40 Capt. Blakiston on the Birds of the 
As the title which heads this paper may seem to some persons 
rather ambiguous, I will first observe, that by the “ interior" of 
British North America I mean the wild uncultivated region 
which, tenanted by few besides the aboriginal Indian tribes, lies 
to the north and west of Lake Superior, and may be said to be 
bounded by the Bocky Mountains, the 49th parallel of north 
latitude (which is the international boundary), Canada, Hudson's 
Bay, and the Arctic Sea; and, secondly, that the birds included 
are such as have been identified as inhabitants of that area by 
specimens reliably authenticated. With respect to the species 
enumerated, I should state that I have added to my own those 
mentioned in the ‘ Fauna Boreali-Americana 3 of Richardson 
and Swainson, and in the narratives of Arctic expeditions made 
since that time. Next to this, I have included the birds given 
by Mr. Andrew Murray in a paper entitled “ Contributions to 
the Natural History of the Hudson's Bay Company's Territories," 
published in the 1 Edinb. New Phil. Journ.' for April 1859, which 
seems to have been drawn up with care and caution; and also 
such birds as have been received by the Smithsonian Institution 
at Washington from the same country. I had, however, nearly 
completed the list when I discovered a most valuable addition 
to the ornithology of the north-west in an account, based on a 
large collection, of the “ Mammals, Birds, &c., of the Mackenzie 
River District," by Mr. Bernard H. Ross, of the Hudson's Bay 
Company's Service, published in the f Natural History Review' 
for July 1862. I need scarcely say that this unexpected source 
of information has been carefully attended to; and it affords me, 
as it must most American ornithologists, the greatest satisfac¬ 
tion that so much has been done in that out-of-the-way part of 
the world. The principal thing that I feel in want of is a 
knowledge of the doings of Mr. R. Kennicott, an American col¬ 
lector, who, having spent two winters in the north, has made 
extensive collections. However, I hope that this may be added 
by I rofessor Baird in a future number of ‘The Ibis,' and I 
feel sure he will gladly do this for the sake of the readers of 
this Magazine. 
With respect to the nomenclature and arrangement, I have, 
for the sake of uniformity, and in order to save the space requi- 
