me many more recent genera which
could be included in the area which I propose to investigate in this
chapter. The genus _Lepus_ is probably not of Lusitanian origin, but the
sub-genus _Oryctolagus_--to which our common Rabbit belongs--has no
doubt had its original home in that region. Only two species of _Lepus_
(_Oryctolagus_) are known, one of which--_Lepus lacostei_--has been met
with in French pliocene deposits. The other is the Rabbit (_L.
cuniculus_). Though generally considered to have been introduced into
the British Islands, no reason can be brought forward in favour of such
a supposition, especially as it is known to have spread into Germany in
pleistocene times from South-western Europe. It occurs in France, the
Spanish peninsula, North-western Africa, and on some of the
Mediterranean islands. Its nearest living relatives, as we should almost
expect, are found in South America.

Of the Lusitanian Birds I have already mentioned the so-called Dartford
Warbler (_Melizophilus undatus_), which ranges from the south of England
to the extreme south-west of Europe. A second species occurs on the
Balearic Islands and on Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily. The Andalusian
Bush-quail (_Turnix sylvatica_) is probably of North African origin,
and has subsequently spread into Southern Spain and Portugal, and
eastward as far as Sicily. It is an instance of a migrant utilising the
old Mediterranean land-connections in the opposite direction from that
described in the last chapter.

Two of our British Wagtails are very closely related, so much so that it
requires a very critical eye to distinguish them even at close range.
They also frequently interbreed. In their distribution, however, there
is a considerable difference between the White Wagtail (_Motacilla
alba_) and the Pied Wagtail (_M. lugubris_). While the former ranges
almost all over Europe and Asia, the latter is a local form resident in
the British Islands, Southern Scandinavia, and France, and a winter
visitor to Spain and North-west Africa. The genus _Motacilla_ is
probably Oriental in its origin, but it seems as if the Pied Wagtail was
a Lusitanian species which had gradually spread northward, only to
return to South-western Europe in severe weather for shelter.

The Bearded Titmouse (_Panurus biarmicus_)--the only representative of
the family _Panuridae_--may possibly be a Lusitanian bird. The fact of
its being absent from Scandinavia and Northern Russia is suggest