ARCTIC BIRDS — WOODLAND REINDEER 317 



polar species becomes white in winter, and remains active during the whole year, 



living chiefly on arbutus and the bark of dwarf willows. 



Like the reindeer, the lemming of the Old World has a representative in 



Arctic America known as Lemmus trimucronatus ; in addition to this being 



Dicrostonyx hudsonianus. There are also representatives of the stoat or ermine, 



the glutton or wolverine, the wolf, and the Arctic fox. In the wolverine and fox no 



racial distinction appears to exist between the Old and the New World forms. 



The birds of Arctic America belong in great part to the generic 

 Arctic Birds. 001 » 



types characteristic of the Siberian tundra, and therefore need no 



special reference in this place. There are, however, of course a certain number of 



species or races peculiar to the western tract. A notable fact is the occurrence in 



this tract of such familiar European types as the raven and the grey stone-chat. 



Woodland Leaving the animals of Arctic America with the foregoing brief 



Reindeer, mention, we pass on to those of the Canadian province of North 

 America, where we still find a number of local representatives of Old World types. 

 Foremost among these is the woodland reindeer or caribou (Rangifer tarandus 

 caribou), which attains a height of 55 or 56 inches at the withers, and inhabits the 

 forest-zone from Labrador and northern Canada southwards to the northern part 

 of the State of Maine, being met with on both banks of the St. Lawrence, whence 

 it ranges west as far as Lake Superior. In this race the antlers are of a much 

 shorter and more massive type than in the Barren-Ground reindeer. The pairing- 

 season of this race takes place in September, and the one or two young are born 

 in the following May. In December the stags cast their antlers, but those of the 

 hinds are retained till the spring. In winter the woodland reindeer retires to the 

 upper forest-tracts, whence it migrates south in herds of sometimes 500 head. 

 Other local forms of reindeer have received separate names. 



The North American elk or moose (Alces machlis americanus) 

 American Elk. . . 



differs so slightly from the typical Old World representative of the 

 species, that it is doubtful whether it is really entitled to rank as a race apart. Its 

 colour is, however, slightly different, and there are said to be characters by which 

 the antlers of the Old and New World forms can be distinguished. Elk, as a rule, 

 are not found beyond the northern limit of forest, although they have been met with 

 north of the Mackenzie, while southwards their range extends as far as Ohio. 

 The largest elk in the world are found in Alaska, and on this account they are 

 reckoned to form a distinct race {A. machlis gigas). In that district elk are still 

 comparatively common; but from many districts where they were formerly 

 abundant, they have now almost entirely disappeared. 



The favourite summer haunts of the American elk are the marshy lands in 

 the vicinity of rivers or lakes, where there is plenty of long grass. In winter these 

 animals seek higher ground, amid the primeval forest, where they collect in parties, 

 often consisting only of an old bull and cow and the young born in the two pre- 

 ceding years. In such situations they make a so-called moose-yard in some spot 

 where young saplings of birch, poplar, ash, maple, and juniper grow in sufficient 

 profusion to afford them nourishment. Very old bulls appear to have a " yard " 

 to themselves, where during the winter they remain entirely alone. In January the 



