40 Capt. Blakistou on the Birds of the 



As the title which heads this paper may seem to some persons 

 rather ambiguous, I will first observe, that by the " interior " of 

 British North America I mean the wild uncultivated region 

 which, tenanted by few besides the aboriginal Indian tribes, lies 

 to the north and west of Lake Superior, and may be said to be 

 bounded by the Rocky Mountains, the 49th parallel of north 

 latitude (which is the international boundary), Canada, Hudson's 

 Bay, and the Arctic Sea ; and, secondly, that the birds hacluded 

 are such as have been identified as inhabitants of that area by 

 specimens reliably authenticated. With respect to the species 

 enumerated, I should state that I have added to my own those 

 mentioned in the 'Fauna Boreali- Americana ' of Richardson 

 and Swainson, and in the narratives of Arctic expeditions made 

 since that time. Next to this, I have included the birds given 

 by Mr. Andrew Murray in a paper entitled " Contributions to 

 the Natural History of the Hudson's Bay Company's Territories," 

 published in the 'Edinb. New Phil. Journ.' for April 1859, which 

 seems to have been drawn up with care and caution ; and also 

 such birds as have been received by the Smithsonian Institution 

 at Washington from the same country. I had, however, nearly 

 completed the list when I discovered a most valuable addition 

 to the ornithology of the north-west in an account, based on a 

 large collection, of the " Mammals, Birds, &c., of the Mackenzie 

 River District," by Mr. Bernard H. Ross, of the Hudson's Bay 

 Company's Service, published in the ' Natural History Review ' 

 for July 1862, I need scarcely say that this unexpected source 

 of information has been carefully attended to ; and it affords me, 

 as it must most American ornithologists, the greatest satisfac- 

 tion that so much has been done in that out-of-the-way part of 

 the world. The principal thing that I feel in want of is a 

 knowledge of the doings of Mr. R. Kennicott, an American col- 

 lector, who, having spent two winters in the north, has made 

 extensive collections. However, I hope that this may be added 

 by Irofessor Baird in a future number of 'The Ibis,' and I 

 feel sure he will gladly do this for the sake of the readers of 

 this Magazine. 



With respect to the nomenclature and arrangement, I have, 

 for the sake of uniformity, and in order to save the space requi- 



