38 



ISLAND LIFE 



PART I 



3. Anthus obscurus 



4. Linota rufcsccns 



Rock Pipit. 



Lesser Redpoll (closely allied races in 



5. Loxia pityopsittacus . 



N. Asia and N. America), 

 Parrot Crossbill (a closely allied form in 



N. Asia). 



We find, that out of a total of 118 British Passeres 

 there are : 



32 species which range to North Africa and Central 

 or East Asia. 



25 species which range to Central or East Asia, but 



not to North Africa. 

 43 species which range to North Africa and Western 



Asia. 



6 species which range to North Africa, but not at 

 all into Asia. 



7 species which range to West Asia, but not to North 

 Africa. 



5 species which do not range out of Europe. 



These figures agree essentially with those furnished by 

 the mammalia, and complete the demonstration that all 

 the temperate portions of Asia and North Africa must be 

 added to Europe to form a natural zoological division of 

 the earth. We must also note how comparatively few of 

 these overpass the limits thus indicated; only seven 

 species extending their range occasionally into tropical or 

 South Africa, eight into some parts of tropical Asia, and 

 six into arctic or temperate North America. 



Range of East Asian Birds. — To complete the evidence 

 we only require to know that the East Asiatic birds are as 

 much like those of Europe, as we have already shown to 

 be the case when we take the point of departure from our 

 end of the continent. This does not follow necessarily, 

 because it is possible that a totally distinct North Asiatic 

 fauna might there prevail ; and, although our birds go 

 eastward to the remotest parts of Asia, their birds might 

 not come westward to Europe. The birds of Eastern 

 Siberia have been carefully studied by Russian naturalists 

 and afford us the means of making the required comparison. 

 There are 151 species belonging to the orders Passeres and 

 Picarise (the perching and climbing birds), and of these no 

 less than 77, or more than half, are absolutely identical 



