CHAP. XVIII.] 
BIRDS. 
305 
Family 54.— MEGALiEMIM.* (13 Genera, 81 Species.) 
General Distribution. 
Neotropical 
Sub-regions. 
N EARCTIC 
Sub-regions. 
Palaearctic 
Sub-regions. 
Ethiopian 
Sub-regions. 
Oriental 
Sub-regions. 
Australian 
Sub-regions. 
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The Megalaemidae, or Barbets, consist of rather small, fruit- 
eating birds, of heavy ungraceful shape, but adorned with the 
most gaudy colours, especially about the head and neck. They 
form a very isolated family ; their nearest allies being, perhaps, 
the still more isolated Toucans of South America. Barbets are 
found in all the tropics except Australia, but are especially 
characteristic of the great Equatorial forest-zone ; all the most 
remarkable forms being confined to Equatorial America, West 
Africa, and the Indo-Malay Islands. They are most abundant 
in the Ethiopian and Oriental regions, and in the latter are 
universally distributed. 
In the beautiful monograph of this family by the Messrs. 
Marshall, the barbets are divided into three sub -families, as 
follows 
Pogonorhynchinse (3 genera, 15 sp.), which are Ethiopian 
except the 2 species of Tetragonops, which are Neotropical ; 
Megalaeminse (6 genera, 45 sp.), which are Oriental and Ethio- 
pian ; and Capitoninae (4 genera, 18 sp.), common to the three 
regions. 
The genera are each confined to a single region. Africa 
possesses the largest number of peculiar forms, while the 
Oriental region is richest in species. 
This is probably a very ancient group, and its existing dis- 
tribution may be due to its former range over the Miocene 
South Palaearctic land, which we know possessed Trogons, 
Parrots, Apes, and Tapirs, groups which are now equally 
abundant in Equatorial countries. 
VOL. IT. 
x 
