TABLE 2-1. The forest mammals and birds recorded on lle Saint-Jean in documents of the French period. (See Footnote 1 for the names of the recorders, and the main text for the identification of the species.)

RECORDERS (and latest possible date of observation) 1534 1672 1720 1721 1746 1751 1752 175217505?

Caribou or renne (caribou) TOTAL MAMMALS

Chat-huant (owl)

Corbeau (raven?)

Merle (robin)

Orto/an (bunting?)

1. The recorders: 1 - Cartier (1534); 2 - Denys (1672); 3 - Gotteville (1720); 4 — La Ronde (1721); 5 - Roma (1750); 6 - Franquet (1751); 7 - La Roque (1752); 8 - Pichon (1760); 9 — Anon. (17603?)

2. Apart from the records listed here, the plagues of field-mice [mu/ots] that periodically destroyed the crops of the settlers were also frequently mentioned in the correspondence of the commandants at Port La-Joie.

3. Roma (1750) differentiates between two types of ortolan: the orto/an qui passe (i.e. the ’migratory ortolan’) which appeared in the spring, and the orto/an b/anc [white ortolan] which he lists for the summer.

4. La Ronde (1721) lists the following additional non-aquatic or tree-nesting birds: aig/e [eagle]; a/ouette [lark];

épervier [sparrow-hawk]; gr/ve [thrush]; héron [heron]; hibou [owl]; mezange [titmouse or Chickadee]; oiseau-mouche [hummingbird]; pic-bois [woodpecker]; rossigno/ [nightingale, = .7 song sparrow]; étourneau [starling, = ?]. Roma (1750) also mentions the corbujeau, which may be the curlew, though it is also a vernacular name for the starling in French Canada (Bélisle 1979).

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