In the eastern hemisphere, also, we have the
babbling-thrushes (Timaliidae), the cuckoo-shrikes (Campephagidae), the
honey-suckers (Meliphagidae), and several other smaller groups which are
certainly not coloured above the average standard of temperate birds.
Again, there are many families of birds which spread over the whole
world, temperate and tropical, and among these the tropical species
rarely present any exceptional brilliancy of colour. Such are the
thrushes, goatsuckers, hawks, plovers, and ducks; and in the last-named
group it is the temperate and arctic zones that afford the most
brilliant coloration.
The same general facts are found to prevail among insects. Although
tropical insects present some of the most gorgeous coloration in the
whole realm of nature, yet there are thousands and tens of thousands of
species which are as dull coloured as any in our cloudy land. The
extensive family of the carnivorous ground-beetles (Carabidae) attains
its greatest brilliancy in the temperate zone; while by far the larger
proportion of the great families of the longicorns and the weevils, are
of obscure colours even in the tropics.
Pages:
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371