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Show 1873.] DISTRIBUTION OF ASIATIC BIRDS. 649 ^ The western half of Siberia is probably very similar to Russia in Europe; but I do not know of any locality which has been systematically examined until we come to Dahuria, where M M . Dybowski and Parrex have for some years paid much attention to natural history. The list of birds published by these gentlemen in the ' Journal fiir Ornithologie,' 1868, and reviewed in the same publication for 1870 by Taczanowski, shows that the genera found there are nearly all common to Europe-Nemura cyanea, Uragus sibiricus, and Leuco-sticte arctoa being almost the only exceptions. A resume of the works of Middendorff, Radde, and Schrenck, so far as they treat of ornithology, has been published by Herr von Homeyer in the ' Journal fiir Ornithologie' for 1868-70, which gives the range of most of the species inhabiting Eastern Siberia as far as they are known. W e find that European species are still in a great majority, though in the S.E. part of Siberia, which borders on the Amoor river, some migrants appear in summer which have an entirely different range-such as Zosterops chloronotus, Eurystomus orientalis, Pericrocotus cinereus, Oriolus indicus, and Turtur humilis. The birds of prey, 33 in number, are all well-known European species, except Haliaetus pelagicus, Falco amurensis, Milvus melanotis, Circus melanoleucus, and Nyctale barbata. The Passeres and Picariae, of which 151 species are named, may be classed as follows:- per cent. Either peculiar to North Asia or only known elsewhere as stragglers 63 41 Birds common to Europe 77 51 Migratory from S. Asia 11 8 As in Europe, the predominant families are the Turdidae, Sylviadae, and Emberizidae, no less than 12 species of the genus Emberiza being found. Among the game birds there are some which, like Tetrao tetrix and T. betulina, range to the other extreme of the region, whilst others, such as Tetrao urogalloides and T.falcipennis, are peculiar to its eastern extremity. The wading and water birds, which amount to 132 species, are mostly European or Arctic species. Some, however, such as Anser grandis, A. cygnoides, Anas galericulata, Ibis nippon, and Grus leucauchen, spend their winters in China. Phoenicopterus roseus has occurred at Lake Baikal, and is, no doubt, common on the salt lakes of Mongolia. Grus leucogeranus and Anas pcecilorhyncha extend their migrations to the plains of India. The following birds, which are all common to Amoorla id and N. Europe, do not appear to extend so far as Japan, though the birds of that archipelago are very closely connected with those of E. Siberia :- Gecinus canus. Picus minor. Picus major. tridactylus. |