Sub-family III.Formicariinæ.—(8 genera, 46 species.) About 12 species occur north of Panama, and only 5 south of the Equatorial district.
It appears, therefore, that this extensive family is especially characteristic of that part of South America from the Amazon valley northwards.
Family46.—PTEROPTOCHIDÆ. (8 Genera, 19 Species.)
The Pteroptochidæ are a group of curious Wren-like birds, almost confined to the temperate regions of South America, extending along the Andes beyond the Equator, and with a few species in South-east Brazil, and one in the valley of the Madeira. The genera are as follows:—
Scytalopus(8 sp.), Chili and West Patagonia to the Andes of Columbia;Merulaxis(1 sp.), South-east Brazil;Rhinocrypta(2 sp.), Northern Patagonia and La Plata;Lioscelis(1 sp.), Madeira valley;Pteroptochus(2 sp.), Chili;Hylactes(3 sp.), Western Patagonia and Chili;Acropternis(1 sp.), Andes of Ecuador and Columbia;Triptorhinus(1 sp.), Chili.
Family47.—PITTIDÆ. (4 Genera, 40 Species.)
The Pittas comprise a number of beautifully-coloured Thrush-like birds, which, although confined to the Old World, are more nearly allied to the South American Pteroptochidæ than to any other family. They are most abundant in the Malay Archipelago,between the Oriental and Australian divisions of which they are pretty equally divided. They seem, however, to attain their maximum of beauty and variety in the large islands of Borneo and Sumatra; from whence they diminish in numbers in every direction till we find single species only in North China, West Africa, and Australia, The genera here adopted are the following:—
(1087 1088 1090 1092 1093)Pitta(33 sp.), has the range of the family; (1089)Hydrornis(3 sp.), Himalayas and Malaya;Eucichla(3 sp.), Malaya;Melampitta(1 sp.), recently discovered in New Guinea.
Family48.—PAICTIDÆ. (1 Genus, 2 Species.)
This family was established by Professor Sundevall, for an anomalous bird of Madagascar, which he believes to have some affinity for the American Formicariidæ, but which perhaps comes best near the Pittas. The only genus isPhilepitta, containing two species.
Family49.—MENURIDÆ. (1 Genus, 2 Species.)
The Menuridæ, or Lyre Birds, remarkable for the extreme elegance of the lyre-shaped tail in the species first discovered, are birds of a very anomalous structure, and have no near affinity to any other family. Two species ofMenuraare known, confined to South and East Australia (Plate XII. Vol. I. p. 441).
Family50.—ATRICHIIDÆ. (1 Genus, 2 Species.)
The genusAtrichia, or Scrub-birds of Australia, have been formed into a separate family by Professor Newton, on account of peculiarities in the skeleton which separate them from all other Passeres. Only two species are known, inhabiting East and West Australia respectively. They are very noisy, brown-coloured birds, and have been usually classed with the warblers, nearAmytisand other Australian species.
General remarks on the distribution of the Passeres.
The order Passeres, is the most extensive among birds, comprehending about 5,700 species grouped in 870 genera, and 51 families. The distribution of the genera, and of the families considered individually, has been already sufficiently given, and we now have to consider the peculiarities of distribution of the families collectively, and in their relations to each other, as representing well-marked types of bird-structure. The first thing to be noted is, how very few of these families are truly cosmopolitan; for although there are seven which are found in each of the great regions, yet few of these are widely distributed throughout all the regions, and we can only find three that inhabit every sub-region, and are distributed with tolerable uniformity; these are the Hirundinidæ, or swallows, the Motacillidæ or wagtails and pipits, and the Corvidæ or crows,—but the latter is a family of so heterogeneous a nature, that it possibly contains the materials of several natural families, and if so divided, the parts would probably all cease to be cosmopolitan. The Sylviidæ, theTurdidæ, and the Paridæ, are the only other families that approach universality of distribution, and all these are wanting in one or more sub-regions. If, now, we divide the globe into the New and the Old World, the former including the whole American continent, the latter all the rest of the earth, we find that the Old World possesses exclusively 23 families, the New World exclusively 14, of which 5 are common to North and South America. But if we take the division proposed by Professor Huxley—a northern world, comprising our first four regions (from Nearctic to Oriental), and a southern world comprising our last two regions (the Australian and Neotropical)—we find that the northern division possesses only 5 families exclusively, and the southern division 13 exclusively, of which not one is common to Australia and South America. This plainly indicates that, as far as the Passeres are concerned, the latter bipartite division is not so natural as the former. Again, if we compare temperate with tropical families (not too rigidly, but as regards their general character), we find in the northern hemisphere only two families that have the character of being typically temperate—the Cinclidæ, and in a less degree the Ampelidæ—both of small extent. In the southern hemisphere we have also two, the Phytotomidæ, and in a less degree, the Pteroptochidæ; making two wholly and two mainly temperate families. Of exclusively tropical families on the other hand, we have about 12, and several others that are mainly tropical.
The several regions do not differ greatly in the number of families found in each. The Nearctic has 19, the Palæarctic 21, the Ethiopian 23, the Oriental 28, the Australian 29, and the Neotropical 23. But many of these families are only represented by a few species, or in limited districts; and if we count only those families which are tolerably well represented, and help to form the ornithological character of the region, the richness of the several tropical regions will appear to be (as it really is) comparatively much greater. The families that are confined to single regions are not very numerous, except in the case of the Neotropical region, which has 5. The Australian has only3, the Oriental 1, the Ethiopian 1, and the other regions have no peculiar families.
The distribution of the Passeres may be advantageously considered as divided into the five series of Turdoid, Tanagroid, Sturnoid, Formicarioid, and Anomalous Passeres. The Turdoid Passeres, consisting of the first 23 families, are especially characteristic of the Old World, none being found exclusively in America, and only two or three being at all abundant there. The Tanagroid Passeres (Families 24-33) are very characteristic of the New World, five being confined to it, and three others being quite as abundant there as in the Old World; while there is not a single exclusively Old World family in the series, except the Drepanididæ confined to the Sandwich Islands. The Sturnoid Passeres (Families 34-38) are all exclusively Old World, except that two larks inhabit parts of North America, and a few pipits South America. The Formicarioid Passeres (Families 39-48) are strikingly characteristic of the New World, to which seven of the families exclusively belong; the two Old World groups being small, and with a very restricted distribution. The Anomalous Passeres (Families 49-50) are confined to Australia.
The most remarkable feature in the geographical distribution of the Passeres is the richness of the American continent, and the large development of characteristic types that occurs there. The fact that America possesses 14 altogether peculiar families, while no less than 23 Old-World families are entirely absent from it, plainly indicates, that, if this division does not represent the most ancient and radical separation of the land surface of the globe, it must still be one of very great antiquity, and have modified in a very marked way the distribution of all living things. Not less remarkable is the richness in specific forms of the 13 peculiar American families. These contain no less than 1,570 species, leaving only about 500 American species in the 13 other Passerine families represented in the New World. If we make a deduction for those Nearctic species which occur only north of Panama, we may estimate the truly Neotropical species of Passerine birds at 1,900, which is almost exactlyone-thirdof the total number of Passeres; a wonderful illustration of the Ornithological riches of South America.
Order II.—PICARIÆ.
Family51.—PICIDÆ. (36 Genera, 320 Species.)
The Woodpeckers are very widely distributed, being only absent from the Australian region beyond Celebes and Flores. They are most abundant in the Neotropical and Oriental regions, both of which possess a number of peculiar genera; while the other regions possess few or no peculiar forms, even the Ethiopian region having only three genera not found elsewhere. The soft-tailed Picumninæ inhabit the tropical regions only,Picumnusbeing Neotropical,ViviaandSasiaOriental, andVerreauxiaEthiopian.Picoides, orApternus, is an Arctic form peculiar to the Nearctic and Palæarctic regions.Celeus,Chrysoptilus,Chloronerpes, and some smaller genera, are Neotropical exclusively, and there are two peculiar forms in Cuba.Yungipicus,Chrysocolaptes,Hemicercus,Mulleripicus,Brachypternus,Tiga, andMicropternus, are the most important of the peculiar Oriental genera.DendropicusandGeocolaptesare Ethiopian; but there are no woodpeckers in Madagascar. The Palæarctic woodpeckers belong to the generaPicus—which is widely distributed,Gecinus—which is an Oriental form, andDryocopus—which is South American. ExceptPicoides, the Nearctic woodpeckers are mostly of Neotropical genera; butSphyrapicusandHylatomusare peculiar. The geological record is, as yet, almost silent as to this family; but remains doubtfully referred to it have been found in the Miocene of Europe and the Eocene of the United States. Yet the group is evidently one of very high antiquity, as is shown byits extreme isolation, its great specialization of structure, its abundant generic forms, and its wide distribution. It originated, probably, in Central Asia, and passed through, the Nearctic region to South America, in whose rich and varied forests it found the conditions for rapid development, and for the specialization of the many generic forms now found there.
A large number of genera have been established by various authors, but their limitations and affinities are not very well made out. Those which seem best established are the following:—
(2107—2112)Picumnus(22 sp.). Tropical South America to Honduras; (2113)Vivia(1 sp.), Himalayas to East Thibet; (2114)Sasia(2 sp.), Nepal to Java; (2115)Verreauxia(1 sp.), West Africa;Picoides(5 sp.), northern parts of Nearctic and Palæarctic regions, and Mountains of East Thibet;Picus(42 sp.), the whole Palæarctic, Oriental, Nearctic, and Neotropical regions; (2123)Hyopicus(2 sp.), Himalayas and North China; (2124)Yungipicus(16 sp.), Oriental region, and to Flores, Celebes, North China, and Japan; (2127—2129)Sphyrapicus(7 sp.), Nearctic region, Mexico, and Bolivia; (2130—2133 2139)Campephilus(14 sp.), Neotropical and Nearctic regions;Hylatomus(1 sp.), Nearctic region; (2137 2140)Dryocopus(5 sp.), Mexico to South Brazil, Central and Northern Europe; (2134)Reinwardtipicus(1 sp.), Penang to Borneo; (2135 2136)Venilia(2 sp.), Nepal to Borneo;Chrysocolaptes(8 sp.), India and Indo-Malaya;Dendropicus(16 sp.), Tropical and South Africa;Hemicercus(5 sp.), Malabar and Pegu to Malaya;Gecinus(18 sp.), Palæarctic and Oriental regions to Java; (2151—2156)Dendromus(15 sp.), West and South Africa, Zanzibar, and Abyssinia; (2157—2159)Mulleripicus(6 sp.), Malabar, Pegu, Indo-Malaya, and Celebes;Celeus(17 sp.), Paraguay to Mexico;Nesoceleus(sp. 8833) Cuba; (2162)Chrysoptilus(9 sp.), Chili and South Brazil to Mexico;Brachypternus(5 sp.), India, Ceylon, and China; (2165 2166)Tiga(5 sp.), all India to Malaya; (2167)Gecinulus(2 sp.), South-east Himalayas to Burmah;Centurus(13 sp.), Nearctic Region to Antilles and Venezuela;Chloronerpes(35 sp.), Tropical America, Hayti; (2171)Xiphidiopicus(1 sp.), Cuba;Melanerpes(11 sp.), Brazil toCanada, Porto Rico;Leuconerpes(1 sp.), Bolivia to North Brazil;Colaptes(9 sp.), La Plata and Bolivia to Arctic America, Greater Antilles;Hypoxanthus(1 sp.), Venezuela and Ecuador; (2187)Geocolaptes(1 sp.), South Africa;Miglyptes(3 sp.), Malaya;Micropternus(8 sp.), India and Ceylon to South China, Sumatra and Borneo.
Family52.—YUNGIDÆ. (1 Genus, 5 Species.)
The Wrynecks (Yunx), which constitute this family, are small tree-creeping birds characteristic of the Palæarctic region, but extending into North and East Africa, over the greater part of the peninsula of India (but not to Ceylon), and just reaching the lower ranges of the Himalayas. There is also one species isolated in South Africa.
Family53.—INDICATORIDÆ. (1 Genus, 12 Species.)
The Honey-guides (Indicator) constitute a small family of doubtful affinities; perhaps most nearly allied to the woodpeckers and barbets. They catch bees and sometimes kill small birds; and some of the species are parasitical like the cuckoo. Their distribution is very interesting, as they are found in every part of the Ethiopian region, except Madagascar, and in the Oriental region only in Sikhim and Borneo, being absent from the peninsula of India which is nearest, both geographically and zoologically, to Africa.
Family54.—MEGALÆMIDÆ. (13 Genera, 81 Species.)
The Megalæmidæ, 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:—
Pogonorhynchinæ (3 genera, 15 sp.), which are Ethiopian except the 2 species ofTetragonops, which are Neotropical; Megalæminæ (6 genera, 45 sp.), which are Oriental and Ethiopian; and Capitoninæ (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 distribution may be due to its former range over the Miocene South Palæarctic land, which we know possessed Trogons, Parrots, Apes, and Tapirs, groups which are now equally abundant in Equatorial countries.
The following is a tabular view of the genera with their distribution:—
Family55.—RHAMPHASTIDÆ. (5 Genera, 51 Species.)
The Toucans form one of the most remarkable and characteristic families of the Neotropical region, to which they are strictly confined. They differ from all other birds by their long feathered tongues, their huge yet elegant bills, and the peculiar texture and coloration of their plumage. Being fruit-eaters, and strictly adapted for an arboreal life, they are not found beyond the forest regions; but they nevertheless range from Mexico to Paraguay, and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. One genus,Andigena, is confined to the forest slopes of the South American Andes. The genera are:—
Rhamphastos(12 sp.), Mexico to South Brazil;Pteroglossus(16 sp.), Nicaragua to South Brazil (Plate XV. Vol. II. p.28);Selenidera(7 sp.), Veragua to Brazil, east of the Andes;Andigena(6 sp.), the Andes, from Columbia to Bolivia, and West Brazil;Aulacorhamphus(10 sp.), Mexico to Peru and Bolivia.
Family56.—MUSOPHAGIDÆ. (2 Genera, 18 Species.)
The Musophagidæ, or Plantain-eaters and Turacos, are handsome birds, somewhat intermediate between Toucans and Cuckoos. They are confined to the Ethiopian region and are most abundant in West Africa. The Plantain eaters (Musophaga, 2 sp.), are confined to West Africa; the Turacos (Turacus, 16 sp., including the sub-generaCorythaixandSchizorhis) range over all Africa from Abyssinia to the Cape (Plate V. Vol. I. p. 264).
Family57.—COLIIDÆ. (1 Genus, 7 Species.)
The Colies, consisting of the single genusColius, are an anomalous group of small finch-like birds, occuping a position between the Picariæ and Passeres, but of very doubtful affinities. Their range is nearly identical with that of the Musophagidæ, but they are most abundant in South and East Africa.
Family58.—CUCULIDÆ. (35 Genera, 180 Species.)
The Cuculidæ, of which our well-known Cuckoo is one of the most widely distributed types, are essentially a tropical group of weak insectivorous birds, abounding in varied forms in all the warmer parts of the globe, but very scarce or only appearing as migrants in the temperate and colder zones. Many of the smaller Eastern species are adorned with the most intense golden or violet metallic lustre, while some of the larger forms have gaily-coloured bills or bare patches of bright red on the cheeks. Many of the cuckoos of the Eastern Hemisphere are parasitic, laying their eggs in other birds' nests; and they are also remarkable for the manner in which they resemble other birds, as hawks, pheasants, or drongo-shrikes. The distribution of the Cuckoo family is rather remarkable. They abound most in the Oriental region, which produces no less than 18 genera, of which 11 are peculiar; the Australian has 8, most of which are also Oriental, but 3 are peculiar, one of these being confined to Celebes and closely allied to an Oriental group; the Ethiopian region has only 7 genera, all of which are Oriental but three, 2 of these being peculiar to Madagascar, and the other common to Madagascar and Africa. America has 11 genera, all quite distinct from those of the Eastern Hemisphere, and only three enter the Nearctic region, one species extending to Canada.
Remembering our conclusions as to the early history of the several regions, these facts enable us to indicate, with considerable probability, the origin and mode of dispersal of the cuckoos. They were almost certainly developed in the Oriental and Palæarctic regions, but reached the Neotropical at a very early date, where they have since been completely isolated. Africa must have long remained without cuckoos, the earliest immigrationbeing to Madagascar at the time of the approximation of that sub-region to Ceylon and Malaya. A later infusion of Oriental forms took place probably by way of Arabia and Persia, when those countries were more fertile and perhaps more extensive. Australia has also received its cuckoos at a somewhat late date, a few having reached the Austro-Malay Islands somewhat earlier.
The classification of the family is somewhat unsettled. For the American genera I follow Messrs. Sclater and Salvin; and, for those of the Old World, Mr. Sharpe's suggestive paper in theProceedings of the Zoological Society, 1873, p. 600. The following is the distribution of the various genera:—
(2195)Phænicophaës(1 sp.), Ceylon; (2196)Rhamphococcyx(1 sp.), Celebes; (2196)Rhinococcyx(1 sp.), Java; (2196 pt. and 2203)Rhopodytes(6 sp.), Himalayas to Ceylon, Hainan, and Malaya; (2203 pt)Poliococcyx(1 sp.), Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo; (2197)Dasylophus(1 sp.), Philippine Islands; (2198)Lepidogrammus(1 sp.), Philippine Islands; (2200)Zanclostomus(1 sp.), Malaya; (2201)Ceuthmochares(2 sp.), Tropical and South Africa and Madagascar; (2202)Taccocua(4 sp.), Himalayas to Ceylon and Malacca; (2204)Rhinortha(1 sp.), Malacca, Sumatra, Borneo; (2199)Carpococcyx(1 sp.), Borneo and Sumatra; (2220)Neomorphus(4 sp.), Brazil to Mexico; (2205 2206)Coua(10 sp.), Madagascar; (2207)Cochlothraustes(1 sp.), Madagascar; (2221)Centropus(35 sp.), Tropical and South Africa, the whole Oriental region, Austro-Malaya and Australia; (2213)Crotophaga(3 sp.), Brazil to Antilles and Pennsylvania; (2212)Guira(1 sp.), Brazil and Paraguay; (2209)Geococcyx(2 sp.), Guatemala to Texas and California; (2211)Dromococcyx(2 sp.), Brazil to Mexico; (2210)Diplopterus(1 sp.), Mexico to Ecuador and Brazil; (2208)Saurothera(4 sp.), Greater Antilles; (2219)Hyetornis(2 sp.), Jamaica and Hayti; (2215)Piaya(3 sp.), Mexico to West Ecuador and Brazil; (2218)Morococcyx(1 sp.), Costa Rica to Mexico; (2214)Coccygus(10 sp.), La Plata to Antilles, Mexico and Pennsylvania, Cocos Island; (2227)Cuculus(22 sp.), Palæarctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental regions, to Moluccas and Australia; (2229)Caliecthrus(1 sp.), Papuan Islands; (2230—2232)Cacomantis(15 sp.), Oriental and Australianregions to Fiji Islands and Tasmania; (2233—2237)Chrysococcyx(16 sp.), Tropical and South Africa, the Oriental and Australian regions to New Zealand and Fiji Islands; (2238)Surniculus(2 sp.), India, Ceylon, and Malaya; (2239)Hierococcyx(7 sp.), the Oriental region to Amoorland and Celebes; (2240 2241)Coccystes(6 sp.), Tropical and South Africa, the Oriental region, excluding Philippines; (2242)Eudynamis(8 sp.), the Oriental and Australian regions, excluding Sandwich Islands; (2243)Scythrops(1 sp.), East Australia to Moluccas and North Celebes.
Family59.—LEPTOSOMIDÆ. (1 Genus, 1 Species.)
TheLeptosomus discolor, which constitutes this family, is a bird of very abnormal characters, having some affinities both with Cuckoos and Rollers. It is confined to Madagascar (Plate VI. Vol. I. p. 278).
Family60.—BUCCONIDÆ. (5 Genera, 43 Species.)
The Bucconidæ, or Puff-birds, are generally of small size and dull colours, with rather thick bodies and dense plumage. They form one of the characteristic Neotropical families, being most abundant in the great Equatorial forest plains, but extending as far north as Guatemala, though absent from the West Indian Islands.
The genera are:—Bucco(21 sp.), Guatemala to Paraguay, and West of the Andes in Ecuador;Malacoptila(10 sp.), Guatemalato Bolivia and Brazil;Nonnula(3 sp.), Amazon and Columbia;Monasa(7 sp.), Costa Rica to Brazil;Chelidoptera(2 sp.), Columbia and Guiana to Brazil.
Family61.—GALBULIDÆ. (6 Genera, 19 Species.)
The Galbulidæ, or Jacamars, are small slender birds, of generally metallic plumage; somewhat resembling in form the Bee-eaters of the Old World but less active. They have the same general distribution as the last family, but they do not occur west of the Equatorial Andes. The genera are:—
Galbula(9 sp.), Guatemala to Brazil and Bolivia;Urogalba(2 sp.), Guiana and the lower Amazon;Brachygalba(4 sp.), Venezuela to Brazil and Bolivia;Jacamaralcyon(1 sp.), Brazil;Jacamerops(2 sp.), Panama to the Amazon;Galbalcyrhynchus(1 sp.), Upper Amazon.
Family62.—CORACIIDÆ. (3 Genera, 19 Species.)
The Rollers are a family of insectivorous birds allied to the Bee-eaters, and are very characteristic of the Ethiopian and Oriental regions; but one species (Coracias garrula) spreads over the Palæarctic region as far north as Sweden and the Altai mountains, while the genusEurystomusreaches the Amoor valley, Australia, and the Solomon Islands. The distribution of the genera is as follows:—
Coracias(8 sp.), the whole Ethiopian region, the Orientalregion except Indo-Malaya, the Palæarctic to the above-named limits, and the island of Celebes on the confines of the Australian region;Eurystomus(8 sp.), West and East Africa and Madagascar, the whole Oriental region except the Peninsula of India, and the Australian as far as Australia and the Solomon Islands;Brachypteracias(possibly allied toLeptosomus?) (4 sp.), Madagascar only, but these abnormal birds form a distinct sub-family, and according to Mr. Sharpe, three genera,Brachypteracias,Atelornis, andGeobiastes.
A most remarkable feature in the distribution of this family is the occurrence of a true roller (Coracias temminckii) in the island of Celebes, entirely cut off from the rest of the genus, which does not occur again till we reach Siam and Burmah.
The curiousPseudochelidonfrom West Africa may perhaps belong to this family or to the Cypselidæ. (Ibis. 1861, p. 321.)
Family63.—MEROPIDÆ. (5 Genera, 34 Species.)
The Meropidæ, or Bee-eaters, have nearly the same distribution as the Rollers, but they do not penetrate quite so far either into the Eastern Palæarctic or the Australian regions. The distribution of the genera is as follows:—
Merops(21 sp.), has the range of the family extending on the north to South Scandinavia, and east to Australia and New Guinea;Nyctiornis(3 sp.), the Oriental region, except Ceylon and Java;Meropogon(1 sp.), Celebes;Meropiscus(3 sp.), West Africa;Melittophagus(6 sp.), Ethiopian region, except Madagascar.