I90 THE MIGRATION OF BRITISH BIRDS 



Malta ; whilst the more astonishing total of 396 has 

 been recorded from tiny Heligoland^ — yet neither 

 island can claim a single endemic species or race ! 



Turning next to continental islands of more ancient 

 origin, we. find that in the Canaries (the only group 

 which can claim such a distinction in the West Palae- 

 arctic Area) the number of species recorded by Mr. 

 Meade Waldo is 146, of which perhaps ten are endemic, 

 but most if not all of these are only island forms or 

 representative races of continental Pala^arctic species. 

 On the other hand, Madagascar, another continental 

 island of ancient origin, contains 238 species, of which 

 no less than 129 species or races are endemic. Not a 

 single genus is peculiar to the Canary Islands, but no 

 less than 35 genera are confined exclusively to Mada- 

 gascar ! As an example of Oceanic Islands we can 

 compare the Azores and Madeira with say the Bermudas 

 and the Galapagos. On the Azores some 53 species of 

 birds have been obtained, 38 of which are residents, and 

 1 5 only stragglers to the group : two species arc en- 

 demic, one of which is very closely allied to Canarian 

 and Madeiran forms. Madeira numbers some 100 

 species, either as residents or abnorm.al migrants, and 

 can claim but two endemic birds, one of which at least 

 is only subspecifically distinct from a Canarian form. 

 Coming now to the Bermudas, we find that no fewer 

 than 180 species have been observed on the islands, but 



1 This is the number recorded by Giitke, but at least one species 

 has been shown to have been so in error — Geocichla dauma (conf. 

 Ibis, 1894, p. 298). Probably some other records are equally 

 unsatisfactory, so that the total number of Heligoland species may 

 not be quite so large. 



