resulting from age or sex. Exclusive of these nominal species, Pennant
describes seventeen from the north-west coast and Behring’s
Straits, collected on Captain Cook’s Expedition, and eighty-three
from Hudson’s Bay, of which seventy-three had been previously
made known by Edwards and Forster. Umfreville’s <l Account of
Hudson’s Bay,” and Hearne’s “ Journey to the Coppermine River,”
published in 1795, give some interesting details of the habits of. the
more common birds.
There is no evidence in the Philosophical Transactions, of the orders
of the Hudson’s Bay Company, in 1772, above alluded to, having been
beneficial to science through the channel of the Royal Society ; but
their instructions served to acquaint the residents with the value set, in
England, upon the natural productions of the northern regions; and
collections, chiefly of birds, have continued to be transmitted annually
to London up to the present time, as presents either to the Governor
and Committee or to the personal friends of the parties. The former,
besides forming a museum of the Hudson’s Bay productions, which is
liberally open to the public, have presented numerous specimens to
the British Museum and Zoological Society. Private museums have
also been greatly enriched from these sources, among which that of
Joseph Sabine, Esq., is particularly deserving of notice. This gentleman
has long studied the Ornithology of Hudson’s Bay, and it is to
be regretted that he has hitherto laid before the public only a part of
the extensive information he has acquired on the subject. His
Appendix to the Narrative of Sir John Franklin’s first Journey shows
how well he could have performed the task had he found leisure. He
has lately transferred his rich museum to the Andersonian Institution
of Glasgow. Mr. Leadbeater’s invaluable collection also contains an
extensive suite of birds from Hudson’s Bay, some of which have been
recently figured in the American Ornithology of the Prince of Musig-
nano, and are among the most interesting novelties in that splendid
work.
The voyages of Vancouver, Portlock, Meares, and Langsdorff, to the
north-west coast, added little to Ornithology ; nor is there much certain
information to be derived from the notices of Lewis and Clark of
the birds they saw on the banks of the Columbia. They were unable
to bring many specimens across the mountains, and their descriptions
are in general too vague for scientific purposes, which is, perhaps,
attributable to the untimely death of Governor Lewis previous to the
publication of the work.
All this, however, would have been compensated by the indefatigable
researches of Mr. David Douglas, which would have made the
birds of the north-west coast equally familiar to Europeans with those
of Hudson’s Bay, had not his extensive collections gone to decay,
through the length of the voyage and other causes beyond his control.
He is now a second time exploring that interesting country, and we
look with much anxiety for the rich harvest he is sure to reap.
Eschscholtz and Chamisso, the naturalists who accompanied Kotzebue
on his voyages to the Russian-American settlements and Behring’s
Straits, doubtless acquired a knowledge of the birds of the
places-they visited; but only some detached notices of their discoveries
in Natural History have as yet reached this country. The
more recent voyage of Captain Beechey has also been productive of
much advantage to natural science; and I rejoice that Mr. Vigors
has undertaken the task of bringing the ornithological discoveries
before the public *.
Almost the only information we have of the birds of the extreme
northern coasts of America is contained in the Natural History
Appendices to the voyages of Ross and Parry. Having had access
to many of the specimens procured on these voyages, and preserved
in the British and Edinburgh Museums, I have described them in
the present work f .
* I should gladly have availed myself of the kindness of the Author, who entrusted me with the
proof-sheets, to have rendered this work more complete, by giving a list of the species that frequent
the north-west coast; but very few of the specimens brought home on that Expedition had notes
attached to them to indicate their locality, so that the native places of many are uncertain.
t I embrace the opportunity here afforded of again returning my sincere thanks to Charles König,
John George Children, and John Gray, Esqrs., of the British Museum; to Robert Jameson, Esq.,
Regius Professor of Natural History in the University of Edinburgh ; and Nicholas Ay 1 ward Vigors,
Esq., Secretary to the Zoological Society; for the great, facilities they have invariably afforded me of