98 Geese which occur tn California. [ ZOE 
as they do, though I believe it has not been recorded south of Ven- 
tura County, where Mr. Evermann noted it as being frequent in 
winter, 
My earliest notice of arrival is October 6, at Stockton, when I saw 
more than a dozen in market. It is a regular winter visitant to Cal- 
ifornia and may nearly always be found in the Stockton market, as 
long as any of the wild geese are kept for sale. In the coldest 
weather few geese can be found in the interior of the State, north 
of Stockton. °‘ 
Its notes are different from those of the other white geese. I kept 
a ‘“‘winged’’ pair several months, which always resented undue 
familiarity. The male would always lead the female away from me 
and utter a strange grunting dissent if I got within a few feet of 
them. They had been captives a year already when I got them 
and must have had some sad experience, for I have known individ- 
uals of this species to be very tame. One day I found a nest ina 
pile of rubbish in the poultry yard, which had six eggs init. The 
eggs were concealed with a covering of straw in regular goose fash- 
ion, and there were no other geese in the yard. I had several times 
seen the pair about this part of the yard and thought they might 
have a nest there, but the eggs I found were so much like hen’s | 
eggs in shape, and appearance of the shell, that I thought they 
might be hen’s eggs. I never solved the problem, a young zealous 
egg-gathering lad having discovered and appropriated them. The 
pair finally escaped from neglect to keep their wings clipped. 
AMERICAN WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. Anser albifrons gambeli. 
This is known by hunters as the speckled-belly and yellow-legs. 
It breeds in the Arctic regions, and, according to Mr. Fannin, as 
far south as Vancouver Island. It is the first goose to arrive in Cal- 
ifornia and the last to leave, staying a little longer than the white 
geese; is very abundant and fairly good for the table. It arrived at 
Stockton Sept. 7, 1878; Sept. 8, 1881. My latest spring record for 
it here is May 3. A great many passed Stockton the previous day 
on their way north. 
Mr. Bryant found it as far south as Guadalupe Island in winter, 
and I heard of four near Cape St. Lucas, but the latter was excep- 
— tional. 
_ Its early arrival in California is nearly every fall announced by . 
_ the newspapers of the interior as an indication of an early winter. 
