"The Canada goose, termed by the Canadian voyagers l'outarde,* and by the Crees neescah, arrives first of the three species just mentioned. It breeds every where throughout the Hudson's Bay territory, and was observed, in the middle of July, on the Copper Mine River, not far from its debouchure, accompanied by its newly hatched young. The cry of this species is imitated by a nasal repetition of the syllable wook, or, as Wilson writes it, honk. "The following table of the arrival of this species, in different parallels of latitude, in the interior of the vorous animals, being kept mostly for profit, are seldom allowed to remain beyond approaching age, and, when its advances trench upon our emoluments, by diminishing the supply of utility, we remove them. The uses of the horse, though time may reduce them, are often protracted; and our gratitude for past services, or interest in what remains, prompts us to support his life by prepared food of easy digestion, or requiring little mastication; and he certainly by such means attains to a longevity probably beyond the contingencies of nature. I have still a favourite pony-for she has been a faithful and able performer of all the duties required of her in my service for upwards of two-and-twenty years and, though now above five-and-twenty years of age, retains all her powers perfectly, without any diminution or symptom of decrepitude; the fineness of limb, brilliancy of eye, and ardour of spirit, are those of the colt, and, though treated with no remarkable care, she has never been disabled by the illness of day, or sickened by the drench of the farrier. With birds it is probably the same as with other creatures, and the eagle, the raven, the parrot, &c. in a domestic state, attain great longevity, and, though we suppose them naturally tenacious of life, yet, in a really wild state, they would probably expire before the period which they attain when under our attention and care. And this is much the case with man, who probably outlives most other creatures; for though excess may often shorten, and disease or misfortune terminate his days, yet naturally he is a long-lived animal. His threescore years and ten' are often prolonged by constitutional strength, and by the cares, the loves, the charities, of human nature. As the decay of his powers awaken solicitude, duty and affection increase their attentions, and the spark of life only expires when the material is exhausted.". Knapp. - *This is the bustard of Messrs Jerome and De la Poitries, who have been so much censured by Hearne, for asserting its existence. See Journey to the Northern Ocean, p. 417. country, is derived chiefly from the journals kept by Engineer Cantonment, Lat. 413°, 22d of February. * Cumberland House, Athabasca Lake, Slave Lake, Fort Enterprise, 540 from the 8th to the 12th of April. 610 about the 1st-6th of May. "The results of registers for various years kept at Fort Churchill, on Hudson's Bay, lat. 59°, give the 27th of April and 14th of May as the earliest and latest arrivals of different seasons. Their eggs have been found as early as the 15th of May. They collect in the marshes of that neighbourhood in some autumns as early as August 16th, and depart about September 10th, rarely continuing until October 10th, which is considered as a very late fall. "The other two species seen in the interior arrive in separate flocks, generally about six or eight days after the Canada geese. One of these, the laughing goose, keeps the middle part of the continent in its migrations, and is rarely seen on the coast of Hudson's Bay. Its breeding station is to the northward even of the resorts of the snow goose, and is still unknown to the Europeans. The note of this bird has some resemblance to the laugh of a man, and from this its name has been derived, and not as Wilson supposes, from the grinning appearance of its mandibles. The Indians imitate its cry by moving the hand quickly against the lips, whilst they repeat the syllable wah. "The snow goose, in its migration northwards, is seen both in the interior and on the sea-coast, and in numbers exceeding the other two. "The brent goose (Anas bernicla) is found only on the coast of Hudson's Bay; and the barnacle, (Anas *In LONG's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, the great migration of geese is stated to commence at Engineer Cantonment, in lat. 41° on the 22d of February, and to terminate at the latter end of March. leucopsis,) and the bean goose, (Anas segetum,) the remaining two species of geese known to visit those countries, are rarely seen, being accidental visitors. "The swans arrive in the fur countries still earlier than the Canada goose, and frequent the eddies under waterfalls, and other spots of open water, until the rivers and lakes break up. They are seen both in the interior and on the sea coast, sometimes in small flocks, but more frequently in pairs. "Of the smaller birds, or ducks, that constitute the genus anas, there are about twenty-four species known in the Hudson's Bay fur countries, only three of which were seen by our navigators. Two of these three, the eider and king ducks, confine their visits to the sea coast; but the third, the long-tailed duck, (Anas glacialis,) is seen also abundantly in the interior, on its passage north.” CYGNUS, SWAN. 43. CYGNUS BUCCINATOR, RICHARDSON.-TRUMPETER SWAN. SUB FAMILY, Anserinæ, Swains.- Genus, Cygnus, Auct. Keetchee wapeeshew, Cree Indians.-CH. SP. Anas (Cygnus) Buccinator, albus; rostro toto nigro etuberculato, rectricibus 24. SP. CH. Trumpeter Swan, white; head glossed above with chestnut; bill, entirely black, without a tubercle; tail feathers, 24. "THIS is the most common swan in the interior of the fur countries. It breeds as far south as lat. 61°, but principally within the Arctic circle; and, in its migrations, generally precedes the geese a few days. A fold of its windpipe enters a protuberance on the dorsal aspect of the sternum, at its upper part, which is wanting both in the Cygnus ferus and Bewickii; in other respects, it is distributed through the sternum, nearly as in the latter of these species. It is to the trumpeter the bulk of the swan skins imported by the Hudson's Bay Company belong."- Richardson. 44. CYGNUS BEWICKII, YARRELL.-BEWICK'S SWAN. GENUS, Cygnus, Auctor. -CH. Sr. Cygnus Bewickii, albus, rostro nigro pone nares flavescenti, rectricibus 18.-SP. CH. Bewick's Swan, white; bill, yellow at the base posterior to the nostrils, 18 tail feathers. "THIS swan breeds on the sea coast, within the Arctic circle, and is seen in the interior of the fur countries in its passage only. It makes its appearance amongst the latest of the migratory birds in the spring, while the trumpeter swans are, with the exception of the eagles, the earliest. It winters, according to Lewis and Clark, near the mouth of the Columbia.* Captain Lyon describes its nest as built of moss peat, nearly six feet long, and four and three-quarters wide, and two feet high, exteriorly; the cavity, a foot and a half in diameter. The eggs were brownish white, slightly clouded with a darker tint."- Richardson. CLANGULA, GARROT. 45. CLANGULA BARROWII. ROCKY MOUNTAIN GARROT. Head, and upper part of the neck, pansy purple, with a large crescentic white mark before each eye. White speculum separated from the band on the coverts by a black stripe. Inhabits the Rocky Mountains. The specific name is intended as a tribute to Mr Barrow's varied talents, and his unwearied exertions for the promotion of science. Mr Swainson remarks, on the subject of zoological nomenclature, that "No monument of marble or brass is so lasting as this. It is the only way of perpetuating the memories of true zoolo "The swans are of two kinds, the large and small. The large swan is the same with the one common in the Atlantic States. The small differs from the large only in size and note; it is about one-fourth less, and its note is entirely different. These birds were first found below the Great Narrows of the Columbia, near the Chilluckittequaw nation. They are very abundant in this neighbourhood, and remained with the party all winter; and, in number, they exceed those of the larger species in the proportion of five to one." -LEWIS and CLARK, Journ. &c. gists, or of those who have benefited the science. Latterly, however, the custom among us has been so much abused, that it may be questioned whether it expresses any thing more than a mere compliment from the nomenclator. To bestow the same honour upon a mere collector, which is given to a Wilson, a Cuvier, or a Bonaparte, is, at best, injudicious; but, to call all the new species in the museum of a learned society after the council and office-bearers of the current year, merely because they are ex officio promoters of ornithology, is not only ludicrous, but, as we conceive, a total perversion of scientific justice. A great and pious divine, a skilful and eminent physician, or accomplished diplomatic character, can receive neither honour or pleasure from such flattery. It behoves every true naturalist to set his face against such practices; and we shall, upon all occasions, pass over every name so misapplied. For ourselves, we have studiously sought to bestow this honour' only where it was due. The name of Barrow, it is true, will not be solely indebted to us for its imperishable record. It will be associated, by the future historian, with the history and discoveries of Arctic America, Southern Africa, and China; with high benefits conferred upon the State; and with the possession and encouragement of zoological knowledge." 6 The following has been communicated to us as Brehm's latest arrangement of the European species of the Anatidae: Anatidæ. Leach. GENUS I. First Division. Gibbous swans. Cygni gibbi. 1. White headed gibbous swan. C. gibbus, Bechst. Second Division. Singing swans. Cygni musici. C. musicus, Bechst. 1. Northeastern singing swan. 2. Icelandic singing swan. C. icelandicus, Brehm. |