
ptevus and babaeculus culmen measures over 15 mm. and the length of the bill 
from the anterior corner of the nasal hollow to the tip 9-10 mm. as against 
less than 14 and less than 8-5 mm. respectively, in the Transvaal specimens, 
