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Show 1873.] DISTRIBUTION OF ASIATIC BIRDS. 681 sharp criticism from Lord Walden, adds largely to our knowledge of their distribution. Dr. Cantor has also given an extensive catalogue of birds collected by him in this Society's 'Proceedings' for 1855 ; and Mr. Blyth, both in the pages of the J. A. S. B. and in his ' Catalogue of Birds in the Museum of the Asiatic Society,' has described and enumerated numerous species. The general fades of the Malacca birds is undoubtedly very similar to those of Borneo, Java, and Sumatra ; and though the facts as at present known are not sufficient to justify Dr. Stoliczka's statement that more than half the species are absolutely the same, yet probably at least twenty-five per cent, of them are common to the four countries, and as many more wanting only in Java or Borneo. A good many Indian or Chinese species, as well as some migrants from the north, which do not seem to extend to the islands, are noted from the Malay peninsula; and though the total number of birds is probably higher than in any of the islands, the proportion of peculiar species is smaller. The following analysis of the birds of the Indo-Malay subregion may be taken for what it is worth ; it will at any rate give some idea of the component parts of the avifauna. Omitting the five families mentioned before, there are in Java about 200 species, Sumatra 185, Malacca 210, and Borneo 170. In the four islands together 400, of which are per cent. Peculiar to Java 45 11 Sumatra 24 6 Borneo 32 8 Malacca 16 4 Found in all the islands and Malacca, about . 4 8 12 Malacca, Sumatra, Borneo 28 7 (probably many more). Java, Sumatra, Malacca 24 6 „ Malacca, Sumatra 20 5 Indian or Chinese species only found in Malacca 24 6 About two-thirds of the birds are thus accounted for; the remainder are either birds of very wide distribution, or are only recorded from one or two of the divisions, though probably found elsewhere, or are birds of which so little is known that they cannot be positively assigned to any of the heads. An analysis of the genera gives the following results, and shows how distinct the subregion is from the Indo-Malayan one :- per cent. Of very wide distribution 36 16 Confined to the Indo-Malay region 98 44 „ „ Malay subregion, or only represented by one species in India or Burmah .. 58 26 Found also in tropical Africa 20 9 Characteristic of the Austro-Malay region .... 8 4 >> ,, a |