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Annals of the Transvaal Museum 
streaked and the tail very much shorter than the wing, when compared 
with the typical Anthus {i.e. Anthus campestris, cf. Mathews, l.c.) ; the outer- 
most primary is the longest, the difference between the tips of the longest 
and shortest primaries much greater than the length of the tarsus; claws 
slender, hind claw much shorter than the hallux; bill short; tail about 
three-fourths of the length of the wing. Not far removed from this genus 
are two others which are resident in Africa. The first of these I would place 
in a new genus named Caffranthus, type Anthus caffer Sundevall, char- 
acterised by being smaller than Spipola, the outermost primary shorter 
than the second and third, the difference between the longest and shortest 
primaries about equal to the length of the tarsus; claws weak, short and 
slightly curved, the hind claw less than the length of the hallux; tail about 
three-fourths of the length of the wing ; colour generally plain, irregularly 
streaked above and streaked below. The second I would place in another 
new genus, Afranthus, type A. hrachyurus Sundevall, characterised by 
having the tail shorter than in any other Pipit, only about two-thirds of 
the length of the wing ; colour rather darker above than Caffranthus, and 
the underparts slightly streaked on the chest. 
The typical genus Anthus is represented in South Africa by A. rufulus 
raalteni Layard, which differs somewhat from A. campestris in the wing 
formula, but may be tentatively retained in the same genus. Side by side 
with A . rufulus raalteni we have two larger groups, marking a transition 
from the African major group. In raalteni the outermost and third pri- 
maries are about equal and slightly shorter than the second, which is the 
longest; the fourth primary is slightly shorter than the third, and the 
second, third and fourth have a distinct emargination ; the fifth is much 
shorter than the fourth and reaches about midway between the fourth 
and sixth ; the hind claw is fairly long and sharp ; in size it is smaller than 
the two other species occurring in the same localities; in colour markings 
it has obscure streaks above, and on the breast more distinctly striped. 
In Anthus nicholsoni Sharpe the colour markings are practically the same, 
the main difference being that the outer tail feathers are not so clearly 
nor broadly white; but the primaries differ as follows: first four primaries 
subequal, the fifth a little shorter, but much longer than the sixth; the 
second to the fifth primaries are emarginate on the outer web; claws not 
as long as the hallux, much curved and slender. The difference between 
these two species is not very great when one has the specimens in hand, 
but in the field they are easily distinguished by their call-notes, which 
seem to indicate that they are not so closely allied as their, general 
characters would seem to show and that the emargination of the primaries 
is sufficiently important a character to justify separating them into two 
distinct genera. I propose therefore to place A. nicholsoni Sharpe in a 
new genus, Anomalanthus. The other species is A. leucophrys VieiUot, 
which is more readily differentiated on its consistently larger size, uniform 
back, absence of distinct streaks on tlje breast and the wing formula, 
which is as follows : two outermost primaries the longest (outermost some- 
times rather shorter than second), the third and again the fourth propor- 
tionately shorter, the fifth still shorter (the difference more than the 
difference between the fourth and first) and the sixth considerably shorter; 
the fifth primary is only indistinctly emarginate, not nearly so distinctly 
