T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S.
The King Duck, . Fuligula spectabilis, . .
Page
. 523
Anser Hutchinsii, . . . 526
Tringa Schinzii, . . . . 529
, Sterna cantiaca, . . . . 531
The Black Tern, 535
539
The Great White Heron, . . . . Ardea occidentalism . . . 542
The White-winged Silvery Gull, . Larus leucopterus, . . . 553
The Wandering Shearwater, . . . Puffinus cinereus, . . . 555
Tringa marítima, . . . 558
The Forked-tailed Gull, . . .
. 564
The White-fronted Goose,. . . . Anser albifrons, . . . . 568
The Ivory Gull, Larus eburneus, . . 571
Totanus flavipes, . . . . 573
The Solitary Sandpiper, . . . . Totanus chloropygius* . . 576
The Red-backed Sandpiper, . . Tringa alpina, . . . . 580
The Herring Gull, . Larus argentatus, . . . 588
Podiceps cristatus, . 559
The Large-billed Puffin, . . . . Mormon glacialis, . . . 599
The Pectoral Sandpiper, . Tringa pectoralis, . . . 601
The Manks Shearwater, . . . . Puffinus Anglorum, . . , 604
. Anser leucopsis, . . . . 609
. Fuligula histrionica, . . . 612
The Red-necked Grebe, . . . . Podiceps rubricollis, . . . 617
The Dusky Petrel, Puffinus obscurus, . . . 620
. Charadrius pluvialis, . 623
. 629
ORNITHOLOGICAL BIOGRAPHY.
T H E C A N A D A G O O S E .
ANSER CANADENSIS, VIEILL;
P L A T E CCI. MALE AND FEMALE.
ALTHOUGH the Canada Goose is considered as a northern species, the
number of individuals that remain at all seasons in the milder latitudes,
and in different portions of the United States, fully entitles this bird to
be looked upon as a permanent resident there. It is found to breed sparingly
at' the present day, by many of the lakes, lagoons, and large
streams of our Western Districts, on the Missouri, the Mississippi, the
lower parts of the Ohio, on Lake Erie, the lakes farther north, and in several
large pools situated in the interior of the eastern parts of the States
of Massachusetts and Maine. As you advance farther toward the east
and north, you find it breeding more abundantly. While on my way to
Labrador, I found it in the Magdeleine Islands, early in June, sitting on
its eggs. In the Island of Anticosti there is a considerable stream, near
the borders of which great numbers are said to be annually reared; and
in Labrador these birds breed in every suitable marshy plain. The
greater number of those which visit us from still more northern regions,
return in the vernal season, like many other species, to the dismal countries
which gave them birth.
Few if any of these birds spend the winter in Nova Scotia, my friend
Mr THOMAS M'CULLOCH having informed me that he never saw one about
Pictou at that period. In spring, as they proceed northward, thousands
are now and then seen passing high in the air; but in autumn, the flocks
are considerably smaller, and fly much lower. During their spring movements,
the principal places at which they stop to wait for milder days are
VOL. III. A.