34 THE SUBJECT OF FAUNAL AREAS, 



3. THE SUBJECT OF FAUNAL AREAS. 



IN his well-known article in the American Journal 

 of Science and Arts, for January, 1866, Professor 

 Baird adopts the general views of Dr. P. L. Sclater, 

 respecting the primary division of the globe into Fau- 

 nal Areas, as determined by the geographical distri- 

 bution of birds, adding, however, a " West Indian 

 Region " to those recognized by the English natural- 

 ist. The greater part of North America constitutes 

 the Nearctic Region of these authors, and thus is sub- 

 divided by Professor Baird into three provinces the 

 Eastern, Middle, and Western. The first of these ex- 

 tends from the Atlantic seaboard westward across the 

 Alleghanies and over the fertile valley of the Missis- 

 sippi to the sterile plains beyond, at about the one 

 hundredth degree of west longitude. Whatever fur- 

 ther elaboration and modification in detail this scheme 

 may require, so far as our country is concerned, it has 

 stood the test of ulterior examination, and may be con- 

 sidered as accepted in its main features. Mr. J. A. 

 Allen, who has since paid great attention to the sub- 

 ject of zoo-geography in general, with special refer- 

 ence to the subdivisions of these large areas, has pre- 

 sented the results of a study of the Eastern Province in 

 his valuable paper, in the Bulletin of the Museum of 

 Comparative Zoology (No. 3 of Vol. ii, pp. 387-404, 

 1871), where he divides the Province into the follow- 

 ing lesser areas, called "Faunas " : 



I. Floridian Fauna. Including Florida south 

 of Lake George on the interior, and of Cape Cana- 

 veral on the coast ; this portion of the State differing 



