THE NATURALISTS COMPANION. 
5 7 
W'IjYTEH birds 
0 F PR [JVCE ED rt \1RD 
ISLAM). 
BY FRAA’ClS BAIN. 
Triiu'e Edward Ldaud, t>ituated in 
the southern basin of the Gulf of 
St. Lawi'enee, [lossesses in some re- 
s})eets a eliniat(', [)eeuliarly its own. 
Sheltei’ed from the ehilling breath 
of the Labrador Current by tlie ele¬ 
vated primary ridges of No\’a Seotia 
and Cape Breton, it enjoys a summer 
season with a more elevated temper¬ 
ature, a purcu* atmosphere, a clearer 
sky, amd more abounding sunshine 
on its rich, verdure-clad swells, than 
are to be found on the immediate 
Atlantic seaboard. 
In winter, on the contrary, the 
shallow waters of the Gulf are soon 
covered with ice, sometimes extend¬ 
ing lud) r o k e ii as fa r a s t h e M a gd al e n s, 
and the temperature of the season is 
unifoi'udy severe. Snow lies deep 
on tlie ground, and tlie rivers and 
bays for four montlis are tirmly lock¬ 
ed ill ice. The atmosphere, howev¬ 
er is pure and bracing, and tree from 
tbe damp chilling mists of the ocean 
seaboard. 
These conditions Innx an iniiuence 
on our winter avifauna. Water 
lurds whidi freituent bays and 
mouths of rivers are completely driv¬ 
en away. Only a few dei'p-sea fowl 
stay to glean a hardy living wdiere 
the blue waves break annum the 
parting lioes. The depth of snow 
is unfavorable to mem tiers of the 
Einch tribe wdiich, like the Tree 
Sparrow, seek their living from seeds 
mi the ground. But the splendid 
deciduous forests which Nourish on 
the fertile New Bed Sandstone soil, 
atford food to some of the tribe dur¬ 
ing the inclement season, ndiicli are 
not known to winter in the neigh- 
horing ih’oviiices. 
The Purple Einch frequently wdn- 
ters here. He does not frequent the 
abodes of men, but the lonejy forest, 
where the domed suinmits of the 
great yellow' birchs, betula excelsa, 
are thick-laden w'ith strobiles, is his 
home. The stay-at-homes never 
see him. But on a keen, bright 
morning, w'hen the gilded twigs are 
surging aloft in the frigid blue, from 
their loftiest to[)S rings out the glad, 
sw'eet carol to startle and charm the 
adventurous w'oodman. 
Strange that the occiirance of a 
roving song bird in a district should 
lie connected w'itli tlie distribution 
of the ancient geological formations. 
But it is so. The soils of the New^ 
Bed Sandstone formation sustain a 
class of plants affording more suit¬ 
able food for the forest choresters 
than to be found in the Primary 
districts. The Connecticut Valley 
is well know'll as ^he wdnter home of 
many of our song birds. Western 
Nova Scotia has features of bird life 
distinct from the sorrounding dis¬ 
tricts. And Prince Edwaird Island 
affords an oasis for the w'intering of 
certain Eringillidre in the midst of 
less fertile Primary lands. 
The highly cultivated character of 
the country, wn!th numerous stock 
yards and farmsteads, favors the 
W'intering of birds. The Song Spar¬ 
row' has been su[)posed not to winter 
north of Massachusets. But among 
tlie stock yards of Prince Edw'ard 
Island w'e often find the jovial song¬ 
ster tuning his pipe in midwdnter as 
gaily as if la* w'as in his old New^ 
England homestead. 
TO BE CONTINUED. 
Fio'.ii Uu! Auk. Vol. II, No. 3, July, 1885. 
