The geographical distribution of animals, with a study of the relations ...

—CHAP. XI.] THE ETHIOPIAN KEGION. 277Strigid-e.44. Athene45. ScopsSpecies.11PLATALEID.E.49. Ibis ...Species.Rallid-j:.46. Rallus47. Porzana31Podicipid^;.50. PodicepsScOLOPACID.dE.48. GallinagoTotal peculiar species of Eth. \ ,1 or Or. genera ... ... /fiSpecies of Birds common to Madagascar and Africa or Asia.1. Cisticola cursitans.2. Corvus scapulatus.3. Crithagra canicollis.4. Merops superciliosus.5. Collocalia fuciphaga.6. OSna capensis.7. Aplopelia tympanistria.8. Falco minor.9. Falco concolor.10. Milvus segyptius.11. Milvus migrans.12. Strix flammea.These three tables show us an amount of speciality hardly tobe found in the birds of any other part of the globe. Out of111 land-birds in Madagascar, only 12 are identical with speciesinhabiting the adjacent continents, and most of these belong topowerful-winged, or wide-ranging forms, which probably nowoften pass from one country to the other. The peculiar species—49 land-birds and 7 waders, or aquatics—are mostly wellmarkedforms of African genera. There are, however, severalgenera (marked by italics) which have Oriental or Palsearctioaffinities, but not African, viz. Copsychus, Hypsipetes, Hypherpes,Alcrtrcenas, and Margaroperdix. These indicate a closer approximationto the Malay countries than now exists.The table of 33 peculiar genera is of great interest. Most ofthese are well-marked forms, belonging to families which arefully developed in Africa; though it is singular that notone of the exclusively African families is represented inany way in Madagascar. Others, however, are of remote oraltogether doubtful affinities. Sittidce is Oriental and Palaearctic,but not Ethiopian. Oxylabes and Mystacornis are of doubtfulaffinities. Artainia and Cyanolanius still more so, and it isquite undecided what family they belong to. Calicalicus isalmost equally obscure. Neodrcpanis, one of the most recentdiscoveries, seems to connect the Nectariniidse with the Pacific