98 
Mr. D. A. Bannerman on rare Birds [Ibis, 
colour, the coppery gloss being very apparent in certain 
lights. The underparts are huffish white, the throat, breast, 
and flanks narrowly banded with blackish, each feather 
having a narrow subterminal bar. On the belly the bars are 
either entirely wanting or only faintly indicated. The under 
tail-coverts are barred in four out of six specimens to a lesser 
or greater extent. 
These birds from Angola have only recently been in¬ 
corporated in the National Collection, and hence former 
workers have been unable to compare birds from other parts 
of Africa with typical specimens. Had they been able to do 
so, they would have seen that a very noticeable difference 
exists between them. 
We have in the British Museum twenty-one skins from 
other parts of Africa—13 birds from Cameroon collected 
by Mr. Bates (6 in old collections, 7 in the present series), 
4 from Uganda and ltuwenzori, 3 from the Gold Coast, and 
one from Nyasaland. I have also examined one bird from 
Poko on the Uelle River (Christy coll.). 
First, to deal with the series from Cameroon, Uganda, and 
Ruwenzori, which I have named C. m. wellsi :—These birds 
differ from C. m. mechowi in having the upper parts slate- 
brown, a distinct dark bluish grey taking the place of the 
copper colour. The most noticeable difference is, however, on 
the under surface, which in C. m. wellsi is whitish or huffish 
white, closely banded with brownish black, the bars much 
wider and closer together than in C. m. mechowi. The under 
tail-coverts are generally unbarred or unspotted, but this, 
as in the Angola bird, is subject to variation. 
We have still to deal with birds from the Gold Coast, of 
which I have only three specimens ; and these, while exhibit¬ 
ing the coppery gloss of C. m. mechowi, which they resemble 
on the upper parts, have the under surface closely barred 
(though not quite so heavily) as in C. m. wellsi. With such 
small material l % can only point out the somewhat inter¬ 
mediate position which the Gold Coast birds seem to hold. 
There remains the bird from Nyasaland. It is quite a 
young female, the upper parts barred with rufous and brown 
