670 



APPENDIX, 



[No. V, 



It is, however, proposed to extend the notices to those birds only, of which actual 

 specimens have been received from the Expedition ; this will account for the omission 

 of many species well known as natives of the districts visited, and which probably 

 did not appear to be objects of sufficient curiosity to make it desirable to obtain 

 them. 



The specimens collected on the first arrival of the travellers at York Factory were 

 sent, as soon as received in England, to the British Museum, where they became 

 mixed with those of other collections from Hudson's Bay and Baffin's Bay, and the 

 vicinities of those seas ; it being impossible to separate them, these have been entirely 

 excluded from this account, which consequently contains a much less number of sea- 

 birds than would otherwise have appeared in it. 



The principal supply of specimens was obtained at Cumberland House, in the 

 winter and spring passed there on the journey outwards ; some of these have peculiar 

 interest, because, being only summer visitors in the United States, and passing their 

 winters more southward, that station will be recorded as within the migration of 

 these wanderers. Others, and a considerable portion, of the specimens, were collected 

 in the route to the Great Slave Lake and on its borders. 



Falco Palumbarius. Goshawk. 



The Goshawk is common to the Old and New Continents, living chiefly in moun- 

 tainous countries ; it is a bird of ordinary occurrence, though, in its states of youth 

 and adolescence, it was formerly very inaccurately known. Wilson published it as 

 the Ash-coloured or Black-cap Hawk, not having seen an European specimen to enable 

 him to ascertain its identity ; but, with his usual acuteness and correct judgment, he 

 gives his opinion, that his bird is the Goshawk of the European writers. The speci- 

 men received was that of a male in perfectly mature plumage. 



Falco Borealis, Red-tailed Falcon. 



This bird is a native of North America only ; it was received by Sir Ashton Lever 

 from Carolina, and has consequently been described by Latham, Pennant, and Gme- 

 lin ; it is the American Buzzard of the first of these writers. Wilson, who calls it 

 the Red-tailed Hawk, has given a figure of it, and described its habits and character. 

 It is not very common in the United States, but is more frequent in winter than in 

 summer. The specimen now under view accords with the description of Wilson, 

 except that its breast is nearly white, and not ferruginous. It is twenty three 

 inches long, exceeding the length of Wilson's bird by three inches ; but, as it is pro- 

 bably a female, the difference may be so accounted for. This bird is remarkably dis- 

 tinguished by the colour of its tail-feathers, which extend three inches beyond ihe 

 end of the wings, and on the upper side are almost entirely bright ferruginous, with 

 a very narrow brown bar nearly at the end. 



