BIRDS COLLECTED IN THE BELGIAN CONGO 767 
somewhat darker, blacker back. H.n. melanoxanthus of the coastal districts of 
Kenya Colony is still darker, and has a more slender bill. 
Hyphanturgus aurantius aurantius (Vieillot) 
Malimbus aurantius Vieillot, Ois. Chant., 1805, p. 73: Congo. 
Male, Bumba, 30 December 1926. 
The single specimen collected is a male in breeding condition. It agrees with 
another from Cameroon, and differs from specimens of H. aurantius rex, which 
is a good race in my opinion. I have seen examples of the latter form from 
Damba Islands, Sesse, Uganda. 
Melanopteryx nigerrimus (Vieillot) 
Ploceus nigerrimus Vieillot, Nouv. Dict., xxxiv, 1819, p. 180: Congo. 
Male, Bumba, 3 January 1927. 
The bird, in breeding condition (testes large) when shot, is in fresh nuptial 
plumage but has brownish feet. Yet it is not mazxwelli, but nigerrimus. It has 
the stout bill of nigerrimus, not the more slender form of maxwelli. 
Melanopteryx holomelas Sassi, is probably the same as maxwelli, and should 
be considered as a synonym of the latter. 
Textor cucullatus bohndorffi (Reichenow) 
Ploceus bohndorffi Reichenow, Journ. f. Orn., 1887, pp. 214, 307: Stanley Falls, central Belgian 
Congo. 
Female, Lulenga, 4 March 1927. 
I provisionally place this specimen (which was identified as such in the field 
by Dr. James P. Chapin) in this subspecies. I have no bohndorffi material to 
compare with it, but it is quite different from a female of 7. c. femininus Ogilvie- 
Grant from Gyassa, Uganda (M.C.Z. 97385). It has no buffy on the breast, 
flanks, sides, abdomen, and under tail-coverts, and also differs from femininus 
in having a smaller bill (culmen 17.5 as against 20.0 in femininus). 
Brachycope anomala (Reichenow) 
Ploceus anomalus Reichenow, Journ. f. Orn., 1887, p. 214: Stanley Falls. 
Male, Budjalibala, 25 December 1926. 
Male, Bumba, 1 January 1927. 
The male from Budjalibala is in non-breeding plumage while that from 
Bumba is in prenuptial molt. In the latter the black cheeks, chin, and throat 
are somewhat indicated and the yellow breast and crown are becoming distinct. 
There is no trace, however, of the black spots on the sides that come later. The 
bill of the Budjalibala bird is brownish while that of the Bumba bird is black 
as in an adult in breeding plumage from Avakubi (J. P. Chapin coll., M.C.Z. 
96417), Ituri district. 
