GENERAL DISTRIBUTION. __________________________________/\__________________________________ / \ NEOTROPICAL| NEARCTIC |PALÆARCTIC | ETHIOPIAN | ORIENTAL | AUSTRALIAN SUB-REGIONS|SUB-REGIONS|SUB-REGIONS|SUB-REGIONS|SUB-REGIONS|SUB-REGIONS. -----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+------------ | | | | | -- -- -- --|-- -- -- --|1. 2. 3. 4 |1. 2. 3. 4 |1. 2. 3. 4 |1. 2. 3. 4 | | | | | The Muscicapidæ, or Flycatchers (Muscicapinæ and Myiagrinæ of the _Hand List_, omitting _Cochoa_ and including _Pogonocichla_) form an extensive family of usually small-sized and often bright-coloured birds, very abundant in the warmer regions of the Old World and Australia, but becoming scarce as we approach the temperate and colder regions. They are wholly absent from North and South America. The genera, many of which are not well defined, are distributed as follows:-- _Peltops_ (1 sp.), Papuan Islands; _Monarcha_ (28 sp.), Moluccas to the Carolines and Marquesas Islands, Australia and Tasmania; _Leucophantes_ (1 sp.), New Guinea; _Butalis_ (4 sp.), Ethiopian and Palæarctic regions, Moluccas and Formosa; _Muscicapa_ (12 sp.), Europe and Africa; _Muscicapula_ (6 sp.), India to Western China; _Alseonax_ (1 sp.), South Africa; _Erythrosterna_ (7 sp.), Europe to China and Java; _Newtonia_ (1 sp.), Madagascar; _Xanthopygia_ (2 sp.), Japan, China, Malacca; _Hemipus_ (1 sp.), India and Ceylon; _Pycnophrys_ (1 sp.), Java; _Hyliota_ (2 sp.), West Africa; _Erythrocercus_ (2 sp.), West Africa and Zambesi; _Micræca_ (6 sp.), Australia, Timor, and Papuan Islands; _Artomyias_ (2 sp.), West Africa; _Pseudobias_ (1 sp.), Madagascar; _Hemichelidon_ (3 sp.), the Oriental region and North China; _Smithornis_ (2 sp.), West and South Africa; _Megabias_ (1 sp.), West Africa; _Cassinia_ (2 sp.), West Africa; _Bias_, (1 sp.), Tropical Africa; _Niltava_ (3 sp.), Himalayas to West China; _Cyornis_ (16 sp.), the whole Oriental region; _Cyanoptila_ (1 sp.), Japan, China, Hainan; _Eumyias_ (7 sp.), India to South China, Ceylon, and Sumatra; (1213 and 1216) _Siphia_ (8 sp.), North India, Formosa, Timor; _Anthipes_ (1 sp.), Nepal; _Seisura_ (5 sp.), Australia and {271}Austro-Malaya (excluding Celebes); _Myiagra_ (16 sp.), Australia and Moluccas to Caroline and Samoa Islands; _Hypothymis_ (2 sp.), Oriental region and Celebes; _Elminia_ (2 sp.), Tropical Africa; _Muscitodus_ (2 sp.), Fiji Islands; _Machærirhynchus_ (4 sp.), Papuan Islands and North Australia; _Platystira_ (12 sp.), Tropical and South Africa; _Rhipidura_ (45 sp.), the Oriental and Australian regions to the Samoa Islands and Tasmania; _Chelidorynx_ (1 sp.), North India; _Myialestes_ (2 sp.), India to Ceylon, China, Java and Celebes; _Tchitrea_ (26 sp.), the entire