102 



NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



is definitely known about the distribu- 

 tion and northern habits of some of the 

 species. 



The pipit and the horned lark are 

 common among the southern islands. 

 The lapland longspur, the snow-bunting, 

 and the redpolls are widely distributed. 

 The northern raven, the snowy owl, 

 Reinhardt's ptarmigan, the duck hawk 

 and the gyrfalcon are rather common 

 throughout the archipelago. 



The Greenland and American eiders 

 are common toward the east, the Pacific 

 and Steller's eiders toward the west, 

 and the king-eider is found in small 

 numbers throughout the polynia. The 

 Hutchin's goose, the blue goose, the 

 Canada goose, the swans, and the snow 

 geese probably nest on the islands 

 bordering Hudson Bay on the north. 

 The hooded merganser, the green- 

 winged teal, the old squaws, and casu- 

 ally, other ducks, frequent these islands. 

 The black-throated loon toward the 

 west, and the red-throated loon through- 

 out the archipelago, are rather common. 



Shorebirds are numerous. At least 

 two species of phalaropes breed in the 

 islands. A number of the sandpipers 

 and the plovers, the sanderJings and 

 turnstones, all these frequent the low, 

 flat valleys, the damp plateaus, with 

 myriad pools and ponds, and the broad, 

 shingly shore-land. Even the little 

 brown crane is found on the southern 

 islands. 



The sea-birds are numerous. Ful- 

 mars, terns, kittiwakes, Sabine's gull, 

 Ross's gull, the herring gull, the great 

 black-backed gull, the glaucous gull, 

 and the ivory gull nest in the archi- 

 pelago. Three jaegers course over the 

 islands and the sounds. The dovekies 

 are found in the North. Brunnick's 

 murre, Mandt's guillemot, the puffin, 

 and the razor-billed auk are other 

 representatives of the sea-bird group. 



Both the plant-life and the animal- 

 life of the archipelago are relatively 

 little known. These islands offer a 

 fascinating field for exploration and 

 study. 



ROUTES OF TRAVEL 



The arctic archipelago is generally 

 difficult of approach. The entire east- 

 ern coast from Hudson Strait to the 

 Arctic Ocean is more or less barred by 

 ice, and accessible only with favorable 

 ice-conditions, winds, and tides. A 

 rare fur-trading ship or whaler may 

 afford passage, but generally a special 

 ship is necessary for transportation to 

 the region. 



The south side of the archipelago is 

 more easily accessible in summer by way 

 of Hudson Bay. The west side is even 

 more diflScult of approach than the east 

 side. A special ship must be engaged 

 for the trip, unless a whaler or fur- 

 trader happens to be bound for those 

 far arctic waters. 



4. UNGAVA AND LABRADOR 

 By VV. Elmer Ekblaw 

 introduction 



Because the great peninsula of Labra- 

 dor and Ungava offers to the naturalist 

 one of the most promising fields for 

 exploration and study, considerable 

 attention to the geography of the area 

 is well worth while. 



It comprises a great triangular, penin- 

 sular territory forming the major north- 

 eastern portion of the North American 

 Continent. This triangle, broken only 

 by Ungava Bay, is bounded roughly on 

 the west by James Bay and Hudson Bay; 

 on the northeast by Ungava Bay, Hud- 

 son Strait, and the Atlantic Ocean; 

 on the south by the Rupert River and 

 its tributaries to Lake Mistassini, the 

 Saguenay and its tributaries to the 

 St. Lawrence, and the St. Lawrence 

 River and Gulf, and the straits of Belle 

 Isle. Only that portion lying north of 

 the 52nd parallel is included within this 

 account, and in general it does not include 

 any of the territory drained by the 

 rivers that flow into the St. Lawrence 

 system. 



