450 



BULLETIN 15 3, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



4. T. d. frontatum. — Nyasaland, west through the Katanga to An- 

 gola. Unfortunately, I have seen no material of this form, but it 

 appears to be well marked and has been accepted by ail investigators 

 who have had to deal with it. T. alexanderi. Shelley is a synonym. 

 Characters: Similar to massaicum but the breast and lower throat 

 more strongly yellowish, the ventral spots larger and darker, the 

 yellowish margins of the wing feathers darker. 



The series of the typical form brought back by the Frick expedi- 

 tion illustrates the following facts, hitherto unrecorded, concerning 

 the plumages and molts of this barbet. 



The Juvenal plumage, as already noted, differs from the adult 

 type, only in that it lacks the red on the forehead and crown, which 

 are black like the occiput in the young birds. The juvenal plumage 

 is worn but a short time when a very incomplete postjuvenal molt 

 begins. This molt aifects only the antero-dorsal part of the head 

 and is easily observed because the new feathers are red, not black. 

 The result of this molt is a plumage identical with that of older birds. 

 One of the two young birds (the one from Mar Mora) is just start- 

 ing to show red on the forehead, and the rest of the plumage is still 

 very fresh, like that of the other immature specimen, in which no 

 sign of postjuvenal molt is present, so it follows that the red feathers 

 appear at no great length of time after the juvenal feathers have 

 attained full growth. Both young birds have smooth (not notched) 

 maxillary tomia. 



The size measurements of the adults collected are as follows : 



Locality 



Wing 



Ethiopia: 



Dire Daoua__ 



Do 



Do 



Gato River 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Do 



Do 



H awash River 

 Do 



79. 5 

 79. 

 77.0 

 77.0 

 78. 5 

 77. 

 77. 5 

 77.0 

 76. 5 

 75.0 

 80.0 

 76.0 

 77.0 

 78.0 

 77.0 

 75.0 



The adults vary considerably with regard to the amount of white 

 in the nape, but the variations are purely individual. The tail molt 

 is centrifugal ; the wing molt has two centers of origin, the carpal 



