The geographical distribution of animals, with a study of the relations ...

—;chap, xii.] THE ORIENTAL REGION. 351shouid be proved to be erroneous, the main result will remainunaltered.Java possesses about 270 species of land birds, of which about40 are peculiar to it. There are, however, very few peculiargenera, Laniellus, a beautiful spotted shrike, being the mostdistinct, while Cochoa and Psaltria are perhaps not different fromtheir Indian allies. The island has however a marked individualityin two ways—in the absence of characteristic Malayantypes, and in the presence of a number of forms not yet foundin any of the other Malay islands, but having their nearest alliesin various parts of the Indo-Chinese sub-region.The following16 genera are all found in Malacca, Sumatra, and Borneo,but are absent from Java: Setomis, Temnurus, Dendrocitta,Corydon, Calyptomena, Venilia, Beinwardtipicus, Coloramplms,Bhinortha, Nydiomis, Cranorhinus, Psittinus, Polyplectron, Argusianus,Euplocamus, and Rolhdus. The following 9 are knownfrom two of the above localities, and will very probably befound in the third, but are absent from, and not likely tooccur in, Java : Trichixos, Eupetes, Melanochlora, Chaptia, Pityriasis,Lyncornis, Carpococcyx, Poliococcyx, and Ehinoplax. Wehave thus 25 typically Malayan genera which are not knownto occur in Java.The following genera, on the other hand, do not occur inanyof the Malayan sub-divisions except Java, and they all occuragain, or under closely allied forms, in the Indo-Chinese subregion: Brachypteryx (allied species in Himalayas) ; Zootheraallied species in Aracan) ; Notodela (allied species in Pegu)Pnoepyga (allied species in Himalayas) ;Allotrius (allied speciesin the Himalayas) ; Cochoa (allied species in the Himalayas)Crypsirhina (allied species in Burmah) ; Estrilda (allied speciesin India) ;Psaltria (allied genusJZgithaliscus—in Himalayas)Pavo muticus and Harpactes oreskios (same species in Siamand Burmah) ; Cecropis striolata (same species in Java andFormosa, and allied species in India).Here we have 12 instances of very remarkable distribution,and considering that there are nearly as many birds known fromSumatra and Borneo as from Java,and considerably more from