OF NORTH AMERICA, 39 
No. 88. The young birds are darker and lack 
the white forehead, and the bill and feet are 
darker. 
This bird is quite common on the Pacific 
coast and the Mississippi valley; seldom com- 
ing east, although they are occasional visitors. 
They are more shy than the other geese and 
hue to inaccessible places very closely. They 
feed mostly upon aquatic plants and their 
flesh is of fine flavor. 
42. CANADA GOOSE. 
Branta canadensis. 
Upper parts brownish-gray, shading to a 
lighter below; bill, head, neck and legs black. 
A broad white patch on the chin, extending 
up to nape, and white over and under the tail, 
eyes brown; extent, 5 feet, length, 3 feet, 
weight 8 to 15 lbs. when in good condition. 
The common wild goose of the entire 
country, breeding in the north and going 
south in winter to the Gulf of Mexico. 
Their migratory flights are strong and rapid, 
and their V-shaped skeins passing over have 
drawn out many a farmer to try a shot, and 
many a one has fallen in this way, and many 
more have been decoyed to blinds on the 
shores of the ponds where they had stopped 
to rest and feed, and never gone on with the 
rest of the flight. Their flesh is justly 
esteemed for the table, and their feathers for 
beds and pillows. 
