Mother-Cary’s chicken or Leach’s petrel is well known to the Indians of this region who frequently make protracted voyages in their frail canoes miles from the coast-line among the islands lying off the mouth of the Penobscot and Kennebec rivers. These little birds are correctly named from their habit of obtaining nourishment by scooping animal […]
Tag: Maine
The Great Auk in Penobscot folklore
The great auk, now almost forgotten in the world by all except the ornithologists, is still remembered among the Penobscot as one of the legendary bird chiefs. While we may hesitate a moment in believing the strict identity of this now-extinct bird with the hero character in one of the creation tales, it nevertheless seems […]
The Loon in the folklore of the Penobscot and Micmac Indians
The family of the divers and swimmers naturally claims a large share of the attention of the northern natives whose homes lie among the rivers and lakes where these large and conspicuous birds resort during the breeding season. Among them the loon stands forth rather sharply. His name “choice, admired bird”, shows the esteem which […]