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

———chap, xin.] THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 443-For the purpose of zoological comparison, we may classthem infour main divisions. 1. The Ladrone and Caroline Islands;2. New Caledonia and the New Hebrides ; 3. The Fiji, Tonga,and Samoa Islands; 4. The Society, and Marquesas Islands.The typical Polynesian fauna is most developed in the thirddivision ; and it will be well to describe this first, and then showhow the other islands diverge from it, and approximate othersub-regions.Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa Islands.—The land-birds inhabitingthese islands belong to 41 genera, of which 17 are characteristicof the Australian region, and 9 more peculiarly Polynesian.The characteristic Australian genera are the following : Petroica(Sylviidae) ; Lalage (Campephagidae) ; Monarcha, Myiagra, Rhipidura(Muscicapidse) ; Pachyccphala (Pachycephalidae) ; Eectes(Laniida?) ; Myzomela, Ptilotis, Anthochmra (Meliphagidae) ; Amadina,Eythrura, (Ploceidse) ; Artamus (Artamidse) ; Lorius (Trichoglossidre); Ptilopus, Phlogainas (Columbidse) ; Megapodius(Megapodiidse).The peculiar Polynesian genera are :Tatare,Lamprolia(Sylviidae) ;Aplonis, Sturnodes (Sturnidae) ; Todiramphus(Alcedinidffi) ;Pyrhulopsis, Cyanoramphus, (Platycercidae) ; Coriphilus(Trichoglossidae) ;Didunculus (Didunculidae).The wide-spread genera are Turdus, Zosterops,Hirundo, Halcyon,Collocalia, Eudynamis Cuculus, Ianthoenas, Carpopliaga,Turtur, Halimdus, Astur, Circus, Strix, Asio. The aquatic birdsare fifteen in number, all wide-spread species except one—a formof moor-hen (Gallinulidse), which has been constituted a newgenus Pareudiastes.Society, and Marquesas Islands.—Here, the number of genera ofland-birds has considerably diminished, amounting only to 16in all. The characteristic Australian genera are 5 ;Monarcha,Anthoclucra, Trichoglossus, Ptilopus, and Phlogcenas. The Polynesiangenera are 4 ;Tatare, Todiramphus, Cyanoramphus,Coriphilus, and one recently described genus, Scrresius, an extraordinaryform of large fruit pigeon, here classed under Carpopliaga.These remote groups have thus all the character ofOceanic islands, even as regards the rest of Polynesia, since they