Bird-Life in Labrador. 49 



teemed as a great delicacy by the natives. "We found it in- 

 deed very pleasant eating. This species (the albus) seemed by 

 far the most common, being called the willow partridge and 

 said never to be found, or rarely if at all, thirty miles inland. 

 The general verdict was that the third species, which was af- 

 firmed everywhere we went, replaced the present in the open 

 grounds inland, and that it seldom if ever came down to the 

 coast. We did not find it a wild bird at all, but huddled up, 

 three to eight in a covey, feeding just in the brush bordering 

 the ponds a mile or so inland. They were quite easy to kill. 

 The brief mention of this bird in my notes, though princi- 

 pally confirming what has been previously said regarding the 

 species, may still be of interest : Middle of January ; Old 

 Fort Bay; length of specimen, 16.75; extent, 24.50 ; wing, 

 8; tail, 5; bill, .40; tarsus, 1.50; middle toe and claw, 1.85; 

 hind toe and claw, about .50 ; quills with shafts black-cen- 

 tered ; tail with the ten outer feathers black, the four middle 

 ones white. Most winters the species is common and some- 

 times even abundant, this year it is rare. They appear in the 

 lowlands and shrubbery most generally after a northerly 

 'breeze, followed by an easterly one and what is called " the 

 glitter/' which is that appearance of the air between rain, hail, 

 and snow, when the substance that falls appears to freeze the 

 moment it touches any object and while yet the ai* is dry and 

 cold. After a light snow their trackings can easily be discov- 

 ered. They usually lead directly to the covert of the birds, 

 which seldom fly about from place to place unless especially 

 forced to it. Usually the birds are wild only when the 

 weather is stormy or the wind blows, while they are tame even 

 to stupidity in pleasant weather. They often appear soon af- 

 ter the first snow of November and remain about all the Win- 

 ter. Their note is between a cluck and a whistle, generally 

 sounded while feeding or lying about with their tame or stu- 

 pid-like pleasant-weather manners. They seldom frequent 

 the hilltops like rupestris. 



