BIRDS OF ETHIOPIA AND KENYA COLONY 31 



Two subspecies of the theckla lark occur in northeastern Africa — 

 the present one, found in the higher country of Ethiopia from the 

 Eritrean escarpment south to Shoa and the Arussi Plateau, and a 

 paler, more sandj^-colored race {ellioti) of the interior of British 

 Somaliland, and of northern Kenj^a Colony (Koroli and Marsabit!). 



The first pennaceous plumage of this lark does not appear to have 

 been recorded, so the following description may be of value : Generally 

 similar to that of the adult, but the top of the head not streaked, the 

 feathers dark fuscous-brown terminally narrowly edged with white 

 or buffy white, giving an effect of fine light crossbars on the crown 

 and occiput; feathers of the nape much paler and laterally margined 

 with sandy tawny; the interscapulars dark fuscous-brown tipped 

 with whitish, and only narrowly laterally margined with tawny (in 

 adults the lateral edges are wider than the median dark areas) ; the 

 upper wing coverts and the inner secondaries edged with white 

 (tawny in adults). 



The adults vary considerably; some are more rufous on the nape 

 and interscapulars, while others are more sandy tawny. The birds 

 from the Arussi Plateau are blacker on the back and on the head 

 than are the specimens from Gada Bourca, Adis Abeba, and Hakaki, 

 and may represent an undescribed form. From the material avail- 

 able, the Arussi birds seem clearly separable from the others, which 

 agree with Blanford's figure ^^ of praetermissa,, but I do not care to 

 take any action because of the very dark bird Blanford ^^ obtained 

 far to the north at Ashangi, in the country inhabited by praetermissa^ 

 and named by him '■'A. (G.) arenicola? Tristram, var. fuscay This 

 specimen may mean that praetermissa is very variable individually, 

 or it may mean that the dark Arussi form occasionally occurs as far 

 north as the country 200 miles to the east of Lake Tsana. Under 

 the circumstances, the best thing to do is merely to record the differ- 

 ences and not attempt to involve the nomenclature. 



Aside from color, the birds vary in size. Here there is no correla- 

 tion between variation and geography, as may be seen from the meas- 

 urements given in table 5 of the adults collected by the Frick 

 expedition. 



Erlanger ^'' collected a series at Adis Abeba in July and found 

 them to be molting and deduced therefrom that the breeding season 

 had been over for some time. Th.e gonads of the adults were small. 

 The present birds, taken in January and February, are not in very 

 fresh plumage and may or may not have been breeding. Unfortu- 

 nately, Mearns failed to note the condition of the gonads, but the 

 young bird taken on January 12 must have left the nest not later 



^ Observations on the geology and zoology of Abyssinia, etc., pi. 6, facing p. 3S8, 1870. 



»Ibid., p. 387. 



«T Journ. fur Orn., 1907, p. 48. 



