GBOGEAPHIOAL EBIiATIOlTS OP BIB.DS. 243 



possesses Sand-grouse, Larks, and Warblers. ' Very many 

 of the commoner forms in the North are represented by allied 

 forms in this subregion. Pheasants also abound in its more 

 eastern part. It has Vultures, Pelicans, and Flamingoes, which 

 are wanting further north. Nevertheless it is not quite dis- 

 tinctly divided off, because peculiar Himalayan elements 

 crop up again in Turke stan and the Altai Mountains — various 

 Grrosbeaks, Flycatchers, Eose-Finches, &c., &c. 



The Ethiopian EBGioif is, as might be expected, an extremely 

 rich one, and has whole families of birds absolutely peculiar to 

 it. Amongst these are the Musoyhagidce, or Plantain-eaters, 

 the Colies, the Irrisoridce, the Gruinea-fowls, and the Secretary- 

 bird, while it is the special home of the Ostrich. It possesses 

 also Sun-birds, Hprnbills, and Weaver-birds, though these are 

 by no means confined to it. 



In the Libyan subregion we meet with a Sun-bird and an 

 African genus of Starlings (Amydrus), extending northwards 

 into the Valley of the Jordan. One of the most peculiar of the 

 Birds of this subregion is the Balceniceps * (of the Upper Nile"). 

 In Egypt the avifauna alternates with the season, the Nile valley 

 being overrun with migrants from the Palaearctic region during 

 the winter. 



The West-African subregion is a very rich one t ; but its dis- 

 tinctive forms can hardly yet be enumerated satisfactorily. It 

 has a Pitta (a Malayan element), and several Babbling-thrushes 

 allied to Indian species. It has three species of Guinea-fowl, 

 and the Grey Parrot (Psittacus) has been said to have driven 

 away all diurnal birds of prey from Prince's Island. Six species 

 of birds are known to be peculiar to the island of St. Thomas. 

 It is essentially a forest region — the home of the Gorilla and 

 the Chimpanzee. 



The South-African subregion has not very many peculiar 

 forms, but Ohcetops, many Chats, Larks, and Pipits are peculiar 

 to it, and it is the head-quarters of species which range into 

 other subregions, as, e. g.. Indicator. The Secretary-bird appears 

 here as a semidomestic one. In St. Helena is a race of Einged 



* See ante, p. 39. 



t Many West-African forms range across the Lake Country ; but there 

 are many peculiar Touracous, as well as Weaver-birds, Starlings, &B. Many 

 South- African birds range into this region, and many N.B. African- brrds 

 descend into it. 



E 2 



