| General Distribution. | |||||
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| Neotropical Sub-regions. | Nearctic Sub-regions. | Palæarctic Sub-regions. | Ethiopian Sub-regions. | Oriental Sub-regions. | Australian Sub-regions. |
| — — — — | 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2. 3 — |
The Laniidæ, or Shrikes (Laniinæ and Malaconotinæ of the Hand List, and including Colluricincla), are most abundant and varied in Africa, less plentiful in the Oriental, Australian, and Palæarctic regions, with a few species in the Nearctic region as far as Mexico. The constitution of the family is, however, somewhat uncertain. The genera here admitted are:—
Colluricincla (4 sp.), Australia and Tasmania; Rectes (18 sp.), Papuan Islands, North Australia, to Pelew and Fiji Islands; (1462—1464 1466 1470 1471—1473) Lanius (50 sp.), the whole Nearctic, Palæarctic, Ethiopian, and Oriental regions, one species reaching Timor, none in Madagascar; Laniellus (1 sp.), Java; Hypocolius (1 sp.), Abyssinia and Upper Nile; Corvinella (1 sp.), South and West Africa; Urolestes (1 sp.), South and East Africa; Tephrodornis (4 sp.), Oriental region to Hainan and Java; Hypodes (1 sp.), West Africa; Fraseria (2 sp.), West Africa; Cuphopterus (1 sp.), Princes' Island; Nilaus (1 sp.), South and West Africa; Prionops (9 sp.), Tropical Africa; Eurocephalus (2 sp.), North, East, and South Africa, and Abyssinia; Chaunonotus (1 sp.), West Africa; Vanga (4 sp.), Madagascar (Plate VI. vol. i. p. 278); Laniarius (36 sp.), the whole Ethiopian region; Telephonus (10 sp.), all Africa and South Europe; Meristes (2 sp.), Tropical and South Africa; Nicator (1 sp.), East Africa.
Family 20.—CORVIDÆ. (24 Genera, 190 Species.)
| General Distribution. | |||||
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| Neotropical Sub-regions. | Nearctic Sub-regions. | Palæarctic Sub-regions. | Ethiopian Sub-regions. | Oriental Sub-regions. | Australian Sub-regions. |
| 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2. 3. 4 | 1. 2. 3 — |
The Corvidæ, or Crows, Jays, &c., form an extensive and somewhat heterogeneous group, some members of which inhabit almost every part of the globe, although none of the genera are cosmopolitan. The true crows are found everywhere but in South America; the magpies, choughs, and nutcrackers are characteristic of the Palæarctic region; the jays are Palæarctic, Oriental, and American; while the piping crows are peculiarly Australian. The more detailed distribution of the genera is as follows:—
Sub-family I. Gymnorhininæ (Piping Crows).—Strepera (4 sp.), and Gymnorhina (3 sp.), are Australian only; Cracticus (9 sp.), ranges from New Guinea to Tasmania (this is usually put with the Shrikes, but it has more affinity with the preceding genera); Pityriasis (1 sp.), Borneo (an extraordinary bird of very doubtful affinities); Grallina (1 sp.), Australia, is put here by Sundevall,—among Motacillidæ, by Gould.
Sub-family II. Garrulinæ (Jays).—Platylophus = Lophocitta (4 sp.), Malaya; Garrulus (12 sp.), Palæarctic region, China and Himalayas; Perisoreus (2 sp.), North of Palæarctic and Nearctic regions; Cyanurus (22 sp.), American, from Bolivia to Canada, most abundant in Central America, but absent from the Antilles; Cyanocorax (15 sp.), La Plata to Mexico; Calocitta (2 sp.), Guatemala and Mexico; Psilorhinus (3 sp.), Costa Rica to Texas; Urocissa (6 sp.), Western Himalayas to China and Formosa; Cissa (3 sp.), South-eastern Himalayas to Tenasserim, Ceylon, Sumatra, and Java.
Sub-family III. Dendrocittinæ (Tree Crows).—Temnurus (3 sp.), Cochin China, Malacca to Borneo (not Java); Dendrocitta (9 sp.), the Oriental region to Sumatra, Hainan, and Formosa; Crypsirhina (3 sp.), Pegu, Siam, and Java; Ptilostomus (2 sp.), West, East, and South Africa.
Sub-family IV. Corvinæ (Crows and Magpies).—Nucifraga (4 sp.), Palæarctic region to the Himalayas and North China; Picicorvus (1 sp.), the Rocky Mountains and California; Gymnokitta (1 sp.), Rocky Mountains and Arizona (Plate XVIII., Vol. II., p. [128]); Pica (9 sp.), Palæarctic region, Arctic America, and California; Cyanopica (3 sp.), Spain, North-east Asia, Japan; Streptocitta (2 sp.), Celebes; Charitornis (1 sp.), Sula Islands; Corvus (55 sp.), universally distributed except South America and New Zealand, but found in Guatemala and the Antilles to Porto Rico; reaches the extreme north of Europe and Asia; Gymnocorvus (2 sp.), Papuan Islands; Picathartes (1 sp.), West Africa; Corvultur (2 sp.), Tropical and South Africa.