are found in the Oriental Region, 17 being confined to it; 18 are found in the Palaearctic Region, 10 of which are not found outside the region; 19 have been recorded from the Ethiopian Region, 17 being peculiar to that region; 4 have been recorded from the Nearctic Region, none of which is restricted to the region; 24 have been recorded from the Neotropical Region, 20 being peculiar to it.

The name in black type is the name accepted by the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science in 1898, and amended by the "names" sub-committee of the Royal Australasian Ornithologists' Union, 1911. This name should be used to denote the bird. Many local names are given, so that a person knowing a bird by one of these may discover its proper name.

A.—Australian Region (from Wallace's Line to Sandwich Islands and New Zealand, see map p. 10).

O.—Oriental (Indian) Region (India to Wallace's Line).

P.—Palaearctic Region (Europe, N.W. Africa, and Northern and Western Asia, except Arabia).

E.—Ethiopian Region (Arabia and Africa, except N.W.).

Nc.—Nearctic Region. ("The A.O.U. Check-List of North American Birds, 1910" has been followed in making this North America, less Mexico).

Nl.—Neotropical Region (South America, with Mexico).

A.O.U.—American Ornithologists' Union; R.A.O.U—Royal Australasian Ornithologists' Union.

A. denotes found throughout Australia; E.A. denotes found in Queensland, N.S.W., and Victoria; S.A. denotes South Australia; C.A. denotes Central Australia; W.A. denotes Western Australia; N. Ter.—Northern Territory; Mal.—Malaysia; Mol.—Molucca Is.; N. Cal.—New Caledonia; N. Heb.—New Hebrides; N.G.—New Guinea; N.Z.—New Zealand; Br.—British; T.—Tasmania.

Nom.—Nomadic; Mig.—Migratory; Part. Mig.—Partly Migratory; Stat.—Stationary; exc.—except; acc.—accidental.

C.—common; v.c.—very common; r.—rare; v.r.—very rare; u.—unlikely that the ordinary observer will see it.

* means see colored illustration.

f.—female; m.—male; f., sim.—f. is similar in color and size.

=vt. Eur. denotes that the Australian bird is closely similar in form, habits, &c., to the corresponding European bird.

=vt. cos. denotes that it is the equivalent or representative of a cosmopolitan group of birds.

1
4

6* King Quail (Chestnut-bellied, Least, Dwarf), reads "No. 6 (see colored illustration) is the King Quail, called also the Chestnut-bellied Quail, Least Quail, and Dwarf Quail. Four of this genus are known in the world, of which one is found in Australia."

(e) denotes that a name is used in error.

A Yellow-tailed Tit-Warbler is about 4 in. long; a White-eye, 4.5 in.; a Sparrow, 5 in.; a House-Swallow, 6.5 in.; a Sordid Wood-Swallow, 7 in.; a Black and White Fantail, 7.5 in.; a Starling, 8.5 in.; a Harmonious Shrike-Thrush, 9.5 in.; a Noisy Miner, 10 in.; a Magpie-Lark, 10.5 in.; a Butcher-Bird, 11 in.; a Pallid Cuckoo, 12 in.; a Rosella, 12.5 in.; a Galah, 14 in.; a Wattle-Bird, 14.5 in.; a Laughing Kingfisher, 17.5 in.; a White-backed Magpie, 18 in.; and a Crow, 20 in. (measured from the tip of tail to the tip of bill).

Don't try to judge a bird's length in inches.

Note one or two prominent markings, and the size of a bird; say, larger than a Starling, but smaller than a Magpie-Lark. Then get the length of these birds from the table above (8½ in. and 10½ in. respectively), and compare the description of each bird that comes between these lengths with the illustrations and the bird before you. The birds are approximately relative size on each block.

Use the index to find the page of a bird, then use the number, if asterisked, to find the bird in the colored plate index.

An Australian Bird Book.

A LECTURE.

Australia is the wonderland of the scientist and of the Nature-lover. It is a great living "museum," stocked with marvels of many kinds, including so-called "living fossils," the sole survivors of otherwise extinct groups of animals.

Competent authorities have proposed to divide the world, biologically, into two parts—Australia and the rest of the world, and they have considered Australia the more important part.

This division was based mainly on the study of mammals—animals which suckle their young—for Australia is the home of the two surviving members of the lowest group of mammals—Monotremata, the egg-laying Platypus (Ornithorhynchus), and the Spiny Ant-eater (Echidna). Further, marsupials, except for two kinds found in America, are confined to this long-isolated southern land.

Here, shut off from the severe competition experienced by the animals of northern lands, marsupials were modified so that they were adapted for life in almost every realm utilized by the higher mammals of other countries. Thus there are herbivorous, carnivorous, and insectivorous marsupials. Owing, probably, to the advent of Bats—true flying mammals—at, possibly, a comparatively early time, the marsupial was beaten in the air, and so a true flying form was not evolved, though the so-called "Flying Phalanger" is some distance on the way.

As regards the other group of flying animals—birds—Australia is even of greater interest, for here are found unique archaic forms of life, such as the Emu, Cassowary, Mound-Builders, and Lyre-Birds, and "every widely-spread family of birds but two is represented; the only widely-spread families of birds totally absent from Australia are Woodpeckers and Vultures." Woodpeckers, however, have crossed Wallace's line into Celebes and adjacent islands, and may yet reach Australia naturally.

Further, many well-known birds, such as Pigeons, Parrots, and Kingfishers, reach their highest development in the Australian region, and, more important still, the whole bird world seems to reach its culminating point in this wonderland. It is a factor adding to the interest of Australia's fauna that three of the four families placed at the head of the bird world in the natural system of classification adopted by ornithologists, and used by Dr. Sharpe in his just recently completed Hand-List of Birds, should be absolutely confined to the Australian Continent and adjacent islands. Thus Australia can justly claim to be the most highly developed of regions, so far as birds are concerned, for Bower-Birds, Birds of Paradise, and Bell-Magpies (Streperas) are peculiar, while the penultimate family—the Crow family—is shared with the other regions of the world.

Thus, with regard to birds, the term "fossil continent" applied to Australia is not appropriate, as it is but partly true.

Since the birds native to Australia are so interesting in themselves, and are so varied in kind, Australians should know, love, and jealously protect these beautiful creatures. Strict regulations should be framed to prevent the exploitation of Nature's gifts by those who destroy useful or precious and rare birds for the sake of gain. Even collectors, who, under the guise of scientific work, collect eggs, and kill birds to trade in their skins, should be supervized.

Let us now consider the different groups of birds. Living birds were formerly divided into two sub-classes—(1) Ratitae (Lat., ratis, a raft), and (2) Carinatae (Lat., carina, a keel). The first is the small group of flightless, running birds,