51G Mr, P. L. Sclater on the Geographical 



farther to the south than the others, whilst the Indian or 

 middle Palseotropical Region is rather the most northern 

 of the three. 



As regards the New World, I showed that it might be 

 most simply divided into a northern and southern portion 

 by a line drawn across the coiitinent somewhere towards the 

 south of Mexico. The northern of these two divisions, the 

 avifauna of which presented many undoubted points of re- 

 semblance to that of the Palsearctic Region, I proposed to 

 call the "Nearctic Region." For the southern division, 

 which embraced the whole of South America, the West-India 

 Islands, and Central America up to Southern Mexico, I 

 suggested the terra '^Neotropical Region, ^^ and pointed 

 out that, with the exception possibly of New Guinea, it 

 possessed by far the richest and most peculiar avifauna of 

 any part of the earth's surface. 



To recapitulate, therefore, I proposed to divide the earth's 

 surface, so far as its bird-lifie is concerned, into the six follow- 

 ing regions : — 



I. The PaJcearctic Region, including Europe, Northern 

 Asia, and Northern Africa down to the Atlas. 



II. The Ethiopian Region, including Africa south of the 

 Atlas, Madagascar, and Arabia. 



III. The Oriental Region, including Asia south of the Hima- 

 layas and the Indian Archipelago down to Wallace's line. 



IV. The Australian Region, including the Moluccas, New 

 Guinea and the adjacent islands south of Wallace's line, 

 Australia, New Zealand, and the South Pacific Islands. 



V. The Nearctic Region, including North America down to 

 Southern Mexico. 



VI. The Neotropical Region, including Central America, the 

 West-India Islands, and South America. 



During the thirty-four years which have elapsed since this 

 plan of the division of the earth's surface for Ornithological 

 purposes was put forward, I need hardly say that many other 

 schemes of a similar nature have been propounded. Some of 

 these have been modifications, more or less material, of my 

 original arrangement ; others, such as that of Herr Reiche- 



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