CHAP. XIII.] 
THE AUSTRALIAN REGION. 
443 
For the purpose of zoological comparison, we may class them in 
four main divisions. 1. The Ladrone and Caroline Islands ; 
2. New Caledonia and the New Hebrides ; 3. The Fiji, Tonga, 
and Samoa Islands ; 4. The Society, and Marquesas Islands. 
The typical Polynesian fauna is most developed in the third 
division ; and it will be well to describe this first, and then show 
how the other islands diverge from it, and approximate other 
sub-regions. 
Fiji , Tonga, and Samoa Islands. — The land-birds inhabiting 
these islands belong to 41 genera, of which 17 are characteristic 
of the Australian region, and 9 more peculiarly Polynesian. 
The characteristic Australian genera are the following : Pelroica 
(Sylviidae) ; Lalage (Campephagidse) ; Monarcha, Myiagra, Rhipi- 
dura (Muscicapkhe) ; Pachycephala (Pachycephalidae) ; Redes 
(Laniidae) ; Myzomela , Ptilotis , Anthoehccra (Meliphagidse) ; A mar- 
din a, Ey thrum, (Ploceidas) ; Artamus (Artamida 1 ) ; Lorius (Tri- 
choglossidce) ; Ptilopus , Phlogcenas (Columbidae) ; Megapodius 
(Megapodiidse). 
The peculiar Polynesian genera are : — Tatars , Lamprolia 
(Sylviidse) ; Aplonis, Sturnodes (Sturnidse) ; Todiramphus 
(Alcedinidee) ; Pyrhulopsis, Cyanorampkus, (Platyeercidse) ; Cori- 
pliilus (Trichoglossidse) ; Didunadus (Didunculidse). 
The wide-spread genera are Tardus, Zoster ops, Hirundo , Hal- 
cyon, Collocalia , Eudynamis Cucidus, lanthcenas, Carpophaga , 
Tartar, Halicedus, Astur , Circus, Strix, Asio. The aquatic birds 
are fifteen in number, all wide-spread species except one — a form 
of moor-hen (Gallinulkhe), which has been constituted a new 
genus Pareudiastes, 
Society, and Marquesas Islands. — Here, the number of genera of 
land-birds has considerably diminished, amounting only to 16 
in all. The characteristic Australian genera are 5 ; — Monarcha , 
A nthoehccra, Trichoglossus, Ptilopus, and Phlogcenas. The Poly- 
nesian genera are 4 ; — Tatars, Todiramphus, Cyanorampkus, 
Coriphilus, and one recently described genus, Serresius, an ex- 
traordinary form of large fruit pigeon, here classed under Car - 
pophaga. These remote groups have thus all the character of 
Oceanic islands, even as regards the rest of Polynesia, since they 
