478 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



are on the verge of extinction ; and it may even now be too late 

 to save them. The great blue heron and American bittern are 

 not common but less rare than they are supposed to be. 

 Except for the willow and rock ptarmigans the land game-birds 

 are not many in kind or numbers. There are a fair number of 

 ruffled grouse in the south and more spruce grouse in the 

 north. The birds of prey are well represented by a few golden 

 and more bald-headed eagles, the American rough-legged and 

 other hawks, the black and the white gyrfalcons, the osprey and 

 eight owls, including the great horned owl, the boldest bird of 

 all. The raven is widely distributed all the year round. 

 Several woodpeckers, kingfishers, jays, bluebird, kingbird, 

 chickadee, snow bunting ; several sparrows, including, fortu- 

 nately, the white-crowned, white-throat and song but now, 

 unfortunately, the English as well. There are blackbirds, red- 

 polls, a dozen warblers, the American robin, hermit thrush and 

 ruby-throated humming-bird. 



Both the land and sea mammals are of great importance. 

 Several whales are well known. The Right is almost extermi- 

 nated ; but the Greenland or Bowhead is found along the edge 

 of the ice in all Hudsonian waters. The Pollock is rare and the 

 Sperm or Cachalot as nearly exterminated as the Right. But 

 the Little-piked or rostrata is found inshore along the north and 

 east, the Bottle-nose on the north, the Humpback on the east 

 and south ; and the Finback and Sulphur-bottom are common 

 and widely distributed, especially on the east. The Little White 

 whale or " White porpoise " is fairly common all round ; the 

 Killer is widely distributed but most numerous on the east, 

 where the Narwhal is also found. The Harbour and Striped 

 porpoises, and the Common and Bottle-nosed dolphins are 

 chiefly on the east and south. There are six Seals — the Harbour, 

 Ringed, Harp, Bearded, Grey and Hooded. The Harbour 

 seal is also called the " Common " and the " Wise " seal and is 

 the vitulina of zoology. It is common all round the coasts and 

 the Indians of the interior assert that many live permanently 

 in the lakes. Big and Little Seal Lakes are more than ioo miles 

 from the nearest salt water. The Ringed seal is locally called 

 " floe rat " and " gum seal." It is the smallest and least valuable 

 of all and fairly common all round. The Harp seal is " seal," 

 in the same way as cod is " fish." It has various local names, 

 five among the French-Canadians alone but is specifically known 



