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Show 1878.] MR. D. G. ELLIOT ON THE PTEROCLID.E. 237 these interesting specimens. There is a slight difference observable in their size, one being rather stouter than the other; and they evidently belong to two individuals, perhaps different sexes of the same species ; and, as stated by Monsieur A. Milne-Edwards1, represent a species between the P. alchata, Linn., and the P. gutturalis, Smith. The following are the genera proposed for these birds, with the type of each added :- Type. (1811) Syrrhaptes, Illiger, Prodr. p. 243 Tetrao paradoxus, ~Pall. (1812) Nematura, Fisch. M e m . Soc. Natur. Moscou Tetrao paradoxus, Pall. (1815) Pterocles, Temm. Man. Ornith. p. 299 Tetrao alchata, Linn. (1816) GUnas, Vieillot, Analyse, p. 52 Tetrao alchata, Linn. (1816) Heteraclitus, Vieillot, Analyse, p. 53 Tetrao paradoxus, Pall. (1856) Pteroclur•us, Bon. Compt. Eend. xiii. p. 880 Tetrao alchata, Linn. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION. The Pteroclidae have been found in only three of the zoogeogra-phical divisions of the earth's surface, viz. the Palaearctic, Oriental, and Ethiopian regions; and in these they are chiefly restricted to tracts devoid of cultivation, or actual deserts. From the fact that of the sixteen known species twelve are met with in the Ethiopian region, we may safely regard the Pteroclidae as having originated in Africa, from which they spread into the other two regions named above. Of the twelve Ethiopian species, seven (or a little over half) are not found in the other zoogeographical divisions. In the Oriental region, which is the next richest in the birds of this family, seven species are found, one of which is peculiar to it; and, lastly, the Palaearctic region is tenanted by five species, two of which, constituting the genus Syrrhaptes, are not found elsewhere. Commencing with the Ethiopian region, where the species appear confined mainly to the eastern side of the continent, we find the Pt. gutturalis extending its range from Abyssinia to Kurrichane, just north of the Cape Colony, where it was procured by Sir A. Smith. In Egypt and Nubia Pt. coronatus is found, not going south of the last-named country on this coast. It is also met with in the southern part of the desert of Sahara, and again on the plains of the Sinaitic peninsula, and probably occurs throughout Arabia, as, together with the three species next mentioned, it is found in Sindh of the Oriental region. In the region extending from and including Egypt to the Somali country Pt. exustus, Pt. senegalus, and Pt. lichtensteini are found ; while Pt. quadricinctus appears to be restricted to Abyssinia and Sennaar, although given by Swainson as a bird of West Africa under the name of Pt. tricinctus. Passing southwards along the same coast, we find Pt. variegatus, Pt. namaqua, and Pt. bicinctus inhabiting the Trans-Vaal, whence they range across this part of the continent into Damaraland. Somewhere in the interior of Eastern Africa Pt. decoratus dwells, according to Cabanis; but its precise distribution does not appear 1 Oiseaux Fossiles, torn. ii. p. 295, pl. 141. figs. 1-9. |