50 Bird- Life hi Labrador. 



ROCK PTARMIGAN 



La c /opt ix rupestrw. LEACH. 



THIS species was known everywhere I went as the " moun- 

 tain " partridge. They told me that it was only found high 

 up among the hills and that it did not descend into the open 

 land along the shores of the lakes and rivers, or associate with 

 the " willow' 7 partridge,. One or two specimens only were se- 

 cured by our party. They are much rarer than albus but found 

 along the same extent of coast. 



BLACK BELLIED PLOVER Quebec Curlew 



frquatarola helvetica. (L.) Crv. 



I THINK that the name of Quebec Curlew must be a local 

 Canadian name for this bird, for I never heard it except on 

 my journey from Quebec to Labrador. The bird was found 

 in small flocks, wherever we went, from Quebec to Blanc 

 Sablon, and it occurs even farther north and east. It was 

 generally rather wild and, wading deep into the water, fed on 

 the small sea animals that it could capture there Its flight 

 was low and short. When approched while feeding they would 

 spread out over considerable ground, running at the same time 

 as far into the water as their long legs would let them, before 

 taking flight. If on one side of a creek they rarely hV\v farther 

 than across to some point (if securitv opposite, while they 

 would go to feeding again at once. If on an opposite side of 

 some creek it was generally very easy to call them across by 

 the usual imitation of their crv of <ju or (jx-<ju-(jn repeated 

 several successive times. It was usually much easier to call 

 them within shooting distance than it was to approach them 

 within such. I found that, with these, as with the majority 

 of the shore birds, the lower that one could bend the body 

 while crawling upon flocks or single birds the more successful 

 would be the attempt to get a shot at them. A man standing 



