Fauna of Canada and Flyrlda. 51 



lunu.s jjceiiliar to ;ui ishmd iia\u iiu means of I'cacliiiii;- iha nearest 

 continuous land, Init in the present instance, as will be shown 

 later, tlic i)roxiniity of (AiV)a and the Bahamas to Florida, favored 

 l)y the direction of tlie Gulf Stream and the prevalence of hurri- 

 canes blowing from the Antilles to the Peninsula, have enabled 

 a multitude of West Indian })lants, insects, Ijirds, and even land- 

 shells to reacli southern Florida, though the breadth of the strait 

 is an effective bar to the passage of terrestrial manmials and 

 reptiles. 



Wallace boldly tells us. without attempt at (pialifi cation, that 

 ''between frigid Canada and sub-tropical Florida there are less 

 marked differences in the animal productions than between 

 Florida and Cuba." Frigid Canada, in eastern North America, 

 is the home of the Eskimo, ])olar bear, musk oxen, reindeer, 

 lennnings, marmots, beavers, muskrats, porcupines, wolverines, 

 sables, shrews, star-nosed moles, and several other mammals, 

 comprising in all '20 genera, not one of which occurs in southern 

 Florida.* Florida, on the other hand, is iidiabited ))y opossums, 

 harvest mice, rice-field mice, cotton rats, wood rats, pocket go- 

 phers, gray foxes, spotted skunks, big-eared bats, and other forms, 

 representing 18 genera and 5 families of mammals that do jiot 

 occur in frigid Canadat. In the case of birds, eastern Canada 

 has 26 genera that do not reach Florida, among which may be 

 mentioned ptarmigans, grouse, rough-legged hawks, golden 

 eagles, great gray owls, snowy owls, Acadian owls, hawk owls, 

 three-toed woodpeckers, Canada jays, pine bullfinches, cross- 

 bills, linnets, snow buntings, titlarks, winter wrens, kinglets, 

 >and stone chats, + while Florida has at least 37 genera that do 



* Tlie following 20 genera of mammals inliabit eastern Canada, but none 

 of them reacli southern Florida: Rangifer, Alee, Orihoti, Tainiax, Spcr- 

 tiiryphilns, Arrfomi/s, factor, Fiher, Arvicola, Evotomyt<, Phenacomyi<, Mijodrs, 

 CmundvM, Zapus, Erethizon, Thalarctoa, Gulo, Mustela, Condylura, ScapunuH, 

 Sorcx. 



tTlie following 1.3 genera of nuunmals inliabit Florida, but none of 

 them reach " frigid Canada : " iJidt-lphix, RcithrodontotiLf/s, Orj/zoiiii/.'^, SUj- 

 modon, NcoioiiKi, frcomi/s, Uroci/on, Procyov, SpUoffuIc, Corynorldniiis, Nydice- 

 jiix, XyliiiDiiiiis, (Hfipti'rui^. The "i families arc: DidelpJddie, Geoinyidiv, 

 Procyoiiid;i , Kinhidbynnridiv, PlnilJostoiiiaiUhv. 



J The following 2f) genera of birds breed in eastern Canada, but none 

 of tlieni in Florida : JMidragaprts, Bonasa, Lagopux, Archihufco, Aqu'da, 

 Scotiaptcx, Nyctala, Nyctea, Surnia, Picoides, Spliyrapicus, Perm/rnof, J)o/i- 

 chonyx, Plnirola, Loxin, ArdiiOi'ix, IVertrnphi'nax, Calcarius, Zoridlrirli'm, 

 J II, ICO, Paxxiri'lla, Anflnia, A)iortln'r(i, (.'ertldu, Regidua, Saxirola. 



