CHAP. XI.] 



THE ETHIOPIAN REGION. 



2G3 



confined to the Oriental region ; and in the squirrel family is a 

 curious genus, Anomalurus, which resembles the flying squirrels 

 of other parts of the world, without be.ing directly allied to them. 



Birds. — In this class we find a larger proportionate number 

 of peculiar forms. Hyper gerus and Alethe, belonging to the 

 Timaliidse, or babblers, are perhaps allied to Malayan groups ; 

 Parinia, a peculiar form of tit, is found only in Prince's Island ; 

 Ixonotus is an abundant and characteristic form of Pycnonotidse; 

 Frascria, Hypodes, Cuphopterus, and Chaunonutus, are peculiar 

 genera of shrikes ; Picathartes is one of the many strange forms 

 of the crow family ; Cinnyricinclus is a peculiar genus of sun- 

 birds ; Pholidornis is supposed to belong to the Oriental Dicseidse, 

 or flower-peckers ; Waldenia is a recently-described new form 

 of swallow ; Ligumus, a finch, Spermospiga, a weaver bird, and 

 Onychognathus a starling, are also peculiar West African genera. 

 Coming to the Picarire we have Verreauxia, a peculiar wood- 

 pecker ; three peculiar genera of barbets (Megala?midse) ; 

 the typical plantain-eaters (Musophaga) ; Myioceyx, a peculiar 

 genus of kingfishers ; while Berenicornis is a genus of crested 

 hornbills, only found elsewhere in Malaya. The grey parrots, 

 of the genus Psittacus, are confined to this sub-region, as are 

 two peculiar genera of partridges, and three of guinea- 

 fowl. We have also here a species of Pitta, one of the Ori- 

 ental family of ground-thrushes ; and the Oriental paroquets, 

 Palceornis, are found here as well as in Abyssinia and the 

 Mascarene Islands. 



We thus find, both in the Mammalia and birds of West Africa, 

 a special Oriental or even Malayan element not present in the 

 other parts of tropical Africa, although appearing again in 

 Madagascar. In the Mammalia it is represented by the anthro- 

 poid apes ; by Colobus allied to Semncpithecus, and by Cercocelms 

 allied to Macacus ; and especially by a form of the Malayan 

 family of chevrotains (Tragulidae). The Malayan genus of otters, 

 Aonyx, is also said to occur in West and South Africa. In 

 birds we have special Oriental and Malayan affinities in Alethe, 

 Pholidornis, Berenicornis, Pitta, and Palmornis ; while the 

 Oriental genus Treron has a wide range in Africa. We shall 



