488 BULLETIN 15 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



plumage. Erlanger," on the other hand, says that very old males 

 have an orange tone on the upper parts. The adults examined by 

 me are all males and none of them shows any orange or orange red on 

 the upper back. 



Two of the birds from the Arussi Plateau are young and are in the 

 plumage on which Heuglin based his Picus melaTiauchen ^'^ ; that is, 

 they have the back dusky olive green instead of pure golden yellow, 

 have less red on the occiput, have gray napes, and the upper tail 

 coverts olive green, only tipped with reddish. 



The size variations of this species are as follows (males only) : 

 Wing 91-95, tail 45-49.5, culmen 17-20, and tarsus 14.5-16 milli- 

 meters. 



Little is known of the nesting season of this bird. Neumann ^^ pro- 

 cured females in breeding condition on Februar^^ 4 and March 2 in the 

 Gofa and Kaffa regions. 



About a dozen birds other than those collected were seen by Mearns, 

 all of them at Aletta. 



THRIPIAS NAMAQUUS SCHOENSIS (Ruppell) 



Picus (,Dendrobates)schoensis Ruppell, Mus. Senck., vol. 3, p. 120, 1842: 

 Shoa. 



/Specifnens collected: 



Two males, two females. Dire Daoua, Ethiopia, December 10-20, 

 1911. 



Four males, two females, Gato Kiver near Gardula, Ethiopia, 

 April 12-24, 1912. 



One female. Sagon River, Ethiopia, June 4, 1912. 



One male, Wobok, Ethiopia, June 18, 1912. 



One female, Guaso River, Kenya Colony, August 2, 1912. 



One female, Tana River, camp No. 6, Kenya Colony, August 23, 

 1912. 



Soft parts : 



Male. — Iris, varying from reddish brown to dark brownish red; 

 bill, from dark slate to plumbeous black, paler at the base of the 

 mandible ; feet, greenish gray ; claws, black. 



Female. — Iris, dark reddish brown; bill, grayish olive to plum- 

 beous black ; feet, greenish gray ; claws, dusky. 



The material available for study does not permit of any serious 

 revisionary study of the geographic variations of this woodpecker, 

 but it is quite doubtful if both semischoensis and intermedius can be 

 maintained. At least, the former seems to merge with the latter 

 to such an extent that it is questionable if there is any value in 



I'Journ. f. Ornith., 1904, pp. 398-399. 



" Idem, 1905, p. 477. 



"Orn. N. O. Afr., vol 1, 1871, p. 808. 



