AUDUBON'S LABRADOR TRIP 



Ripley, and stove in their "beautiful and most 

 comfortable gig." However, the vessels were 

 soon parted without further damage. On this 

 day, August 3, the Eskimo curlew, now al- 

 most extinct, appeared from the north. "This 

 species here takes the place of the Migratory 

 Pigeon [alas, now entirely extinct] ; it has now 

 arrived; I have seen many hundreds this after- 

 noon, and shot seven. They fly in compact 

 bodies, with beautiful evolutions, covering a 

 great extent of country ere they make choice 

 of a spot on which to alight ; this is done where- 

 ever a certain berry called the ' Curlew berry ' 

 proves to be abundant. Here they balance 

 themselves, call, whistle, and of common ac- 

 cord come to the ground, as the top of the 

 country here must be called. They devour 

 every berry, and if pursued squat in the man- 

 ner of Partridges. A single shot starts the 

 whole flock; off they fly, ramble overhead for 

 a great distance ere they again alight. This 

 rambling is caused by the scarcity of berries. 

 This is the same bird of which three specimens 

 were sent to me by William Oakes, of Ipswich, 

 Mass." 

 On August 10 the party visited Perroquet 



S3 



