CHAP. XII.] THE ORIENTAL REGION". 317 



markable forms; among the bee-eaters we have the exquisite 

 Nydiornis with its pendent neck -plumes of bhie or scarlet ; 

 brilliant kingfishers and strangely formed hornbills abound 

 everywhere ; while brown-backed trogons with red and orange 

 breasts, though far less frequent, are equally a feature of the 

 Ornithology. Eext we have the frog-mouthed goatsuckers {Bat- 

 tracliostomus) , and the whiskered swifts {Deiidrochelidon), both 

 wide-spread, remarkable, and characteristic groups of the Oriental 

 region. Coming to the parrot tribe, we have only the long-tailed 

 Falccornis and the exquisite little Loriculus, as characteristic 

 genera. "We now come to the pigeons, among which the fruit- 

 eating genera Trcron and Carigoipliaga are the most conspicuoui=. 

 The gallinaceous birds offer us some grand forms, such as 

 the peacocks {Pavel) ; the argus pheasants {Argusianus) ; tlie fire- 

 backed pheasants {Evplocamvs) ; and the jungle-fowl [Gallus), all 

 strikingly characteristic; and with these we may close our sketch, 

 since the birds of prey and the two Orders comprising the 

 waders and swimmers offer nothing sufiiciently remarkable to 

 be worthy of enumeration here. 



Reptiles. — Only the more abundant and characteristic groups 

 will here be noticed. In the serpent tribe, the Oligodontidte, 

 a small family of ground-snakes ; the Homalopsidfe, or fresh- 

 water snakes ; the Dendrophidce, or tree-snakes ; the Dryiophidre, 

 or whip-snakes ; the Dipsadidaj, or nocturnal tree-snakes ; the 

 Lycodontidfe or fanged ground-snakes ; the Pythonidae, or rock- 

 snakes ; the Elapidie, or venomous colubrine snakes (including 

 the " cobras ") ; and the Crotalidse, or pit-vipers, are all al)undant 

 and characteristic, ranging over nearly the whole region, and pre- 

 senting a great variety of genera and species. Among lizards, the 

 Varanidse or water-lizards ; the Scincidae or " scinks ; " the Gecko- 

 tidffi, or geckoes ; and the Agamida?, or eastern iguanas ; are the 

 most universal and characteristic groups. Among crocodiles the 

 genus Crocodilus is widely spread, Gavialis being characteristic 

 of the Ganges. Among Clielonia, or shielded reptiles, forms of 

 fresh-water Testudinidte and Trionychidte (soft tortoises) are 

 tolerably aliundant. 



AmjjJiihia. — The only nbundant and characteristic groups of 



