CHAP. XIV.] THE NEOTROPICAL REGION. G5 



Coerebidae, Tanagridae, Cotingida?, Conurida? ; 1 is Antilleau 

 only — Todidae ; while 1 — Ampelidtie — is confined (in tlie western 

 hemisphere) to North America, and almost to the Nearctic region. 

 Of the 95 genera, no less than 31, or almost exactly one-third, 

 are peculiar ; while of the 203 resident species, 177 are peculiar, 

 the other 26 being all inhabitants of South or Central America. 

 Considering how closely the islands approach the continent in 

 several places — Florida, Yucatan, and Venezuela — this amou it 

 of speciality in such locomotive creatures as birds, is probably 

 unexampled in any other part of the globe. The most interesting 

 of these peculiar genera are the following : 4 of Turdidae, or 

 thrushes — 1 confined to the large islands, 1 to the whole 

 archipelago, while 2 are limited to the Lesser Antilles ; 2 

 genera of Tanagridae, confined to the larger islands ; 2 of 

 Trogonidae, also confined to the larger islands ; 5 of humming- 

 birds, 3 confined to the Greater, 1 to the Lesser Antilles ; 2 of 

 cuckoos, one represented iu all the large islands, the other in 

 Jamaica only ; 2 of owls, one peculiar to Jamaica, the other 

 represented in St. Croix, St. Thomas, Portorico, and Cuba ; and 

 lastly, Todus, constituting a peculiar family, and having repre- 

 sentative species in each of the larger islands, is especially 

 interesting because it belongs to a group of families which are 

 wholly Neotropical — the Momotidae, Galbulidae, and Todidae. 

 The presence of this peculiar form, with 2 trogons ; 10 species 

 of parrots, all but one peculiar; 16 peculiar humming-birds 

 belonging to 8 genera; a genus of Cotingidte ; 10 peculiar 

 tanagers belonging to 3 genera ; 9 Ccerebidae of 3 genera ; 

 together with species of such exclusively Netropical genera as 

 Coereba, Certhiola, Sycalis, Phonipara, Elainea, Fitangus, Campe- 

 pJiilus, Chloronerpes, Nyctibiits, Sknopsis, Lampornis, Galypte, 

 Ara, Ch7'ysotis, Zenaida, Leptoptila, and Geotrygon, sufficiently 

 demonstrate the predominant affinities of this fauna ; although 

 there are many cases in which it is difficult to say, whether the 

 ancestors of the peculiar genera or species may not have been 

 derived from the Nearctic rather than from the Neotropical 

 region. 



The several islands differ considerably in their apparent pro- 



VOL. II. ¥ 



