364 Wonders of the Bird World 



VIII. THE LEMURIAN SUB-REGION. 



Dr. Sclater has given this name to Madagascar and the 

 neighbouring islands, but it would have been better to have 

 called it the Mascarene Sub-Region, though the former name 

 is so well known among zoologists that to change it would 

 cause confusion, especially as the rule that a name once 

 given should always remain, is an axiom with those who 

 adhere to the law of priority. The name of the Sub-Region 

 is founded on the presence of those furry aberrant 

 Monkeys, known as Lemurs, which are characteristic of 

 Madagascar. Among the birds we notice as peculiar to 

 this Sub-Region curious forms of Ground-Rollers {Atelornis, 

 Brachypteracias), the Kirombos (^Leptosomii), Eutriorchis 

 among the Hawks, several peculiar forms of Warblei's and 

 Flycatchers, and the Madagascar Kagu {Mesites), besides 

 numbers of other remarkable species. Within the area of 

 this well-defined Sub-Region lay the home of the Dodo and 

 the Solitaire, the Crested Starling of Reunion (^Fregilupus), 

 and other interesting birds now extinct. 



Before quitting the subject of the Ethiopian Region it is 

 well to notice that there are a number of genera common 

 to both the Ethiopian and Indian Regions, and some, like 

 the Paradise Flycatchers {Terpsiplwne), are also found in 

 Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands. I have already 

 mentioned Baza, Pitta, and Tm-difius as genera common to 

 the Ethiopian and Indian Regions, and many moi-e can be 

 sodded, Eurystomus, Cryptolopha, Alcippe, Sclurnicola, etc., the 

 discussion of which would occupy more space than can be 

 given in a little work like the present. 



One of the most remarkable instances of the isolated 

 distribution of a genus of birds is seen in the Falconets 

 {Poliohicmx), one species of which, P. scuiitoi-quatus, in- 

 habits Africa, and the second species, P. insignis, is found 

 in the Burmese Provinces. The peculiar fact about these 



