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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



erling, and the godwit, all help to make 

 the coastal skerries and lowlands along 

 the inlets interesting and lively. 



On the inland plateau the loons, the 

 grebes, the coots, and the Canada geese 

 nest in numbers about the lakes and 

 pools, a few herons and rails, harlequin 

 ducks, and sandpipers frequent the 

 shores of the streams and ponds, some- 

 times nesting. In the woods and timber 

 lands of the interior the northern rang- 

 ing species of woodpeckers hairy, 

 downy, black-backed, three-toed, and 

 the yellow-shafted flicker; the Canada 

 blue jay, and the Labrador jay; the 

 yellow-bellied fly-catcher, the raven, 

 the pine grosbeak, the white-winged 

 crossbill; the tree sparrow, the waxwing, 

 the warblers Tennessee, yellow, myrtle 

 magnolia, black-poll, black-capped yel- 

 low, the water-thrush, and rarely, a 

 few others; the northern shrike; the 

 Hudsonian chickadee; the kinglets; 

 the live-backed and hermit thrushes; 

 the American robin; the ruffed grouse 

 and the Canada grouse; and transient 

 or casual visitors of other species; all 

 these form the interior woodland 

 avifauna. 



In the more open glades and on the 

 barrens and semi-barrens, the willow 

 ptarmigan and Reinhardt's ptarmigan 

 are common, the latter migrating north- 

 ward about mid-April to the northern 

 barrens, and the islands to the north of 

 Labrador; the yellow-legs, Wilson's 

 snipe, and the inland sandpipers are 

 found on the moorlands; the cow-birds 

 and rusty blackbirds frequent the 

 shrubby fringes of the open places; the 

 red-polls, the longspur, the savannah 

 sparrow, Lincoln's sparrow, the white- 

 sparrow, the white-crowned and white- 

 throated sparrow, the junco, the pipit, 

 and the horned lark, flit about the 

 semi-barrens, and the shrub-carpeted 

 stretches of the barrens; while the snow- 

 bunting commonly, and the rare wheat- 

 war, occasionally, make their home 

 among the rocky ledges and Felsenmeer 

 of the whole region of barrens and semi- 

 barrens. The gyrfalcon, the duck hawk, 

 the bald eagle, and the American gos- 



hawk course over the plateau; the osprey 

 frequents the waters of the southern 

 portion; the kingfisher darts along the 

 wooded streams; a number of owls 

 short-eared, saw-whet, dusky, horned, 

 and American hawk owls prey on the 

 small life; and the snowy owl sweeps 

 down over the plateau in winter, 

 coming from the high-arctic lands to 

 the north. 



Insects 



About 300 species of insects are known 

 from Labrador. The diptera, many 

 circumpolar in distribution, and an 

 almost intolerable feature of the short 

 Labrador summer, include two species 

 of botfly that infest the caribou; deer- 

 flies and horseflies of 10 or 12 species of 

 which the larvae are aquatic or sub- 

 aquatic and of which the adult flies are 

 the torment of the larger land life of 

 the peninsula; mosquitoes, beyond cred- 

 ible enumeration, that rise in cloudlike 

 swarms from the moors and tundra 

 and hover about the woodlands equally 

 densely; the minute midges, that help 

 to make human existence during summer 

 almost worthless in the woods; and a 

 few other species "that do not bite." 



The hymenoptera number less than 

 30 species, of which 11 or 12 are leaf- 

 eaters or saw-flies; two are ants, con- 

 fined to the southernmost wooded 

 valleys; two are wasps; and 5 are bum- 

 ble bees. The bumblebees are far north- 

 ern species. 



One hundred and fifteen species of 

 lepidoptera have been listed; 18 butter- 

 flies, including 4 small Fritillaries; 

 Argynnis atlantis; Papilio turnus; Pon- 

 tia napi v. frigida; 4 Eurymus; Eugonia 

 j-album; Oeneis norma v. semidea; 

 Agriades aquilo; and Lycaena ladon. 

 Two species of skippers, Pamphila 

 comma and Hesperia centaureae, have 

 been collected. Of the moths the 

 Arctiidae include 4 species; the Noc- 

 tuidae, 40 species; the Geometridae, 20 

 species; the Lipariidae one species; 

 the Hepialidae, two species; the Pyral- 

 idae, 8 species; the Crambidae, 6 species; 

 the Tortricidae, 20 species; the Tineidae, 



