ISLAND AVIFAUNAS 189 



I propose to take. Dealing first with continental islands 

 of recent origin, why, we may very naturallj- ask, does 

 Borneo — presumed to be a recent continental island — 

 contain so many peculiar birds, whilst the British 

 Islands, of probably the same geological age, contain 

 so few endemic species ? Why does the Japanese 

 Archipelago exhibit such a paucity of peculiar forms, 

 whilst Formosa — only about half the size of Ireland — 

 is rich to an astonishing degree in endemic species ? 

 Why should Ireland possess not a single endemic bird, 

 whilst the Philippines are replete with them ? 



Of the 580 species of birds that have hitherto been 

 found in Borneo, according to the latest av^ailable in- 

 formation, no less than 108 species are peculiar to the 

 island. In Formosa the late Mr. Swinhoe met with 

 some 144 species of birds ; subsequent investigation has 

 shown that no less than 43 species are endemic ; whilst 

 of the 472 species that have been obtained in the 

 Philippine Islands, no less than 300 species are peculiar ! 

 On the other hand, the list of birds found normally in 

 the British Islands contains, say, close upon 250 species, 

 but out of this number only five are endemic, and four of 

 these cannot even claim specific rank. Again, the list of 

 birds found in the Japanese Empire contains some 381 

 species {fide Seebohm), but only seventeen are known to 

 be endemic, and of these five at least are not specifically 

 distinct. The Channel Islands do not contain a single 

 endemic species ; Corsica but one {Sitta zvhitcheadi) ;. 

 none, so far as is known, occur in the Balearic Isles, in 

 Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, or Heligoland. Of the two 

 latter islands it is interesting to remark that no less 

 than 278 species were recorded by Mr. Wright from. 



