PREFACE vii 



induce others to publish lists of birds occurring in 

 various districts of the Province of Quebec, which 

 would give us a better knowledge of the avifauna 

 of the province, as some species occur and breed 

 in only certain sections of it. 



"The Canadian Naturalist and Geologist," 1861- 

 62, published " Articles on the Mammals and Birds 

 " of the District of Montreal, from a portion of an 

 " extended memoir of 153 manuscript pages pre 

 " pared by Prof. A. Hall, M.D., for the Natural 

 " History Society of Montreal, in 1839, and for 

 " which he received the silver medal offered by the 

 " society." The present work is based on that list, 

 but it must be remembered that Dr. Hall's district 

 of Montreal embraced nearly the whole of Lower 

 Canada ; that since that time the topography of the 

 country has been changed through colonization, 

 and consequently the avifauna is not the same now, 

 as many species disappear at the march of civil- 

 ization, while other species follow the wake of the 

 railroad and plough. Two hundred and eight 

 species of birds are described in Dr. Hall's list, but 

 the nomenclature used then is now obsolete, and 

 there are so many additions to be made to a list of 

 birds occurring in the district of Montreal since the 

 time Dr. Hall's was written, that it has become 

 necessary for those who are interested in our birds 

 to have a more modern list, available for reference 

 and future correction. 



