﻿N0.11H4. 
  I'HlLll'l'lNE 
  ORXITHOLOGT—WOBCESTER 
  AND 
  BOIUNS. 
  575 
  

  

  Where 
  siicb 
  contradictory 
  results 
  are 
  arrived 
  at 
  tlie 
  principle 
  ou 
  

   which 
  they 
  are 
  based 
  must 
  be 
  unsound 
  or 
  its 
  application 
  faulty. 
  

  

  I 
  propose 
  to 
  take 
  up 
  the 
  various 
  known 
  islands 
  singly 
  where 
  their 
  

   bird 
  faunae 
  show 
  marked 
  difCerenees, 
  in 
  groups 
  where 
  the 
  faunae 
  of 
  sev- 
  

   eral 
  islands 
  are 
  practically 
  identical, 
  and 
  to 
  discuss 
  the 
  relationships 
  

   involved, 
  without 
  however 
  attempting 
  to 
  divide 
  the 
  islands 
  into 
  a 
  num- 
  

   ber 
  of 
  zoologically 
  equivalent 
  groups. 
  I 
  shall 
  preface 
  my 
  remarks 
  in 
  

   each 
  case 
  with 
  a 
  few 
  brief 
  notes 
  on 
  the 
  physical 
  characteristics 
  of 
  the 
  

   various 
  islands, 
  so 
  far 
  as 
  they 
  are 
  known 
  to 
  me 
  personally. 
  

  

  For 
  determining 
  the 
  relationships 
  of 
  the 
  islands 
  inter 
  se 
  I 
  shall 
  

   depend 
  chietly 
  on 
  the 
  distribution 
  of 
  those 
  species 
  which 
  are 
  peculiar 
  

   to 
  the 
  Philippines, 
  or 
  to 
  the 
  Philippine 
  and 
  Palawan 
  groups, 
  not 
  forget- 
  

   ting 
  to 
  note 
  the 
  absence, 
  of 
  genera 
  or 
  families 
  where 
  such 
  absence 
  

   occurs. 
  

  

  ]\Iy 
  evidence 
  is 
  necessarily 
  of 
  two 
  kinds 
  — 
  positive, 
  based 
  on 
  the 
  

   known 
  occurrence 
  of 
  the 
  forms 
  in 
  question, 
  and 
  negative, 
  based 
  on 
  

   the 
  apparent 
  absence 
  of 
  the 
  same. 
  Manifestly 
  the 
  positive 
  evidence 
  

   is 
  of 
  a 
  more 
  satislactory 
  character 
  than 
  the 
  negative, 
  for 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  

   urged 
  that 
  failure 
  to 
  discover 
  a 
  given 
  form 
  in 
  a 
  given 
  place 
  is 
  by 
  no 
  

   means 
  a 
  proof 
  of 
  its 
  nonexistence 
  there. 
  This 
  may 
  or 
  may 
  not 
  be 
  true. 
  

   Failure 
  to 
  discover 
  Halcyon 
  winehclli 
  in 
  an 
  island 
  would 
  not 
  serve 
  to 
  

   convince 
  me 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  lacking. 
  The 
  single 
  specimen 
  obtained 
  by 
  

   Bourns 
  in 
  Samar 
  in 
  1888 
  has 
  never 
  been 
  duplicated. 
  Ou 
  the 
  other 
  

   hand, 
  I 
  would 
  undertake 
  to 
  determine, 
  and 
  that 
  in 
  a 
  verj^ 
  short 
  time, 
  

   whether 
  a 
  given 
  island 
  contained 
  an 
  Orthotomu.s, 
  a 
  PeneJopides, 
  or 
  a 
  

   Chrfjsocolajites. 
  

  

  My 
  negative 
  evidence, 
  then, 
  is 
  based 
  on 
  the 
  apparent 
  nonoccurrence 
  

   of 
  species 
  and 
  genera 
  which, 
  after 
  our 
  long 
  experience 
  in 
  the 
  Philip 
  

   jiiues, 
  I 
  consider 
  it 
  improbable 
  that 
  we 
  should 
  have 
  overlooked. 
  

  

  Species 
  peculiar 
  or 
  nearly 
  peculiar 
  to 
  the 
  group 
  I 
  shall 
  for 
  conve 
  

   u\ence 
  de?>ig\\iite 
  FhiUp^nne 
  species. 
  In 
  the 
  distributicm 
  list 
  they 
  will 
  

   be 
  found 
  italicised. 
  

  

  The 
  total 
  number 
  of 
  species 
  recorded 
  from 
  the 
  islands 
  is 
  526. 
  Of 
  

   these 
  323 
  are 
  apparently 
  contined 
  quite 
  strictly 
  to 
  the 
  group. 
  

  

  THE 
  CENTRAL 
  rHILIPPINE8. 
  

  

  This 
  "subprovince," 
  as 
  defined 
  by 
  Steere, 
  embraces 
  the 
  islands 
  

   Panay, 
  Negros, 
  Guimaras, 
  Cebu, 
  Bohol, 
  and 
  Masbate. 
  It 
  can, 
  I 
  think, 
  

   be 
  readily 
  shown 
  that 
  while 
  Panay, 
  Guimaras, 
  Negros, 
  and 
  Masbate 
  

   are 
  so 
  closely 
  related 
  as 
  to 
  be 
  properly 
  classed 
  together, 
  Cebu 
  ought 
  

   not 
  to 
  be 
  included 
  with 
  them. 
  While 
  the 
  evidence 
  in 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  Bohol 
  

   is 
  far 
  less 
  complete 
  than 
  in 
  that 
  of 
  Cebu, 
  what 
  there 
  is 
  of 
  it 
  seems 
  to 
  

   me 
  to 
  indicate 
  rather 
  a 
  relationship 
  with 
  Leyte 
  and 
  Mindanao 
  than 
  

   with 
  the 
  central 
  islands. 
  

  

  Panay 
  is 
  some 
  90 
  miles 
  in 
  greatest 
  length 
  by 
  CO 
  in 
  greatest 
  width. 
  

   In 
  most 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  island 
  the 
  last 
  traces 
  of 
  forest 
  have 
  disappeared. 
  

  

  