No. 14. — Notes on the Avifauna of Newfoundland. 

 By G. K. Noble. 



In the summer of 1915, through the kindness of Mr. John E. Thayer, 

 the Museum of Comparative Zo5logy was able to send the writer to 

 Newfoundland to study and collect birds. 



Several races of birds had previously been described from this 

 region by a number of different investigators, and it was desired to 

 round out the collections of the Museum with a large series of New- 

 foundland birds. 



The Newfoundland Fish and Game Commission extended many 

 courtesies to aid in the collecting. Although a recent ruling by the 

 Board of Commissioners limited the number of birds taken for scien- 

 tific purposes to six specimens of a species, still the Board granted 

 the Museum of Comparative Zoology the privilege of taking: — 



1. Two or three additional specimens of each species, these to be 

 given later to the Museum at St. John's. 



2. Twelve specimens of a few especially interesting species in 

 addition to those collected for the local Museum. 



3. Fifty specimens of thrushes (including the four species) with a 

 few additional specimens for the Museum at St. John's. 



These special privileges have enabled me to determine to a certain 

 extent the range of variation in the more questionable species. After 

 a short study, it became at once evident that Newfoundland was a 

 region in which the differentiation of dark colored races was beginning 

 to take place. In the case of certain species, this differentiation has 

 reached the point where well-defined races can be described, but in 

 the case of most species there is only a tendency toward a darkening. 

 Variation curves drawn for mainlarud and Newfoundland specimens 

 overlap to a greater or less extent. With the limited series of New- 

 foundland birds available for study, it does not seem advisable to 

 describe any new races, but it is probable that one or possibly two of 

 the birds mentioned below may yet be shown to be distinct from their 

 mainland relatives. 



Newfoundland is a region of especial interest to a student of zoogeo- 

 graphy, for, as has been pointed out by a keen student of phytogeo- 

 graphy. Prof. M. L. Fernald of Harvard University, Newfoundland 



