DISTRIBUTION IN SPACE 129 



of which the English Kingfisher and the Pied 

 Kingfisher of Europe are members (Alcedo and 

 Ceryle), are the most widely dispersed, as some 

 of the genera of the Australian Region (such 

 as Cittiura, Caridonax) are the most local and 

 restricted. The Bee- Eaters (Meropidae) form 

 another purely Old World group, which, like the 

 Rollers, are most characteristic of the Ethiopian 

 and Oriental Regions ; but their range is not 

 quite so extensive as that of those birds in the 

 Eastern Palaearctic and the Australian Regions. 

 The Hornbills (Bucerotidae) are a special avine 

 feature of the Ethiopian and Oriental Regions, 

 entering the Australian Region as far as the Solo- 

 mon Islands. The curious Hoopoes (Upupidae) 

 are another dominant Ethiopian type, extending 

 into the Palaearctic Region in the west as far as 

 South Europe, in the east as far as North China 

 and Mongolia ; whilst they are also found 

 throughout the continental portions of the 

 Oriental Region and in Ceylon. 



The second sub-order contains the Owls 

 (Striges), long included with the Birds of Prey, 

 but with affinities more nearly approaching the 

 Goatsuckers. They are absolutely cosmopolitan 

 in their distribution, extending not only to the 

 Arctic Regions, but to many isolated oceanic 



