Ours — The French name for the bear, applied by three recorders (Table 2-1) to what can only be the black bear (Ursus americanus).

Martre — The French name for the European marten, used by four recorders (Table 2-1) for the New World species (Martes americana).

Vison — The French name for the European mink, used by Franquet (1751) for the New World species (Muste/a vison).

Loutre — The French name for the European otter, used by three recorders (Table 2-1) for the New World species (Lutra canadensis).

Loup cervier — A French name for the European lynx, used by Roma (1750) and Franquet (1751) for the New World species (Lynx canadensis).

Caribou — The French (and English) name for the caribou Rangifer tarandus derived from ké/iboo, its Mi’kmaq name.11 A sub-species, the woodland caribou, occurred throughout the Maritime region in the early period of European exploration and colonisation. The name was used by two recorders (Denys 1672 and Gotteville 1720). It is also beyond any doubt that the species that La Ronde (1721) recorded as the cerf is also the caribou.12 A fourth recorder, Roma (1750), writing in distant Martinique, left a space in his notes, presumably for the Mi’kmaq name which he could not remember, and instead then added that the species was the same as ”the renne (reindeer) of the Laps".

Mammal absences — Both Denys (1672) and La Ronde (1721) made a point of recording that the moose [orignac or orignal] was absent from the island, and La Ronde (1721) also recorded that there were no beavers [castor] or porcupines [pore-epic]. The validity of these three absences is supported by the fact that none of these species were recorded as being present on the island by any of the other writers.

1' Ganong 1909, p. 208.

‘2 ‘Cerf‘, one of the French words for ‘deer‘, is the name in France for the European red deer (Cervus e/aphus), which is the same species as the North American elk.

148

INTERPRETING THE NAMES: THE BIRDS

Héron — The French name of the heron transferred to New World herons. On the island La Ronde (1721) must be referring to the great blue heron (Ardea herodias). (I include it as a forest bird because it nests in trees.)

Aigle — The French generic word for ’eagle’, transferred to New World eagles. On the island La Ronde's (1721) aigle most likely records the bald eagle (Ha/iaeetus Ieucocepha/us).

Epervier — La Ronde's (1750) aiprevie{r} would seem to be a phonetic spelling for épervier, the French name for the European sparrow-hawk (Accipiter nisus). It may thus be a record of the equivalent species on the island, the sharp-shinned hawk (A ccipiter striatus).

Perdrix, perdreau — Perdrix is the French name for the European partridge”, applied by Gotteville (1720), La Ronde (1721) and Roma (1750) to what can only be the ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbe/lus). (Perdreau, a name used by Roma (1750) and Franquet (1751), is a variant on the French name that was specifically applied to young partridges.“) The only other bird species to which either name might refer is the spruce grouse (Dendragapus canadensis), but if this species did occur on the island, it was likely to be far rarer and less likely to be encountered than the ruffed grouse.

Bécasse — The French name for the woodcock, used by Roma (1750) and Pichon (1752) for the New World equivalent (Sco/opax minor).

Be’cassine — The French word for the snipe, used by Roma (1750) for what must be the common snipe (Gallinago gal/inago).

Tourte, tourterelle, ramier — The first two of these are French names used for the European turtle- dove. The only species on the island that they can possibly refer to is the long extinct passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratarius). Tourte (in the form teurte) was the name used by Cartier (1534)

‘3 The European partridge (Perdix perdix) was introduced to

Prince Edward Island from Europe in the 19205 and 305 (Cameron 1958), and is now successfully established.

1‘ Massignon 1962, p. 267.