1864. ] PARROTS OF THE MALAYAN REGION. 273 
but possesses nearly three times as many genera, and nearly twice 
as many as all the other regions combined. More remarkable still, 
the whole of the Indian, Ethiopian, and American Parrots belong 
to one great family group, the Psittacide, indicating a general 
uniformity of organization ; while those of the Australian region 
mostly belong to three other distinct families—the Brushtongues or 
Lories (Trichoglosside), the Cockatoos (Plyctolophide), and the 
Broadtails or Ground-Parrots (Platycercide)—together with a few of 
the Psittacide, which last, however, are confined to the Malayan 
portion of the region. 
These facts are of the highest interest in their bearing on the pro- 
bable origin of the whole Psittacine group ; for it is natural to sup- 
pose that in that portion of the earth’s surface where the species 
are now most numerous, the forms most varied, where the most sin- 
gular modifications of structure occur, and where both the highest 
and the lowest developments of the group are to be found, would be 
its true metropolis and original birthplace. I believe, therefore, 
that the Parrot type originated in the Australian region—a region 
now consisting almost entirely of broken land and scattered islands, 
but which, there is every reason to think, was once a continental area. 
Confining our attention now to the Australian region only, we may 
divide it into three subregions—Australia, the Pacific Islands, and 
the Austro-Malayan group—each of which has a distinctive character. 
The Platycerci and the Cockatoos are more particularly the features 
of Australia and Tasmania, which have also a few Trichoglossi, but 
no Psittacide. The Coriphili, Nestors, and Strigopide are con- 
fined to the Pacific Islands, which have also Platycerci, but no 
Cockatoos. The crimson Lories are entirely restricted to the Ma- 
layan district, which has also abundance of Cockatoos, but few Pla- 
tycerci, and several peculiar genera of Psittacide. Thus four out 
of the five families into which the order is divided are found in the 
Austro-Malayan district ; they all extend into every part of it, and 
they are all represented by abundance of species, and three of them 
by numerous peculiar genera and even subfamilies. 
The Australian subregion possesses three of the families only, and 
has a smaller number both of genera and species; but it has a large 
proportion of pecular genera, and is preeminent in its numerous 
forms of Platycercide and Plyctolophide. Only three families and 
four genera extend to the Pacific Islands, but three of the genera are 
quite peculiar to them. 
The following table shows these proportionate numbers at one 
view :— 
Families. Genera. Species. 
Austro-Malayan Islands .... 4 16 86 
EE ee ee eee 3 10 60 
Pace Islands. ....... 6 esi +60) 0 4 30 
. We thus see that the preeminence both in species, genera, and 
families is with the Austro-Malayan region, and we have therefore 
an @ priori reason for considering it to be the most ancient, and to 
Proc. Zoou. Soc.—1864, No. XVIII. 
