Smithsonian miscellaneous collections

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOLUME

65, NUMBER 13

Descriptions of Seven New Subspecies and One New Species of African Birds (Plantain-

Eater, Courser, and Rail)

BY

EDGAR

A.

MEARNS

AssociateinZoology, UnitedStates National Museum

(Publication 2378)

CITY

OF WASHINGTON

PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN

INSTITUTION

NOVEMBER

26, 1915

'€§& £ovt> $<xttimott(pteetf BALTIMORE, MD.tU.S.A.

DESCRIPTIONS OF SEVEN NEW SUBSPECIES AND ONE NEW SPECIES OF AFRICAN BIRDS (PLANTAIN-

EATER, COURSER, .AND RAIL)

By EDGAR

A.

MEARNS

ASSOCIATE IN ZOOLOGY, UNITED STATES NATIONAL

MUSEUM

This

is the author's thirteenth publication devoted to descriptions of

new forms

of

African

birds.

Three

of the

forms

here described are

from

the collection

made by

the

Paul

_J.

Rainey

African

Expedi-

tion, 1911-12; three are

from

the

Smithsonian African

Expedition, 1909-10collection,

made under

the direction of Col.

Theodore Roose-

velt;

one

is

from

the collection of the Childs Frick African

Expe-

dition, 1911-12;

and one

is

from

the

African

collection

made

for the

Museum

of

Comparative Zoology

at

Cambridge,

Massachusetts,

by

Dr. Glover

M.

Allen, in the year 1909.

The names

of special tints

and

shades of colors

used

in thispaper

conform

to

Robert Ridgway's

"Color Standards

and

Color

Nomenclature,"

issued

March

10, 1913.

Allofthe

measurements were

taken,inmillimeters,by

Miss

Celestine B.

Hodges.

TURACUS HARTLAUBI

(Fischer and Reichenow) Hartlaub's Plantain-eater

Corythaix HartlaubiFischer and Reichenow,Journ. furOrnith., 1884,p. 52 (base of

Mount

Meru, near Kilimanjaro, Masai Land,

German

East Africa)

.

Hartlaub's Plantain-eater has never been divided into its

com-

ponent subspecies, because of the assumption that it does not vary geographically. Itisapparent,

however, on

spreading outsixty-four specimens

from

variousparts of the range of the species, that there are four easily-recognizable geographical forms, three of

which

are characterized beyond.

The

four subspecies

may

be recognized

by means

of the following

Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 65, No. 13

2

SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL. 65

KEY TO THE SUBSPECIES OF

Turacus hartlaubi (Fischer and Reichenow)

a. Thighs and crissumblack Turacus hartlaubi crissalis (p. 3) aa. Thighs and crissum varying from greenish violet-gray to blackish

violet-gray.

b.

Wings

and back darkbluish violet

Turacus hartlaubi hartlaubi (p. 2) bb. Wings and backhelvetia blue or antwerp blue.

c. Anterior under parts, sides of face, neck, and upper back cerro green; red portion of wing-quills pomegranate purple above, pansy purple below

Turacushartlaubimedius (p.3) cc. Anterior under parts, sides of face, neck, and upper back

calla green; red portion of wing-quills spectrum red above, amaranthpurple below

Turacushartlaubi ccsrulescens (p. 4) Inthisspecies the sexes are practically alike incolor

and

size,¹ the differences

between

the subspecies being in color alone.

There

is

considerable individual variation in size.

The

coloration is affected

by wearing and

fading as the result of attrition, sunlight,

and

soak- ing rains. Color

change

is

most

apparent

on

the red feathering of the wing-quills, and, naturally, is

more marked on

the

upper

or

exposed

side than

on

the

under

surface.

When

^{the birds are in}

freshly-assumed

plumage

the greencolorextends farther

backwards upon

the

upper

^{back, the color} being imparted to thispart by green filamentous ^tips to the feathers;

when

these green tips

have

been

worn away,

the underlying color

becomes

exposed,

and

then the bluishcoloringextends higher

upon

theback. Despitethe differences

which

are

due

to thecauses noted above,

no

difficulty is experienced in separating the four geographical forms. In the following diag- noses the race characters of the subspecies are presented in con- secutive order:

TURACUS HARTLAUBI HARTLAUBI

(Fischerand Reichenow) Hartlaub's Plantain-eater

Corythaix HartlaubiFischerandReichenow,Journ. furOrnith., 1884, p.52 (Meru Mountain, near

Mount

Kilimanjaro, German EastAfrica).

SubspeciHc characters.

— Wings and back darkbluish violet; ante-

rior

under

parts, sides of face, neck,

and upper

back spinach green,

much mixed

with subterminal bluespots

on

the latter;

upper

side of

head

dark violet-blue;

upper

surface of red portion of_#

wings

^violet-

Females average a trifle smaller than males.

NO. 13

NEW AFRICAN

BIRDS

— MEARNS 3 carmine, lower surface dahlia purple; upper side of tail blackish violet, paler on outer webs of lateral rectrices; thighs and crissum violet-gray with a slight admixture of green to the feather-tips.

Average measurements

_of

two

adult males

from Mount

Kiliman- jaro.

— Wing, 168.5; tail, 185; culmen (chord), 23; tarsus, 39.2.

Average measurements

_offiveadultfemales

from Mount

Kiliman- jaro (4,000 ^to 7,000 feet).

— Wing, 164; tail, 182; culmen (chord), 21.5; tarsus, 39.1.

Geographicalrange.

— Fromthe Meru andKilimanjaro mountains, on the east, westward across German East Africa, and into British East AfricainthehillsoftheSotikDistrict,onthe headwatersof the Southern N'guasso Nyiro River (Ngare NarokRiver),inthe south- western part of British East Africa.

Remarks. — The

^original

form

^{hartlaubi differs}

from

^{all of the}

others in

having

^a

more

saturated coloration.

TURACUS HARTLAUBI MEDIUS, new

subspecies

Mount

Kenia Plantain-eater

Type-specimen.

— Adult female, Cat. No. 214870,U. S. Nat. Mus.

;

collected

on Mount Kenia

at10,000 feet altitude,British EastAfrica,

October

4, 1909,

by Edgar A. Mearns.

(Original

number,

17008.)

SubspeciHc characters.

— Wings and back helvetia blue; anterior under parts, sides of face, neck, and upper back cerro green, with less admixture of blue to the feathering of the upper back than in the typical form; upper side of head darkviolet-blue; uppersurface of red portion of wings pomegranate purple, lower surface pansy purple; upper side of tail cyanine blue, darker on middle pair of rectrices; thighs and crissum blackish violet-gray.

Measurements

of ^{type (adult} female).

— Wing, 176; tail, 188.5;

culmen

(chord), 23; ^tarsus, 39.5.

Average measurements

of ^fiveadult

male

^topotypes.

— Wing, 169;

tail, 187;

culmen

(chord), 22.3; tarsus, 39.7.

Average measurements

_{of seven} adult female topotypes.

— Wing,

168; tail, 184.5;

culmen

(chord), 22.5; tarsus, 38.7.

Geographical range.

—

^{Forested highlands, north of the}

Uganda

Railway,

from Machacos

to

Lake

Victoria.

TURACUS HARTLAUBI

^CRISSALIS,

new

^subspecies

Crissal Plantain-eater

Type-specimen.

— Adult female, Cat. No. 21 7621, U. S. Nat. Mus.

;

collected

on Mount

Mbololo, east of

Mount

Kilimanjaro, latitude 3°

4 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL. 65 South, altitude4,000 ^{feet, British}EastAfrica,

November

9, 1911,

by

Edmund

Heller. (Original

number,

418.)

Subspecific characters.

— Wings and back azurite blue; anterior

under

parts, sides of face, neck,

and upper back

yellowish oil green, the

upper

back but slightly

mixed

with blue-tipped feathers^;* upper side of

head

blackish green-blue;

upper

surface of red portion of

wings

carmine,lower surfaceasterpurple;

upper

sideoftailblackish azuriteblue,brighteningtoazurite

on

outer

webs

oflateralrectrices

;

thighs

and

crissum black.

Measurements

_of type (adult female).

— Wing, 161; tail, 188;

culmen

(chord), 20; tarsus, 37.

Geographical range.

— Known only from the type-locality—the

forested

summit

of

Mount

Mbololo, east of

Mount

Kilimanjaro, in British

East

Africa.

TURACUS HARTLAUBI CiERULESCENS, new

subspecies

Mount

Gargues Plantain-eater

Type-specimen.

— Adult male, Cat. No. 217620, U. S. Nat. Mus.

;

collected

on Mount Gargues (North

Creek), at 6,000 feet altitude, BritishEastAfrica,

August

28, 1911,

by Edmund

Heller. (Original

number,

271.)

Subspecific characters.

— Wings and back antwerp blue; anterior under parts, sides of face, neck, and upper back calla green, with verylittleadmixtureof bluetotheplumageoftheupper back;upper sideofhead dark violet-blue;upper surface of red portion of wings spectrum red, lower surface amaranth purple; upper side of tail

marine

blue,palingto

antwerp

blue

on

outer

webs

oflateral rectrices

;

thighs

and

crissum

dusky

green-gray.

Measurements

_{of type} (adultmale).

— Wing, 167;tail, 187; culmen (chord), 21; tarsus, 37.5.

Average measurements

_ofsixadult

male

topotypes.

— Wing, 168.1

;

tail, 185.9;

culmen

(chord), 22.5; tarsus, 38.2.

Average measurements

of ^{five adult} female topotypes.

— Wing,

166; ^tail, 182.4;

culmen

(chord), 22.8; tarsus, 38.8.

Geographical range.

—

^Forested

summit

^of

Mount

^Gargues,

from

6,000 to 7,100 feet (about

twenty

miles northof the

Northern Guaso Nyiro

River), in British East Africa.

1

When

the green filamentous tips of the feathering of the upper back are worn

away

by attrition the subterminal blue becomes exposed.

NO. 13

NEW AFRICAN

BIRDS

— MEARNS 5

CORYTHiEOLA CRISTATA YALENSIS, new

^subspecies Yala River Plantain-eater

Type-specimen.

— Adult male, Cat. No. 217630, U. S. Nat, Mus.;

collected

on

the

Yala

River, British East Africa,

February

7, 1911,

by Edmund

Heller. (Original

number,

454.)

SubspeciHc characters.

— Larger than Corythceola cristata cristata (Vieillot) ; upper parts paler and more greenish blue; forehead, aroundbase ofbill, with a broaderband of pale bluish.

Measurements

_oftype (adultmale)^.

— Wing,335;tail,380;culmen (chord), 43; tarsus, 57.

Average measurements

_of

two

adult

males

(type,

and

topotype

No.

217628,

U.

S. Nat.

Mus.) — Wing,

235.5; ^tail, 389;

culmen

(chord), 42.3; tarsus, _58.

Measurements

_{of one} adult

female

topotype (Cat.

No.

217629,

U.

S. Nat. Mus.).

— Wing, 338; tail, 393; culmen (chord), 39; tarsus, 54-

CURSORIUS GALLICUS MERUENSIS, new

^subspecies

Meru

Courser

? Cursorius somalensis Lonnberg, Kungl. Sv. Vet. Akad. Handlingar, 47,

No. _S, 1911, p. 37 (LekiunduRiver, British East Africa).

Type-specimen.

— Adult female, Cat. No. 56130, Museum of Com-

parative Zoology,

Cambridge,

Massachusetts; collected

on

plains

by

the

Meru

River, northern base of

Mount

Kenia, British East Africa,

August

10, 1909,

by

Dr. Glover

M.

Allen.

(No

original

number.)

SubspeciHc characters.

— A member of the Cursorius gallicus group, most closely related to Cursorius gallicus littoralis Erlanger, from which it differs in beingdarker and more drabish in color. It requires no close comparison with C. g. somalensis Shelley, which

is so

much

paler,

and

less grayish above, as to be instantly dis- tinguished.

Description of type ^(adult female).

— Forehead and crown ante-

riorly antique

brown,

passing into

gray

(dark gull gray)

on

the occiput;

two

black lines extend

backwards from

the eye, beginning at the

upper and

lower border, respectively, the

upper

black

band

joining the one

from

the opposite side

on

the

upper

nape, the lower

one broadening

posteriorly

and

ending

on

the side of the neck, the

two

black

bands

enclosing a triangular area of white; a whitish stripe also extends

backwards from

the angle of the

mouth, below

theeye, toincludethe

upper

halfofthe ear-coverts,

below which

^the

6 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL. 65

sideof the

head

ispale clay color; chin

and

throatsoiledwhite; back,

rump, upper

tail-coverts, scapulars,

and

wing-coverts grayish

wood brown;

primaries black, the three innermost

narrowly

tipped with pure white; rectrices lightdrab,theexternal feather

edged

externally

and

broadlytipped withwhite, thenext feather

narrowly

tippedwith white; breast,

upper abdomen, and

sides light drab; axillars soiled white;

under

wing-coverts light drab, except those bordering the

edge

^{of the}

wing which form

a

band

of slate color; lower

abdomen and

crissum soiled white.

Measurements

_of type (adult female).

— Length of skin, 190;

wing, 130; tail, 52;

culmen

(chord), 24; tarsus, 54.

Remarks. — The

geographical

forms

of Cursoriusgallicus

(Gmelin) have

beenelucidated

and

figured

by

Erlanger¹

and

Zedlitz.²

CURSORIUS TEMMINCKII JEBELENSIS, new

subspecies Jebel River Courieror Courser

Type-specimen.

— Adult male, Cat. No. 216167, U. S. Nat. Mus.

;

collected at "

Rhino Camp," Lado

Enclave,

on

the left (west)

bank

of the Bahr-el-Jebel, latitude 2 55' North,

some

fifteen miles north of

Wadelai on

Albert

Nyanza,

in the

Egyptian

Sudan, Africa, Jan-

uary

11, 1910,

by Edgar A. Mearns.

(Original

number,

17991.)

Characters.

—

^{Smaller than} Cursorius temminckii temminckii

Swainson

;

3 general color of

upper

parts darker, also differing

from

temminckii in the following particulars:

upper

side of

head tawny

instead ofochraceous-tawny;

upper

sideof neck,mantle, back, rump,

upper

tail-coverts,middlepair ofrectrices,wing-coverts,

and

exposed portion of inner secondaries buffy

brown

instead of

wood brown;

upper

breast light drab, of precisely the

same

shade as in Cursorius gallicus meruensis, described above, instead of avellaneous; lower chest with only a trace of the

tawny

color anterior to the black

abdominal

center.

Measurements

_of the type (adult male).

— Length of skin, 175;

wing, 114; ^tail, 42;

culmen

(chord), 20; tarsus, 37.5.

Average measurements

of

two

adult

males

_of Cursorius tem- minckiitemminckii (

from

theLoitaPlains,

Southern

N'guassO'

Nyiro

^ourn. fur Ornith., 1905, pp. 56-58, pi. 1.

2Journ. fur Ornith., 1910, pp. 306, 307,pi. 6.

*Cursorius Temminckii Swainson, Zoological Illustrations, Vol. 2, 1822, pi.

106, described on the succeedingpage ("arid tracts of Africa, at a distance from the sea"). Swainson'scolored figurewas

made

froma specimen inthe Leadbeater collection, which perhaps came from South Africa.

NO. 13

NEW AFRICAN

BIRDS

— MEARNS 7 River, Sotik District, British East Africa).'— Wing, 120; tail, 48;

culmen

(chord), 19; tarsus, 40.5.

Average measurements

_of

two

adult females of Cursorius tem- minckii temminckii

(same

locality as above).

— Wing, 117; tail, 44;

culmen

(chord), 19; tarsus, 38.

Remarks. —Unquestionably the bird figured by Swainson in Zoo-

logical Illustrations,Vol.2, 1822, plate 106,

and

described

on

the suc- ceeding page, is the

same

as a series of five specimens obtained by usinthe Sotik District of BritishEastAfrica, eastof

Lake

Victoria

;

and Mr.

C.

H.

B. Grant's three specimens, one

from

the

Lemek

Valley,

and two from Kamchuru,

in the

Lobor

District, British East Africa,northof

Lake

Victoria,

commented on by him

in"

The

^Ibis,"

1915,

page

60, belong to the

same

dark, typical

form

of Cursorius temminckii Swainson. In his Birds of

Western

Africa, Vol. 2, p.

230, ^pi. 24,

Swainson

described

and

figured a pale-colored

form

of thisspecies,

under

the

name Tachydromus

Senegalensis Lichtenstein,

from West

Africa.

Both

of these

forms

are subspecifically distinct

from

that described above.

RHINOPTILUS AFRICANUS RAFFERTYI, new

subspecies¹ Abyssinian Courser

Type-specimen.

— Adult male, Cat. No. 243063, U. S. Nat. Mus.

;

collected atthe Iron Bridge,

Hawash

River, Abyssinia,

February

_4, 19¹2,

by Edgar

A.

Mearns.

(Original

number,

20081.)

Subspeciiic characters.

— Most closely related to Rhinoptilus afri- canus hartingi Sharpe and R. a. bisignatus (Hartlaub). From

hartingi it differs in being very

much

darker in coloration, with general color of

crown

blackish instead of cinnamon-buff,

and

with the pale tips to the rectrices crossed

by

a subterminal blackish bar

which

is absentin hartingi;

from

bisignatus it differs inbeing

much

less ochraceous

above and

below, with

narrower and

paler

margins

to the feathers of the

upper

parts,

and

with

narrower

transverse black pectoral

bands

^;

and from

both hartingi

and

bisignatus it

may

be instantly distinguished

by

the grayness of its

upper

parts.

Measurements

_of type (adultmale).

— Length of skin, 185; wing, 145; tail, 63; culmen (chord), 14; tarsus, 46.

Material.

— Twomales fromthe Hawash Valley,takenJanuary25 and February 4, 1912.

1

Named

inhonorof Dr. DonaldG. Rafferty, a

member

of the Childs Frick African Expedition,

who

first drew

my

attention to this Courser, in the

Hawash

Valley.

8 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS

VOL. 65

Remarks. —I can find no previous name applicable to the present subspecies. Following is a list of the names which have been pro- posed for the whole species africanus; those precededby an asterisk

(*) are currently recognized as valid subspecies:

*

Africanus

(Cursorius)

Temminck,

1807. Cat. Syst. Cab. d'Orn., 1807, pp. 175, 263 ⁽

Namaqualand, Southwestern

Africa).

Collaris

(Tac hydro mus)

Vieillot, 1817.

N.

Diet. d'Hist. Nat., Vol.

8, 181_{7, p.} 293 (Africa).

Bicinctus (Cursorius)

Temminck,

i82g.

Man.

d'Orn., Vol. 2, 1829, p. 515 ^(Interior

of

Africa).

Grallator (Cursorius) Leadbeater, 1830. Trans. Linn.

Soc, N.

S., Vol. 16, 1830, read

December

20, 1825, p. 92 (type-locality not

mentioned)

.

*Bisignatus (Cursorius) Hartlaub, 1865. Proc. Zool. Soc.

London,

1865, p.

87

^(Benguela,

Angola).

^Gracilis (Cursorius) Fischer

and Reichenow,

1884. Journ. ^fiir Ornith., 1884, p. 178 (Masailand).

*Hartingi

(Rhinoptilus) Sharpe, 1893. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club, Vol.

3, 1893,p. xiv (Somaliland, East Africa).

*Sharpei

(Rhinoptilus africanus) Erlanger, 1905. Journ. ^fiir Ornith., 1905, p. 59 (type-localitynotgiven, butfixed

by

C.

H.

B. Grant,¹

who

designated Deelfontein, central

Cape

Colony, as the particular type locality)

.

*Raffertyi (Rhinoptilus africanus)

Mearns,

1915.

Smithsonian Mis-

cellaneous Collections,Vol. _65,

No.

13, 1915,p. 7 (Iron Bridge,

Hawash

Valley, Abyssinia).

SAROTHRURA

LORINGI,

new

species Loring's RailorCrake

Type-specimen.

— Adultfemale, Cat. No. 214680,U. S.Nat. Mus.

;

collected

on

the west side of

Mount

Kenia, at the altitude of 8,500

feet, in British East Africa,

October

13, 1909,

by

_J.

Alden

Loring.

(Original

number,

439.)

Characters.

—

^This

form

^belongstothe

group

^{includingSarothrura}

r'eichenovi²

and

^5". buryi?allof

which

will probablyprovetobe sub-

1

Ibis, 1915, p. 61.

2Corethrura reichenovi Sharpe, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., Vol.23, 1894, p. 121 ("Cameroons,

W.

Africa").

3Sarothrura buryi Ogilvie-Grant, Bull. Brit. Ornith. Club,Vol. 21, No. 143, 1908, p. 93 ("Dubar,

Wagga

Mountains, Somaliland").

NO. 13

NEW AFRICAN

BIRDS

MEARNS

₉

species of S. elegans.¹ It differs

from

elegans

and

buryiin its darker coloration

and

heavier markings, especially as to the

under

parts, and, in this regard,corresponds

more

closely to reichenovi.

Description of type

(and

only specimen).

—

^{Generalcolor of}

upper

parts

army brown

^{; back,}

rump,

scapulars,

and

wing-coverts

numer-

ously spotted with

buckthorn brown,

each spotbordered with black- ish

above and below

; bastard-

wing and

primary-coverts slaty

brown,

with small ocherousspots

on

the outer

edge

ofthe outer

webs

; quills slaty

brown

^;

upper

tail-coverts

and

tail

cinnamon-brown

heavily cross-banded withblack;

head army brown,

finelyspottedwithbuck- thorn

brown and narrowly

cross-banded with blackish; sides of head, including eye

and

lores, ochraceous-buff finely dotted with

brown

^; ear-coverts without a

dark

linealong the

upper margin

(in

which

respect itdiffers

from

elegans) ; chin

and

throat soiled white, thickly cross-banded with

brownish

black; chest sayal

brown,

spot- ted with bister;

abdomen

soiled white heavily cross-banded with blackish, the blackish

bands

being broader than the whitish inter- spaces; thighs

and

crissum sayal

brown,

spotted

and

obscurely cross-banded with sepia

and

dirty white, but with the

under

tail- coverts redder

and

broadly barred across with blackish sepia; axil- lars brownish-black,

banded and

tipped with white;

under wing-

coverts hair

brown edged

with white.

Measurements

of type (adult female;

measurements

taken

from

dry skin).

— Length of skin, 155; wing, 92; tail, 42; culmen

(chord), 15; tarsus, 27; middle toe

and

claw, 32.

Remarks. — The

type-specimen

was

taken in a " Cyclone^"

mouse-

trap, set ina dense forest of

bamboo, by

_J.

Alden

Loring, a

member

of the

Smithsonian

African Expedition, in

whose honor

the species

is

named. The

following

measurements and

notes

on

the colors of the soft parts

were

taken

by

the author

from

the fresh

specimen

:

Length, 188^{; alar}expanse, 300^; wing, 93^{; tail,}

48

^;

culmen

(chord), 15^{; tarsus,}30^; middletoe

and

claw, 32. Irides

brown

; billpurplish gray, flesh color

on

basal half of mandible; legs, feet,

and

claws

uniform

purplish gray.

lGallinula elegans A. Smith, 111. Zool. S. Afr., Aves, 1839, pi. 22 (South Africa).