64 A HISTORY OF BIRDS 



The Palaearctic Region embraces the whole of Europe and 

 Northern Asia, its southern Hmit corresponding roughly with 

 the so'"" Parallel of N. Latitude. 



What may be called the typical birds of this region are the 

 Grouse, Pheasants and Capercailzie. 



It is divided by Dr. Bowdler Sharpe into five sub-regions : — 



TJic Arctic Sub-region. — The first in this list comprises the 

 inhospitable land above the Arctic Circle, with the northern 

 islands such as Kolguev, Nova Zembla, Spitzbergen and F'ranz 

 Joseph Land ; while it extends southwards of the Arctic 

 Circle to include Central Siberia and the mountain districts of 

 Siberia. That is to say, this area is not determined merely 

 by latitude, but by physical conditions — altitude, temperature, 

 vegetation. Here dwell the Gyr Falcon, Steller's Eider-duck, 

 Bewick's Swan, the Little Auk and Brunnich's Guillemot, 

 while the Knot and Curlew Sandpiper, among the waders, 

 continue to find, in this apparently forbidding environment, a 

 safe breeding place, spending the winter in more southerly 

 regions ; the Hawk Owl and Snowy Owl and the Snow Bunt- 

 ing, on the other hand, are permanent residents. 



TJie Eurasian Sub-region includes the rest of Europe, most 

 of Central Asia and Siberia to the Pacific at about Lat. 55°. 

 No very remarkable types are characteristic of this sub-region. 

 All the " British " birds occur here, as well as many continental 

 types which do not occur in these islands. 



In the M editerraiieo- Asiatic Snb-region are included the 

 Mediterranean countries south of the Alps, and Carpathians, 

 Persia, Central Asia and Thibet. As might be expected, in 

 addition to typically Pal?earctic birds, such as Crows, Chats 

 {Saxicola), Warblers, Tits, Buntings and Larks, a mingling of 

 African, Indian and Chinese forms are met with, such as the 

 Glossy Starling {Hagiospar tristravti) and a Sun-bird {Cinnyris 

 osea), which are African, and the Fishing Owl (Ketn/^a), which 

 is Indian. 



As touching the MancJmrian Sab-region, Dr. Sharpe re- 

 marks : " From the Yangtze Valley north to about 55° N. Lat. 

 and eastwards to about Long. 100" there are found so many 

 remarkable forms of birds that a natural sub-region must be 

 assigned to the area they inhabit ". Not the least interesting 

 feature of the birds herein met with is the fact that they closely 



