DISTRIBUTION OF BIRDS IN TIME AND SPACE. 193 



black hoopoe and secretary-bird, are some of 

 the more striking forms it contains. 



The Indian region embraces Southern Asia 

 from the Himalayas and Yangtze River in China. 

 Its western limit has been defined by Dr Sharpe 

 at about 55°east longitude, where the Palsearctic 

 and Indian regions find a frontier. Its most 

 characteristic birds appear to be the peacock and 

 the broad-bill. 



The Australian region embraces the Australian 

 continent, and the islands lying to the east of a 

 line passing through the narrow strait between 

 Bali and Lombok, called " Wallace's line." Of 

 this we shall have more to say later. Its most 

 noticeable birds are the emu, cassowary and the 

 apteryx, birds-of-paradise, bower-birds, mega- 

 podes, the lyre-bird and cockatoos. 



The Nearctic region corresponds more or less 

 with the whole of North America and adjacent 

 islands. It possesses so many features in com- 

 mon with the Palsearctic that many have sug- 

 gested the blending of the two to form a 

 ^'Holarctic region." 



The Neotropical region may be taken as 

 representing the whole of South and Central 

 America. The rhea, tinamous, opisthocomus, 

 the guans, trumpeters, jacamars, puff-birds, hum- 

 ming-birds, toucans, and many more combine to 

 give this region a remarkable interest. 



Each of these diff'erent regions has been 

 divided and subdivided into sub-regions and 

 provinces of varying extent. It would be im- 

 possible to discuss the relative merits, or even 

 to detail the boundaries of these in this little 



