﻿COXTKIBUTIOXS 
  TO 
  PHILIPPINE 
  ORNITHOLOGY. 
  

  

  PAKT 
  II.— 
  XOTE^S 
  ON 
  THE 
  DISTRIBUTION 
  OF 
  PHILIPPINE 
  BIRDS. 
  

  

  By 
  Dean 
  C. 
  Worcester, 
  

  

  Asshtaiit 
  Professor 
  of 
  Zoolof/y, 
  UniveviUij 
  of 
  Michigan. 
  

  

  STATEMENT 
  OF 
  STEERE'S 
  CONCLUSIONS 
  AND 
  REVIEW 
  OF 
  RECENT 
  

   ORNITHOLOGICAL 
  WORK 
  IN 
  THE 
  PHILIPPINES. 
  

  

  Altliongli 
  the 
  oruithology 
  of 
  the 
  Philippines 
  has 
  loug 
  attracted 
  the 
  

   attention 
  of 
  natnialists, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  am 
  aware 
  the 
  hrst 
  attempt 
  to 
  dis- 
  

   cuss 
  at 
  any 
  lengtli 
  the 
  interesting 
  zoogeographical 
  problems 
  presented 
  

   by 
  the 
  distribution 
  of 
  birds 
  within 
  the 
  limits 
  of 
  the 
  group 
  was 
  that 
  of 
  

   Doctor 
  J. 
  B, 
  Steere, 
  who 
  in 
  1888 
  published 
  in 
  Xature 
  a 
  brief 
  paper 
  

   in 
  which 
  he 
  proposed 
  to 
  assign 
  the 
  name 
  "zoological 
  province" 
  to 
  the 
  

   Philippines 
  as 
  a 
  whole, 
  and 
  to 
  divide 
  them 
  into 
  six 
  "subprovinces," 
  as 
  

   follows: 
  "First, 
  the 
  northern 
  Philipi)ines, 
  consisting 
  of 
  Luzon 
  and 
  

   Marinduque 
  and 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  small 
  islands 
  about 
  Luzon; 
  second, 
  Min- 
  

   doro; 
  third, 
  the 
  central 
  Philippines, 
  made 
  up 
  of 
  the 
  islands 
  of 
  Panay, 
  

   Negros, 
  Guimaras, 
  Cebu, 
  Bohol, 
  and 
  Masbate; 
  fourth, 
  the 
  eastern 
  

   Philippines, 
  comprising 
  the 
  islands 
  of 
  Samar 
  and 
  Leyte: 
  tifth, 
  the 
  

   southern 
  Philippines, 
  embracing 
  the 
  great 
  island 
  of 
  Mindanao, 
  with 
  

   Basilan 
  and 
  perhaps 
  Sulu, 
  and, 
  sixth, 
  the 
  western 
  Philippines, 
  consist- 
  

   ing 
  of 
  the 
  islands 
  of 
  Paragua, 
  or 
  Palawan, 
  and 
  Balabac." 
  

  

  In 
  a 
  second 
  paper, 
  which 
  appeared 
  simultaneously 
  in 
  the 
  Auk 
  and 
  

   the 
  Ibis 
  for 
  July, 
  1894, 
  the 
  same 
  author 
  makes 
  a 
  more 
  detailed 
  examina- 
  

   tion 
  of 
  the 
  distribution 
  of 
  the 
  genera 
  and 
  species 
  of 
  nonmigratory 
  land 
  

   birds, 
  basing 
  his 
  conclusions 
  entirely 
  on 
  the 
  collections 
  made 
  by 
  the 
  

   Steere 
  expedition. 
  

  

  Of 
  these 
  collections 
  he 
  says 
  that, 
  while 
  not 
  comprifsing 
  all 
  species 
  

   known 
  from 
  the 
  islands, 
  they 
  are 
  so 
  nearly 
  complete 
  that 
  any 
  just 
  

   conclusions 
  drawn 
  from 
  their 
  study 
  must 
  be 
  accepted 
  as 
  truth, 
  which 
  

   further 
  exploration 
  will 
  only 
  strengthen, 
  and 
  from 
  the 
  facts 
  at 
  his 
  dis- 
  

   l^osalhe 
  attempts 
  to 
  deduce 
  several 
  somewhat 
  radical 
  and 
  far-reaching- 
  

   laws 
  of 
  evolution 
  and 
  distribution. 
  

  

  Since 
  the 
  appearance 
  of 
  these 
  papers 
  our 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  distribution 
  

   of 
  Philippine 
  birds 
  has 
  been 
  materially 
  increased. 
  Mr. 
  A. 
  H. 
  Everett 
  

   has 
  collected 
  on 
  Tawi 
  Tawi, 
  Sibutu, 
  and 
  Balabac. 
  Mr. 
  John 
  Whitehead 
  

   has 
  done 
  marvelous 
  things 
  in 
  the 
  highlands 
  of 
  Luzon, 
  and 
  has 
  collected 
  

  

  567 
  

  

  