360 DISTRIBUTION OF ANIMAL LIFE. 



The majority of the Raptor es, or birds of prey (vulture, 

 falcon, eagle), as well as nearly all the W aders (stork, crane, 

 heron), and Palmipedes (duck, goose, water-hen), are cosmo- 

 politan birds. The other orders, such as the Scansores (parrot, 

 parroquet, magpie), the Passeres (comprising nearly all the 

 singing birds), and the GaUinacea (pheasant, pintado), prefer, 

 as a general rule, the warm temperate regions. They are not 

 found in the extreme north, nor in the equatorial climes, ex- 

 cept in limited numbers. 



SUMMARY OF THE MAMMALIA. 



Assumed total, 1600 species. 



Bimana form i species. 



Quadrumana 105 (?) ,, 



Carnivora 510 (?) ,, 



Rodentia 508 (?) 



Ruminantia 165 ,, 



Marsupialia form 123 species. 



Edentata 152 



Pachydermata 38 ,, 



CetaceK i8(?) 



1600 



[Of course, the foregoing is but an approximative esti- 

 mate, but it will provide the reader with a tolerably accurate 

 notion of the proportion borne by the different classes of 

 Mammalia.] 



About 5000 species of birds have been classified. By 

 Cuvier's system they are divided into six orders : 



1. Raptores, or birds of prey. 



2. Passerine birds, now generally called Insessores, or Perching-birds 



3. Scansores, or Climbing, frequently called Zygodactyli, or Zygo- 



dactylous birds. 



4. GallinacecE, now more frequently known as Rasores. 



