| OCR Text |
Show 1873.] DISTRIBUTION OF ASIATIC BIRDS. 671 Found only in India. Layardia. Kelaartia. Thamnobia. Pastor. Pyrrhulauda. Galloperdix. Ortygornis. SOUTHERN INDIA. We will now see what are the most notable peculiarities in the avifauna of Southern India. The birds of this province are fairly known from the writings of the late Dr. Jerdon, the greater part of whose service in India was spent in the Madras presidency ; and though some parts of the country, especially the Travancore mountains and the hilly district lying along the coast between the Mahanuddy and Godavery rivers, have as yet been hardly visited by naturalists, and may be expeeted to yield some new forms, yet enough is known of the country to give a very good idea of its natural productions. As far as we know, most of the birds peculiar to the Malabar coast and the Western Ghauts have a considerable range of latitude, though some of those which are restricted to the highest hills are only found to the south of about lat. 12° N., where several tracts of mountainous country, such as the Neilgherries, Pulneys, Anna-mullays, and Cardamom hills, reach an elevation of 8000 feet. The upper parts of these hills are principally open, but are in places covered with a luxuriant forest and shrubbery of trees; and to these woods are restricted several of the forms whose geographical distribution is so peculiar, such as Trochalopteron cachinnans, T. jerdoni, and T.fairbanki, Ochromela nigrorufa, Larvivora cyana, and Hypsipetes neilgherriensis. The western slopes of the Ghauts from Cape Comorin northwards are covered in most parts with luxuriant tropical forest, and inhabited by many of the typical Himalayan and Malayan forms, such as Nyctiornis, Homraius, Alcippe, Pomatorhinus, Myiophonus, Irena, Harpactes. On their eastern side the mountains south of the Neilgherries descend very abruptly into the plains of the Carnatic, where, except on such outlying hills as the Shevaroys and Siramullays, forest is almost entirely wanting. On these plains, as well as on the tableland which forms the greater part of Mysore and the Deccan, the absence of nearly all the forest birds is but poorly compensated by the presence of such genera as Mirafra, Agrodroma, Pyrrhulauda, Dry-moipus, Chatarrhaea, Pterocles, Ortygornis. The whole number birds found in Southern India is small, considering the extent and variety of country ; and it is probable that not more than half of those included in the list could be obtained in any one locality. Tockus. Taccocua. Piprisoma. Ochromela. Pyctorhis. Dumetia. Malacocercus. |
