336 On the Avifauna of Madagascar fyc. 
Madagascar with four modified representatives. Mesites, 
one of the most remarkable and scarcest birds of Madagascar, 
can only be naturally placed near the Indian Eupetes. Lastly, 
the occurrence of the Polynesian Hail (Rallus pectoralis ) on 
Mauritius deserves special notice, although but a single ex¬ 
ample of it has been yet obtained. 
In contrast to these important facts the points of con¬ 
nexion of the avifauna with Africa fall far into the back¬ 
ground. The only species of the order Passeres certainly 
known to be common to Africa and the Lemurian Region is 
Corvus scapulatus. Besides this we can only reckon about 6 
or 7 Birds of Prey, 3 Pigeons, 15 Waders, and 1 Palmiped as 
of African origin. 
But the negative evidence is still stronger in the same di¬ 
rection. The groups of Musophagidae, Coliidae, Lamprotor- 
nithinae, Buphagidae, Capitonidae, Indicatoridae, Bucerotidae, 
and Otidinae, so eminently characteristic of Africa, are entirely 
absent here, besides the genera Gypogeranus, Helotarsus , 
Coracias, Crateropus, Irrisor , Bradyornis, Dryoscopus , Lani- 
arius, Telephonus , Prionops , Platystira , Saxicola, Picathartes, 
Balceniceps, and others, which are remarkably rich in individuals 
and species in Africa. Besides this, Larks and Chats, which 
in the African fauna are specially prominent on account of 
their numerous forms as well as their individual and specific 
abundance, are only represented by a single species in Ma¬ 
dagascar itself, and in the rest of the Subregion not at all. 
In conclusion, if we take a glance at the families of the 
Madagascar Subregion as compared with those of Africa, four 
of these (Mesitidae, Paictidae, Eurycerotidae and Leptosomidae) 
are peculiar, whilst the Diurnal Accipitres, Pigeons, Honey- 
eaters, and Cuckoos are richest in species. In a considerable 
degree this is also the case with the orders Grallae and An- 
seres. As contrasted with Africa, the Eringillidae, Meropidae, 
and Sturnidae (represented by only one genus) are extra¬ 
ordinarily poor; on the other hand, the Coraciidae, Laniidae, 
Artamidae, Turdidae, Muscicapidae, Pycnonotidae, and Lus- 
ciniidae are remarkable for their peculiarly modified types, 
and the Sittidae, which are quite unrepresented in Africa, for 
the anomalous form Hypherpes . 
