Distribution of Birds. 541 



bution Mr. Wallace has divided the Neotropical Region into 

 four subregions only. I think, however, that the most 

 natural subdivisions in this region are six in number, which, 

 beginning from the north, should stand as follows : — 



]. The Antillean Subregion, containing the Antilles or 

 West-India Islands. 



. 2. The Transpanamanic Subregion, containing Central 

 America from Southern Mexico to Panama. 



3. The Andean Subregion, extending from Trinidad and 

 Venezuela along the chain of the Andes, through Colombia, 

 Ecuador, and Peru down to Bolivia. 



4. The Amazonian Subregion, embracing the whole water- 

 shed of the Orinoco and Amazons up to a moderate elevation 

 in the Andes, and including also the high plateau of Guiana. 



5. The South-Brazilian Subregion, containing the great 

 wood region of South-east Brazil and Paraguay and the ad- 

 joining districts. 



6. The Patagonian Subregion., containing Chili, La Plata, 

 Patagonia, and the Falklands. 



It is of course impossible, as in other cases, to assign 

 precise limits to these subregions, but I think it may be 

 shown that each of them has a considerable amount of indi- 

 viduality and a certain number of peculiar types. I will say 

 a few words about recent ornithological progress in the 

 Neotropical Region under each of these heads. 



1. The Antillean Subregion. 

 In my " British Association Address " I separated the 

 Antilles into numerous subdivisions, and stated at length 

 what was known of the animals of each of them. As regards 

 the birds at least great progress has been made during the 

 past fifteen years, chiefly through the exertions of Ornitho- 

 logists of the U.S.A., amongst whom we may particularly 

 mention Mr. G. N. Lawrence, of New York, and Mr. Charles 

 B. Cory, of Boston. Mr. Lawrence carefully worked out the 

 birds collected by Mr. F. A. Ober in Barbuda, Antigua, 

 Guadeloupe, Dominica, Martinique, St. Vincent, and Grenada, 

 and has given excellent accounts of them in the Proceedings of 



