Annals of the Transvaal Museum 
221 
paler. To reduce the subspecies to refinement, more could be named from 
our material, the gradation being apparent from south to north; but for 
the present this does not appear to me to be necessary until abundant 
material becomes available, so that the limits can be more clearly defined. 
In the Cape Province as elsewhere there is a wide range in size, the smaller 
birds being females or immature males. ^ 
Prodotiscus represents a distinct family, characterised by its pointed 
bill and ten instead of twelve tail feathers, and may of course be known 
as Prodotiscidae. 
Capitonidae 
Bavbatula — Pogoniulus Lafrsn. (cf. Oberholser, l.c. p. 867, and Richmond, 
Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus. xxv. 634, 1909). I consider, however, that the three 
species occurring within our limits cannot be referred to the same group, 
Megalaema hilineata .Sundevall differing from the other two, more typical, 
species in having the top of the head to the back uniform glossy blue- 
black and the bill larger, although the bird itself is smaller; this species 
I therefore propose to remove to another subgenus under the name of 
Micropogonius. 
Buccanodon woodwardi — Stactolaema woodwardi (cf. Oberholser, l.c. p. 866). 
B. sowerhyi and B. leucotis = Smilhoris (cf. idem). 
Tricholaema leucomelan (Boddaert), of which Tricholaema affme Shelley 
is a synonym, the characters being those of immature birds, as pointed out 
by Neumann, Journ. fur Orn. 1910, p. 197, should be removed from the 
genus, the type species of which (T. hirsutum) is much larger and has the 
bristles of the face extremely long, reaching to the end of the bill; I there- 
fore place it in a new genus under the name of Notopogonius, type Bucco 
leucomelas Boddaert. 
Trachyphonus cafer (Vieillot) should give way to T. vaillanti (Ranz.), 
Picus cafer Vieillot (1818) being preoccupied by P. cafer Gmelin (1789). 
T. nobilis Ogilvie-Grant (Ibis, 1912, p. 397) must have been founded upon 
an aberrant individual, typical vaillanti being found in the neighbouring 
countries on all sides. 
PiCIDAE 
Dendromus Swainson is preoccupied by Dendromus A. Smith, and the 
name of Campethera Gray must therefore be used. This genus is repre- 
sented in South Africa by only one species, Campethera malherbei fulle- 
bornei (Neumann, Journ. fur Orn. 1900, p. 204), the other species being 
referable to different genera. Campethera is characterised by its small size, 
and the bill of about the same length as the tarsus, the remaining South 
African species having the bill longer than the tarsus. The larger genus 
must bear the name of Chrysoptilopicus Malherbe (Rev. Zool. 1845, p. 403) 
which was given in subgeneric form in the naming of Picus smithi] the 
author subsequently used the name of Chrysopic^ls with P. nubicus Gmelin 
as the genotype, evidently with the intention of abbreviating the name; 
but whatever his intention may have been, the two names must stand to 
represent two subgenera. The typical Chrysoptilopicus must contain the 
type species and C. abingoni A. Smith, and the subgenus Chrysopicus 
would include our species C. bennetti (A. Smith) and C. capricornis (Strick- 
land and ScL). The single species P. notatus Lichtenstein is characterised 
by its entirely different style of coloration and has the tail longer in pro- 
15—2 
