1907, Birds of Labrador by Charles W. Townsend, M. D. and Glover M. Allen

1907, Birds of Labrador by Charles W. Townsend, M. D. and Glover M. Allen

📖 Bibliographic & Publication Information

• Title: Birds of Labrador

• Authors: Charles Wendell Townsend (M.D.) and Glover Morrill Allen.  

• Publication: Boston, for the Boston Society of Natural History. More precisely: Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History, Vol. 33, No. 7, pages 277-428.Year: 1907. Format: A long monograph (over 150 pages) dealing with the avifauna of Labrador (the northern peninsula in eastern Canada). 

🌍 Content & Scope

• The work reports observations made on the Labrador coast (including places such as Blanc Sablon, Rigolet, Nain) in 1906 (and possibly other years). 

• The authors kept continuous observation (even “except when we were eating or sleeping we were always on deck … making note of all the birds seen” according to Townsend & Allen) while aboard steamers along Labrador. 

• The monograph gives detailed records of species, counts, distributions, behaviour, nesting sites along that remote region.

• It was for its time “the first comprehensive work” on the birds of Labrador.

• Because Labrador was (and is) a remote, under-studied region for ornithology at the time, this work represents a key baseline for avifauna in northeastern Canada.

• It offers historical data on seabird colonies, migration, and breeding sites that have since changed. For example, modern studies reference the counts and tables from Townsend & Allen (1907) for comparison. It contributes to our understanding of the natural history of Newfoundland & Labrador (and adjacent Quebec North Shore) from the early 20th century.

• Its style and method reflect early-modern field-ornithology: extended stays, direct observation, detailed lists and counts, yet lacking some of the modern statistical rigour or conservation components we expect today.

🗂 Useful For

• Historical ornithological research: tracing how bird populations and distributions have changed over the last century in Labrador.

• Natural-history bibliographies: It is routinely cited in bibliographies of Newfoundland & Labrador literature. Conservation history: The baseline data is referenced in modern conservation reports for seabirds and northern bird populations. 

• Regional research for Newfoundland & Labrador: Although about “Labrador”, it intersects with studies of the broader Atlantic Canadian ecology.

🔍 Additional Notes

• The authors are notable: Townsend (born 1859) was a physician and amateur ornithologist, who made several trips to Labrador and collected specimens. 

• The book is listed in the online catalogues (e.g., the Biodiversity Heritage Library has metadata for it). Modern references to the work sometimes note that the original was published in the Proceedings and is relatively rare in a standalone book-form.