POPULATION 
63 
considerations. When man makes his first appearance 
in new districts, especially districts of an insular character, 
he frequently brings about important changes in the 
fauna. Now it is in the highest degree noteworthy that 
Madagascar was inhabited by some dozen species of 
flightless ostrich-like birds, which cannot have been ex¬ 
tinct for any very considerable period, for their remains 
have been met with, sometimes in great quantity, in 
alluvial deposits. They belong to the genera yT^pyornis 
and Mlillerornis, and the size of several species must have 
been enormous, to judge from the dimensions of the bones 
as well as the remains of the eggs. No one indeed but 
man can have brought about the destruction of these 
gigantic birds, as the larger carnivora are wanting in 
the island. At the time of Marco Polo these mighty 
birds are said to have been still living, or at any rate 
the remembrance of their existence was still vivid, 
whereas it has now entirely passed away. In Marco 
Polo’s time then, the island was inhabited, but had been 
so only for a few centuries, not sufficient for the complete 
extirpation of these birds. This, as I have said, is only 
hypothetical. 
a. Malayan Tribes. These chiefly inhabit the central 
highlands, but isolated colonies live on the sea coast as 
well, especially in the east. At the head we place the 
Hova, who are intellectually above all the other Malagasy. 
They have taken the lead in adopting European culture. 
In the central province of Imerina their number is esti¬ 
mated at about a million souls. The Hova have retained 
the Malayan character in the greatest purity. The men 
are of middle height, but strongly built; the shape of 
the head is pronouncedly brachycephalous; the prominent 
forehead is finely rounded; the dark brown eyes are not 
exactly large, but are somewhat deep set. The nose is, 
as a rule, straight and blunt, but at times it is strongly 
prominent and aquiline. The mouth is not small, as a 
