136 THE STORY OF THE BIRDS 



Their headquarters are in the Amazonian and 

 Guianan forests. The last family of the present 

 sub-order contains the Woodpeckers and Wry- 

 necks (Picidae), subdivisible into two marked 

 sub-families. The Woodpeckers (Picinas) are a 

 very widely distributed group, but curiously 

 enough are absent from Madagascar and Egypt 

 and the Australian Region. They are most 

 abundant in the Neotropical and Oriental Region, 

 although ranging over the entire Palaearctic and 

 Nearctic Regions as far north as the limits of 

 forest growth, and being fairly well represented 

 in the Ethiopian Region. The Wrynecks (lyn- 

 ginse) are exclusively an Old World group. Of 

 the four or five species our Common Wryneck 

 (lynx torquilla) has by far the most extensive 

 range. Its summer range extends over the 

 greater part of the Palaearctic Region, whilst in 

 winter it includes most of the Oriental Region 

 and the northern portion of the Ethiopian 

 Region. The remaining species all belong to 

 the latter region. 



The Psittaciformes are essentially a tropical 

 and sub-tropical order. Parrots only exceptionally 

 being found in the temperate zones. They may 

 be divided into six families. Parrots are most un- 

 equally distributed over their area of occupation. 



