362 ANNUAL. REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 



I have heard it stated that there are some 1,200 descriptions of 

 birds from China. Whether this be the case or not, it is probably not 

 very wide of the mark to set the number of distinct forms known to 

 occur in the country at well over 600. In a list of birds that are 

 known to occur in Manchuria and the neighboring region, which 1 

 have prepared with the help of various experts, there are some 500 

 forms. Most of these occur at least in some part of China proper, 

 and it is certain that the indigenous birds of the more westerly re- 

 gions must number considerably over 100 more. 



The avi-fauna of China may be characterized as typically Palearc- 

 tic with a strong intrusion of Oriental species in the southern parts 

 of the country. At the same time the palearctic element may be 

 further described as being Tartarian in its affinities in the north and 

 northwest, and Himalayan in the highlartds of the west and central 

 areas. The importance of this Himalayan intrusion should not be 

 overlooked, for it will often explain the remarkable occurrence of 

 some species in an unexpected area. Botanists tell us that in the 

 higher parts of this country the flora is often distinctly Himalayan, 

 and this is to be explained by the fact that the Tsing Ling and other 

 high mountain ranges of central and west China are apparently off- 

 shoots of the great Himalayan massif. We thus find that faunistic 

 areas or zones occur in a perpendicular direction as well as a horizon- 

 tal one, a fact first pointed out, I think it was, by Elwes, an orni- 

 thologist of considerable repute in England. 



As regards migrant species in China, it may be pointed out that 

 the country receives influxes of birds from India as well as the 

 islands of the Indian-Pacific Oceans. Species that winter in the 

 Philippines, for instance, are commonly found breeding in the 

 mountains of north China. The whole of the China coast during 

 the migration season forms an immense highway for transient 

 visitors, which are on their way to Siberia to breed, and it is due to 

 this fact that we know as much as we do about the number and kinds 

 of birds that pass through China. It has been possible for observers 

 who have been emploj^ed either in some European firm at the coast 

 or in the customs service to devote their spare time to this fascinat- 

 ing subject, usually with very valuable results. 



It is impossible here to go into details concerning the various 

 families, genera, and species of birds to be met with in the country. 

 The subject is too vast. Besides it would be superfluous, for there 

 are numerous excellent lists of such birds extant, not to mention 

 expansive works such as Gould's " Birds of Asia." The museum of 

 this society contains a very fine collection of Chinese birds, and any- 

 one wishing to take up the subject will find that the specimens have 

 all been identified and labeled. 



