Element in the Fauna of India. 289 



and Pelargopsis have only been found as occasional stragglers 

 beyond the limits. Myioplionus I have already mentioned. 

 These birds may be found in a few isolated hills even in the 

 Deccan and Gangetic subprovinces ; but they are not found 

 generally. To prevent being misunderstood, I should add 

 that, when I say not found generally, I mean not found even 

 in the great forests, such as those of the Nerbudda and Tapti 

 valleys, so far as I am aware. Some of the forests in these 

 countries, and especially those of the Satpura ranges, are very 

 extensive : I have passed months in them at a time ; and 

 although, as I was not collecting, I might easily have over- 

 looked the smaller birds, I could not have failed to remark 

 conspicuous forms like Hydrocissa^ Caiyophaga, and Chalco- 

 phaps. 



Five genera, viz. Malacocercus^ Piprisoma, Taccocua^ 

 Ortygornis, and Galloperdixy are, I believe, peculiar to India 

 and Northern Ceylon. Mr. Wallace makes Malacocercus 

 extend to the Philippines ; but I do not find the genus in Lord 

 Walden's list*. Ortygornis is apparently by Mr. Wallace 

 made to include Rhizothera. I have no means of judging 

 how far this is accurate ; but Ortygornis appears to me affined 

 to some of the African Francolins, e. g. F. gutturalis. I cannot 

 agree with Jerdon in looking upon Oalloperdix as allied to 

 Gallus, or with Blyth (Ibis, 1867, p. 157) in considering that 

 it is a representative of Polyplectron, or still less of Ithaginis. 

 It is quite as much like some African Francolins, e. g. F. 

 Erhelii. 



Six more genera are certainly Ethiopian as well as Oriental. 

 They are: — ChatarrluBa^ to which certain South-Palgearctic and 

 African species belong, and which is now united by most 

 ornithologists with the African Crateropus ; Cittacincla, iden- 

 tical with the Ethiopian genus Cercotrichas ; Arachnechthra^ 

 to which a number of African species belong {Nectarinia 

 habessinica^ for instance) ; Pitta and Treron, included by Mr. 

 Wallace himself in the Ethiopian fauna ; and Meniceros, which 

 is not separable from the Ethiopian genus Toccus. I believe 

 this list might be largely extended. 



Lastly, of two genera, Pastor and ErytJirosterna, the only 

 species of the former found in the Indian province is a migra- 

 tory Palaearctic form, which does not extend to the east of 

 India ; and the only species of Erytlirosterna found commonly 

 in the Deccan and Gangetic provinces is the European E. 

 parva. Other migratory forms, however, are found in the 

 Bengal and Madras subprovinces ; and an occasional straggler 



» Tr. Z. S. ix. p. 1.^9. 



