Birds of Celebes: Psittacidae. 
145 
Young male. Like the adult, but with only a trace of blue on the head; the mantle parrot- 
green; the hack darker blue, which colour is much more extended; the wing-coverts 
dark parrot -green, — darkest at the edge of the wing, — bordered with dark golden- 
ochraceous (Luzon — Nr. 3988). 
Distribution. “Philippine Islands including Palawan and Mantanani (small island to the 
North-west of Borneo) and also the Sooloo Islands” (Salvad. c 5); Sangi (Fischer I). 
Observation. This species is included in the avifauna of the Oelehesian province in virtue of 
six specimens in the Darmstadt Museum labelled by Dr. Fischer as coming from 
the Sangi Islands — most likely Great Sangi — and recorded by Briiggemann. 
Like Prof. W. Blasius we see no reason why the indication Sangi should he con- 
sidered as possibly erroneous, though confirmatory evidence of the occurrence of this 
widely-spread species, or a local race of it, in Great Sangi — where it was not ob- 
tained hyHoedt, v. Kosenberg, van Duivenhode, Meyer, Bruijn, nor Platen 
— would he welcome. 
This species varies a good deal in size, specimens from the Sooloo Islands and 
Talaut being the largest yet recorded. They also vary in coloration: the two spe- 
cimens described above from Luzon — especially the young one — have the blue on 
the hack well developed; in three from Cebu (adult and young) this part is parrot- 
green without any blue; one from Palawan (cf juv.) has only a slight trace of blue; 
in two from Mindanao Q, immature) it is better developed, though not so strongly 
as in the Luzon specimens, from which they further differ slightly in other points. 
Briiggemann’s Sangi specimens have “the hind part of head scarcely washed with 
bluish; rump sea-blue; lesser wing-coverts blackish green with light green borders, 
the greater ones dark green bordered Avith greenish yellow. Wing 187 — 195; tail 
j — 127 mm. From the above series (of six), which contains different degrees of age, it 
may be seen that the blue on the head increases in intensity and extent with age, 
while the same colour on the rump disappears more and more, and at last (through 
attrition of the feathers [!]) becomes quite lost” (1). 
The Sangi birds seem from the description to correspond with those of Talaut, 
as far as the intense blue of the head and pui’e green hack of fully adult birds is 
concerned. 
Only a large series of specimens from all the different islands can prove whether 
these differences of coloration are hound to the locahty. 
^ * 47. TANYGNATHUS TALAUTENSIS M. & Wg. 
Talautese Blue-headed Green Parrot. 
a. Tanygnathus luzonensis (nec Linn.) (1) M. & Wg., J. f. 0. 1894, 239. 
Tanygnathus talautensis (1) M. & Wg., Abh. Mus. Dresden 1895, Nr. 9, p. 2. 
“Area rusipang”, Karkellang, Nat. Coll. 
Diagnosis. Similar to T. luconensis hut larger, the head above and ear-coverts cerulean-blue, 
sharply cut off from the olivaceous yellow of the neck, becoming green on forehead 
and loral region; malar region washed with blue (ad. Karkellang — 0 13766, type 
of species; and others). 
Young. The occiput only washed with blue ; the wing-coverts green, scarcely any blue showing, 
the green-yellow edgings lighter than in the adult, the carpal region green, not black 
(Karkellang — 0 15265). 
Measurements. (20 specimens not including young ones) wing 202 — 222 mm, average 210 — 215; 
tail 115 — 142; bill from cere c. 33.5 — 39; tarsus c. 20. 
Meyer & Wigleswortli, Birds of Celebes (Oct. 18th, 1897). 
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