Annals of the Transvaal Museum. 
147 
NOTES 
8. Diomedia cauta Gould. 
In the “ Ibis ” for 1905, p. 558, Mr. Ogilvie-Grant has shown 
that Thalassogeron Ictyardi of Salvadore is merely a younger phase 
of Diomedia cauta of Gould. 
79. Plectropterus gambensis (L.). 
From the series of over a score of these birds living in the 
Zoological Gardens, it is impossible to say where gambensis ends 
and niger commences, so we are obliged to discard the latter species 
as invalid. 
88. Rhinoptilus chalcopterus (Tern.). 
Dr. Reichenow believes this bird to be identical with R. albo- 
fasciatus of Sharpe. In the “ Ibis”, 1900, p. 455, Boyd Alexander 
states his reasons for doubting the validity of Dr. Sharpe’s bird, 
with which we must concur after comparison with the series in 
the Transvaal Museum. There is an obviously immature bird in 
the collection with narrow white edges to the wing coverts, and the 
middle tail feathers without white, the remainder being distinctly 
white tipped, or rather dirty tawny-white. 
90. Rhinoptilus cinctus (Heugl.). 
Dr. Reichenow unites R. seebohmi Sharpe with this species. 
98. Charadrius venustus Fschr. and Rchw. 
The Transvaal Museum contains a large series of skins of this 
tropical species, collected at Van Wijks Ylei, Carnarvon, West 
Central Cape Colony, by Lieut. H. A. P. Littledale, of the K.O.Y.L.I., 
during the months of August to October. There are also three 
from Port Elizabeth, collected by J. G. Brown and R. H. Ivy. 
214. Turtur capicola tropicus Rchw. 
This is a paler form of capicola , but not so pale as dctmarensis , 
hence it stands intermediate between the Damaraland and typical 
birds. The habitat of tropicus Reichenow puts down as “East 
Africa from Ndussuma to the Northern Transvaal ”. 
219. Chalcopelia afra (L.). 
Dr. Reichenow, in his “ Nachtrag”, separates the green-coloured 
spotted dove from those which have blue-coloured spots on the 
wing. From the series of this bird in the Transvaal Museum 
we should decidedly unite the two birds, as Dr. Reichenow has 
done in vol. I of his “Vogel Afrikas ”. There are blue-spotted 
and green-spotted birds from different parts of South Africa ; one 
with bottle-blue and green spots, and several with green spots 
edged with blue. Hence the name of afra Linn, must remain that 
of the South African bird. 
