— all of the other recorders used tourtere/le.15 The word ramier, also used by Cartier, has long been the French common name for the European wood pigeon (Columba pa/umbas), a bird of similar size to the passenger pigeon. Bideaux (1986) makes the suggestion that because male and female passenger pigeons differed somewhat in plumage and tail length, Cartier may have considered them to be two different species and thus applied two different names to them.

Hibou — The French generic word for ‘owl', transferred to New World owls. The word as used by La Ronde (1721) might refer to any or all of the owl species on the island.

Chat-huant — Literally the ‘cat—howler’, a name used in the vernacular in France for a type of owl that according to French dictionaries”, either has ear-tufts giving it the resemblance of a cat, or sounds like a cat. The chat-huant of Roma (1750) might thus be any of the three tufted owls that occur on the island, though the most likely candidate is the great horned owl (Bubo virgin/anus) .

Oiseau-mouche — literally the ’fly—bird', the French name for the hummingbird, in use from at least 1632”. There is thus no mistaking the species to which La Ronde (1721) is referring: the ruby- throated hummingbird (Archi/ochus colubris).

Pic-bois — The French generic word for ’woodpecker’, transferred to New World woodpeckers. The word as used by La Ronde (1721) might refer to any or all of the six species of woodpecker on the island‘s.

Alouette — The French generic name for the lark transferred to New World birds. Ganong says that in historical records alouette, initially in the form of alouette de mer, commonly referred to the plover,

‘5 Very early on, tourte became the standard name for the

passenger pigeon in French Canada including Acadia (Bélisle 1979; Massignon 1962, p. 267). However, the word seems to have dropped out of use in standard French — it is not listed in even the larger French dictionaries — though Massignon (1962) (pp. 267- 268) cites its continued use in regional dialects.

‘5 Le Grand Robert 2001 ; Trésor 1979. ‘7 Massignon 1962, pp. 265-66.

‘5 Godfrey 1954, pp. 188—89.

and so also in Acadian-French‘s’, though this usage is not cited by Massignon (1962)”. It is thus anyone’s guess what species La Ronde (1721) was referring to.

Corbeau — The standard French word for the raven (though also used in Europe for other members of the crow family)“, transferred to the New World, where it seems sometimes to have been applied to the crow as well as the raven“. The only appearance of the name in island records is Roma's (1750) comment that the corbeau fed on voles during vole irruptions — this may suggest the raven (Corvus corax) rather than the crow (C. brachyrhynchos), which is in agreement with the use of the name in Acadian-French”.

Me'sange — The French generic name for the tit— mouse, transferred to New World tit-mice (i.e. the chickadees). La Ronde’s (1721) record could thus refer to either or both of the two Chickadee species occurring on the island (the black-capped, Poecile atricapil/a and the boreal, P. hudsonica).

Merle — The French name of the European blackbird (Turdus meru/a) (a species of thrush), used in the New World, including in Acadian- French“, as a name for the North American robin ( Turdus migratorius) .

Grive — The French generic word for the thrush, transferred to New World thrusheszs. La Ronde's (1721) record might refer to any or all of the thrush species on the island — with the exception of the robin since it is included in his list as the mer/e.

Rossignol — The French name for the European

nightingale, a bird of undistinguished plumage esteemed for its singing. Ganong (1909)

‘9 Ganong 1909, p. 202.

2° Massignon (1962) (p. 260) cites the use of the name alouette in Acadian French for the meadow lark (Sturne/Ia magna), a species not likely to have ever occurred on the island; nor is it likely that the horned lark (Ereomophi/a alpestn's) occurred in the 17005 on the island

(Erskine 1992), the standard French name of which is a/ouette cornue. 2‘ Le Grand Robert 2001. 22 For example see Ganong 1909, p. 212.

23 Massignon 1962, p. 259.

2‘ Ganong 1909, p. 225; Massignon 1962, pp. 261-62.

25 Ganong 1909, p. 219.

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