216 
PROCEEDINGS OP THE ACADEMY OF 
charge of Henry Conolly, Esq., from whom were received some valuable 
meteorological statistics. On the 15th of August the vessel left Esquimaux 
Bay, and proceeded to Henley Harbor, at the northern entrance to the Straits 
of Belle-Isle. At that date the smaller waders generally had commenced their 
southern migration, and during two weeks spent there, which completed my 
stay on the coast, specimens of most of them were procured. 
In the preparation of the following pages, I have not attempted to present 
the synonymy of the species, nor their diagnoses. To do so would be but to 
repeat what may be found in full in the General Report on Birds, by Baird, 
Cassin and Laurence, (vol. ix. P. R. R. Exp. and Surv.) Reference is there- 
fore made to the pages of this work ; and also to Audubon’s Birds of America, 
the standard authority on the habits of the birds, where the further history of 
each species will be found fully elucidated. The names and authorities 
adopted are strictly those of the General Report, except in a few cases where 
some change appeared necessary, from the characters of the birds entitling 
them to full generic rank. 
Falco (Hypotrigrchis) 'Columbarius Linn. — Pidgeon Hawk. “ Sparrow Hawk.” 
Falco columbarius , Aud., Birds Amer. vol. i. page 88, pi. 21. 
Falco ( Hypotriorchis ) columbarius , Cassin, Gen. Rep. page 9. 
The Pidgeon-hawk I met with on but two occasions. On the 5th of August, 
while on a small rocky island in Groswater Bay, one was seen circling in the 
air at a moderate height, and constantly uttering its loud harsh cries ; but 
owing to its watchfulness, I could not secure it. On the 25th of the same 
month, at Henley Harbor, another individual was seen, foraging among the 
immense flocks of Curlews, (Numenius borealis ), which then covered the hills 
in the vicinity. The Pidgeon-hawk is occasionally stuffed and offered for sale 
by the natives ; and from their accounts I should judge it to be not at all rare. 
It is known, to them as the “ Sparrow-hawk,” by which name, however, they 
also designate the F. sparverius. 
On the return voyage, when more than a hundred miles from any land, a 
PidgeonJiawk made its appearance, and after circling about for some time, to 
select the safest place on which to alight, at length settled on the outermost 
bowsprit rigging, apparently quite exhausted. Yet even in this worn-out con- 
dition so watchful was it, that on my levelling a glass at it, it instantly took 
flight and disappeared. 
Falco (Tinnunculus) sparverius Linn. — Sparrow Hawk. 
Falco sparverius, Aud., Birds Amer. vol. i. p. 90, pi. 22. 
Falco ( Tinnunculus ) sparverius, Cassin, Gen. Rep. p. 13. 
But a single individual of this species, so abundant in most portions of the 
United States, was observed during my stay in Labrador. On the 10th of 
September, however, while in the Gulf of St. Laurence, off the Isle of Cape 
Breton, several were seen during the day. They circled quite closely around 
the vessel, showing but little fear. 
? Falco (Hierofalco) Islandicus Gmelin. — Gyr Falcon. “ Speckled Hawk.” 
? Falco Islandicus, Aud., Birds Amer. i. 81, pi. 19. 
? Falco ( Hierofalco ) Islandicus, Cassin, Gen. Rep. 13. 
I had not the good fortune to obtain, or even meet with, either species of 
Gyr Falcon. The hunters with whom I conversed on the subject, said that 
they were seldom seen in the summer, but that they become more abundant 
in the autumn and winter. They were represented as at all times very shy 
and difficult to procure, frequenting the highest and most inaccessible crags, 
and subsisting mainly on Grouse and Ptarmigan. I could not, of course, de- 
termine from these accounts whether F. Islandicus or candicans was referred 
[Aug. 
