Var. minor.

Oriolus rolleti, Salvadori, Atti R. Accad. Torino, vii. p. 151: Heugl. Orn. N.-O. Afr. p. 404 (1869).

O. personatus, Heugl. J. f. O. 1867, p. 203; 1868, p. 326.

O. brachyrhynchus, Schl. Mus. P.-B. Coraces, p. 108 (nec Swains.).

O. larvatus, Heuglin, Syst. Uebers. no. 292.

Abyssinia (Bmn-Rollet, Heuglin), Angola (Monteiro, Sala).

In his work on the ornithology of North-eastern Africa, Dr. von Heuglin states that in a letter to him I said that I believed this race to be a distinct species from O. larvatus; but he misunderstood my words. I said that, not having seen an Abyssinian specimen, I could not say for certain, but that I was disinclined to join the two species, because I very much disliked uniting any two species without having personally examined the birds. I, however, wrote to Dr. Finsch on the subject, and he forwarded me the following reply:—

"Of this so-called species I have minutely compared the types in Turin and other specimens, also from the White Nile, in Vienna, and have already expressed my doubts in our work on the ornithology of Eastern Africa (also again in the Appendix). As regards the colours there is, indeed, no difference between it and the South-African O. larvatus; this you may depend upon; but commonly the measurements are not so large, the bill especially being a little shorter. I should have considered these differences of specific value, but for the fact that there are intermediate forms, which will not allow one to do so. O. rolleti is by no means a representative of O. lanatus in North-eastern Africa, as there are specimens as small from Angola and in the Leyden Museum from South Africa (teste Schlegel). I consider it therefore nothing more than a small race.

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	Long. Al.	Caud.	Culm. a fr.	Tarsi.
″ ‴	″ ‴	‴	‴	‴
"O. larvatus, South Africa	5 0	3 3	11	12
"O. larvatus, Natal	5 1	3 5	11½	11
O. rolleti, Ahvssinia	4 11	3 1	10	11
O. rolleti, Angola	4 0	3 0	10½	9
O. baruffii, West Africa	4 3	2 7	9½	9

See also the measurements given by Schlegel."

As I have already stated, I have never seen a single specimen from the White Nile^*; but having some Angolan specimens now before me, I am able to give a series of measurements showing the difference in size between this and O. larvatus.

			Long. tot.	Roslr.	Al.	Caud.	Tarsi.
♂ ad.	Rio Daude, Angola.	Sala.	8	.95	5.1	2.9	.85
ad.	Natal.	Mus.R.B.S.	9	1.1	5.5	3.2	.95
ad.	South Africa.	Mus.R.B.S.	10	1.1	5.5	3.7	.95
juv.	Benguela.	Monteiro.	8.5	.9	5.2	3.1	.9
♂ juv.	Knysna.	Andersson.	9.5	1.1	5.3	3.3	.9
juv.	Natal.	Mus.R.B.S.	9	1	5.2	3.2	.9

I have endeavoured in the above table to compare, as much as possible, individuals of apparently the same age; and the result confirms the conclusion of Dr. Finsch as regards Angolan and South-African birds.

7. Oriolus brachyrhynchus. (Plate VIII. fig. 1.)

Oriolus hrachyrhynchus, Swains. B. W. Afr. ii. p. 35 (1837) : Bonap. Consp. Av. i. p. 347 (1850): Hartl. Beitr. Orn. Westafr. p. 24 (1852); J. f. O. 1854, p. 24; Orn. Westafr. p. 81 (1857); J. f. O. 1861, p. 162: W. von Müll. J. f. O. 1855, p. 392: Sharpe, Ibis, 1870, p. 57.

O. pileo nigro: spcculo alari albo : rectricibus externis ad basin nigris, quatuor intermediis omnino olivaceis.

Hab. in Africâ occidentali.

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Head glossy black, likewise the throat, extending a little way on to the breast; upper surface of the body deep olive-yellow, brighter yellow on the nape, sides of the neck, and rump; wing-coverts of the same colour as the back, inner cubital coverts edged with olive-yellow, the two or three outer ones edged with grey; primary coverts black, tipped with white, forming a distinct white alar speculum; quills brownish-black, quite white on the inner web, the inner secondaries bright olive-yellow on the outer web, the outer ones grey, with a narrow outer edging of white, primaries edged with white on the outer web; the four middle tail-feathers olive-yellow, the outer ones olive-yellow at the base, bright golden-yellow at the tip preceded by a bar of black; entire under surface rich golden-yellow; bill brownish-red; feet black.

Female or young. The two middle rectrices olive-yellow, the two next with a black bar before the yellow tip.

Sierra Leone (Swainson), Fantee (Mus. R. B. S.), Gaboon (Verreaux).

Oriolus baruffii, Bonap. Consp. Av. i. p. 347 (1850) : Hartl. J. f. O. 1854, p. 24: Schl. Mus. P.-B. Coraces, p. 109 (1807): Sharpe, Ibis, 1869, p. 383. (Plate VIII. fig. 2.)

Oriolus intermedius, Temm. MS. in Mus. Lugd. (teste Hart-laub) : Hartl. Beitr. Orn. Westafr. p. 24 (1852, descr. nulla); Orn. Westafr. p. 81 (1857) (descr. orig.); J. f. O. 1861, p. 163 : Cass. Proe. Phil. Acad. 1859, p. 43.

Baruffius intermedius, Bonap. Coll. Delatttre p. 74 (fide Hart-laub).

Head deep black, likewise the throat, extending a little way on to the breast; upper surface of the body olive-yellow, brighter on the nape, sides of the neck, and rump; wing-coverts of the same colour as the back; inner cubital coverts edged with olive-yellow, the outer ones edged with grey; the primary coverts black tipped with white, forming a distinct alar speculum; quills black, white underneath on the inner web; inner secondaries olive-yellow on the outer web, the outer ones edged with light grey, the primaries edged with white; the two middle tail-

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