294 BULLETIN 15 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



AGAPORNIS TARANTA (Stanley) 



Psittacus taranta Stanley, in Salt's Travels Abyss., App. p. lii, 1814: Pas& 

 of Taranta, inland from Massowa. 



Specimens collected: 



One female adult, Ourso, Ethiopia, October 5, 1911. 

 Five male, three female adults, Arussi Plateau, 9,000 feet (2,700 

 meters), Ethiopia, February 22-29, 1912. 



One male, two female adults, Cofali, Ethiopia, March 2-3, 1912. 

 Tv\o males, Botola, Sidamo, Ethiopia, March 4, 1912, 

 One male, Loco, Ethiopia, March 15, 1912. 



A series of 134 specimens examined reveals no constant geographic 

 variations. Taking into consideration only adult birds, the size 

 variations are as follows : 



Males: Wing, 95-108 (average 103.1) ; tail, 44.5-55 (47.7) ; culmen 

 from cere, 15.5-18.5 (17.2) millimeters. 



Females : Wing, 94-105 (average 101.8) ; tail, 44-50 (46.7) ; culmen 

 from cere, 15-18 (17.2) millimeters. 



Neunzig-^ gives the wing length of A. taranta as 100 to 110 mil- 

 limeters. 



In coloration, birds vary from deep, bright green to bright yel- 

 lowish olive green on the occiput, nape, and back; while in adult 

 males, the forehead varies from scarlet to orange scarlet. The red 

 forehead is found only in adult males, that of the female being 

 green like the rest of the head. Likewise the female lacks the red 

 eye ring present in the males. Strangely enough, many writers 

 have wrongly assumed that both sexes had red foreheads as adults, 

 and Reichenow -® even says that in the females the red color is paler 

 and yellower than in males. However, as far back as 1870 Blanf ord ^* 

 wrote that " the male alone has a red head." In 1905 Erlanger ^° 

 also showed it to be a sexual character. 



In his recent review of the genus Agapomis, Neunzig -^ states 

 the range of taranta to comprise the mountainous country of central 

 and southern Ethiopia from the Mareb River south to Djam-djam 

 and Dobo, southwest to Gimirrha, in the west to Kaffa, and south- 

 east to Harrar. This is taken from Neumann's account.^^ Sclater ^- 

 gives substantially the same. Both seem to have overlooked the 

 fact that Zedlitz "'^ recorded this species from the Asmara plateau, 

 in Eritrea, well over 100 kilometers north of the Mareb River. 



=^Verh. Orn. Ges. Bay., vol. 17, 1926, p. 114. 

 28V0g. Afr., vol. 2, p. 21. 

 2'Gcol. and Zool. Abyss., p. 304. 

 sojourn, f. Ornith., vol. 53, p. 438. 

 ^Nov. Zool., vol. 15, 1908, p. 387. 

 '^ Syst. Avium Ethiop., 1924, p. 204. 

 ssjourn. f. Ornith., 1910, p. 738. 



