16 BIRDS. 



or Palsearctic regions. Of sixty-three families, only one is peculiar to this region, 

 viz., Chameidce, restricted by a single genus and a single species to the coast 

 district of California. Of the remainder, forty-four are also Palsearctic and 

 eighteen are common to the Neotropical region. 



As the great majority of Nearctic families and genera of birds appear to be 

 generally distributed throughout the region, the subdivisions are termed 

 "provinces" as under. 



(a) The western or Califomian province, or California, Oregon, and part of 

 British Columbia, including the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Mountains. Here 

 is the peculiar Wren-like bird (Ohamcea), the Plumed Partridge (Oreortyx pictus), 

 the Califomian Vulture and the Mocking Birds, while it is the chief home of the 

 Passenger Pigeons. 



(b) The eastern or Alleghanian province. The boundary starts from the Gulf 

 of Mexico, near the eastern border of Texas, and runs northwards near long. 

 100° W. along the western edge of the Great Plains to the southern frontier of 

 Canada, then inclining to the west, it includes the valleys of the Saskatchewan 

 and the Athabasca, crosses the Eocky Mountains, and loses itself in the borders 

 of the Arctic Ocean. 



(c) The middle province lies for the most part between (a) and (6), and is 

 roughly represented by the western and eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. 



(d) The Canadian province. All Canada except the S.W. portion included in 

 (&) and across Davis Straits to Greenland. 



(e) The Alaskan province, which shows a Palsearctic element, although the 

 Aleutian Isles do not appear to be used as a route of communication from the 

 Old World to the New. 



(/) The Bermuda province has not a single peculiar species. It appears to be 

 a resting-place for migrants as they retreat southwards from Labrador and Green- 

 land, and again on their journey northwards in the spring. 



{g) The Greenland province. The Sea Eagle, Ringed Plover, and Snipe which 

 breed in Greenland are those of Europe instead of their American congeners. 



Among birds of wider range, the Aridm are represented by a single species, 

 the Carolina Parrakeet, and the Tanagridce, small brilliant birds confined chiefly 

 to tropical America, are exemplified by but one genus (out of forty) which occur 

 within its limits. The American Partridges and Quails (Odontopnorince), partly 

 Neotropical, are well represented. The turkeys are found only to the eastward of 

 the Rocky Mountains. The most characteristic family is that named Mniotiltidce, 

 which contains brilliant little warblers which take the place of the Old World 

 SylviidcB. 



4. The Pal^aectio Region (waAaids — old, S.pKTo<s — north, i.e. the northern 

 division of the Old World) begins with the Atlantic Islands (the Azores, 

 Canaries, and Madeiras) and includes that portion of N.W. Africa which was 

 formerly known as the Barbary States, the whole of Europe and its islands 

 (from Iceland and Spitzbergen to those of the Mediterranean), Asia Minor, Syria 

 (excepting the Jordan valley), and all the rest of the Asiatic continent lying to 

 the northward of the Himalaya Mountains, and of a line drawn eastward in pro- 

 longation between lat. 30° and 35° N. till it meets the Pacific Ocean, besides 

 Japan, the Kurile Islands (connecting Japan with Kamschatka) and the Loochoo 

 Islands. 



