1873.] DISTRIBUTION OF ASIATIC BIRDS. 671 



Found only in India. 



Tockus. Layardia. 



Taccocua. Kelaartia. 



Piprisoma. Thamnobia. 



Ochromela. Pastor. 



Pyctorhis. Pyrrhulauda. 



Dumetia. Galloperdix. 



Malacocercus. Ortygornis. 



Southern India. 



We will now see what are the most notable peculiarities in the 

 avifauna of Southern India. 



The birds of this province are fairly known from the writings of 

 the late Dr. Jerdon, the greater part of whose service in India was 

 spent in the Madras presidency ; and though some parts of the 

 country, especially the Travancore mountains and the hilly district 

 lying along the coast between the Mahanuddy and Godavery rivers, 

 have as yet been hardly visited by naturalists, and may be expeeted 

 to yield some new forms, yet enough is known of the country to give 

 a very good idea of its natural productions. 



As far as we know, most of the birds peculiar to the Malabar 

 coast and the Western Ghauts have a considerable range of latitude, 

 though some of those which are restricted to the highest hills are 

 only found to the south of about lat. 12° N., where several tracts of 

 mountainous country, such as the Neilgherries, Pulneys, Anna- 

 mullays, and Cardamom hills, reach an elevation of 8000 feet. 

 The upper parts of these hills are principally open, but are in 

 places covered with a luxuriant forest and shrubbery of trees ; and 

 to these woods are restricted several of the forms whose geographical 

 distribution is so peculiar, such as Trochalopteron cachinnans, 

 T.jerdoni, and T.fairbanki, Ochromela nigrorufa, Larvivora cyana, 

 and Hypsipetes neilgherriensis. 



The western slopes of the Ghauts from Cape Comorin northwards 

 are covered in most parts with luxuriant tropical forest, and in- 

 habited by many of the typical Himalayan and Malayan forms, such 

 as Nyctiornisy Homraius, Alcippe, Pomatorhinus, Myiophonus, Irena, 

 Harpaetes. 



On their eastern side the mountains south of the Neilgherries descend 

 very abruptly into the plains of the Carnatic, where, except on such 

 outlying hills as the Shevaroys and Siramullays, forest is almost 

 entirely wanting. On these plains, as well as on the tableland 

 which forms the greater part of Mysore and the Deccan, the absence 

 of nearly all the forest birds is but poorly compensated by the 

 presence of such genera as Mirafra, Agrodroma, Pyrrhulauda, Dry. 

 moipus, Chatarrhcea, Pterocles, Ortygornis. The whole number of 

 birds found in Southern India is small, considering the extent and 

 variety of country ; and it is probable that not more than half of those 

 included in the list could be obtained in any one locality. 



