CHAP. XVIII JAPAN AND FORMOSA 407 



we found to occur in Japan. These are enumerated in 

 the following list. 



Species of Birds common to Formosa and India or Malaya, but not 

 FOUND IN China. 



1. SijjMa supercilmris. The Rufous -breasted Flycatcher of the S.E. 



Himalayas. 



2. Halcyon coromanda. The Great Red Kingfisher of India, ]\Ialaya, and 



Japan. 



3. Pahimhus 2ndchricollis. The Darjeeling Wood-pigeon of the S.E. 



Himalayas. 



4. Turnix dussumicri. The larger Button-quail of India. 



5. Spizaetus nipalcnsis. The Spotted Hawk-eagle of Nepal and Assam. 



6. Lophospiza trivirgata. The Crested Gos-hawk of the Malay Islands. 



7. Bulaca ncwarensis. The Brown Wood-owl of the Himalayas. 



8. Strix Candida. The Grass-owl of India and Malaya. 



The most interesting of the above are the pigeon and 

 the flycatcher, both of which are, so far as yet known, 

 strictly confined to the Himalayan mountains and Formosa. 

 They thus afford examples of discontinuous specific 

 distribution exactly parallel to that of the great sjiotted 

 kingfisher, already referred to as found only in the 

 Himalayas and Japan. 



Comparison of the Faunas of Hainan^ Formosa, and 

 Japan. — The island of Hainan on the extreme south of 

 China, and only separated from the mainland by a strait 

 fifteen miles wide, appears to have considerable similarity 

 to Formosa, inasmuch as it possesses seventeen peculiar 

 land-birds (out of 130 obtained by Mr. Swinhoe), two of 

 which are close allies of Formosan species, Avhile two others 

 are identical. We also find four species whose nearest 

 allies are in the Himalayas. Our knowledge of this island 

 and of the adjacent coast of China is not yet sufficient to 

 enable us to form an accurate judgment of its relations, 

 but it seems probable that it was separated from the 

 continent at, approximately, the same epoch as Formosa 

 and Japan, and that the special features of each of these 

 islands are mainly due to their geographical position. 

 Formosa, being more completely isolated than either of the 

 others, possesses a larger proportion of peculiar species of 

 birds, while its tropical situation and lofty mountain ranges 



