ANATID.E THE SWANS, GEESE, AND DUCKS. 123 



Branta canadensis minima Ridgw. 



CACKLING OOOSE. 



Popular synonyms. Little Cackling Goose; Little White-cheeked Goose; Chornie Goose 

 (Prybilov Islands). 



Bernicla leucopareia CASS. Illustr. B. Cal. Tex., etc., 1853, 272, pi. 45. nee Anser leucopareius 



BRANDT. (California.) 

 Branta canadensis var. leucopareia COUES, in Elliott's "Affairs in Alaska," 1875, 190; not 



of Key, 1872, p. 284, which = B. occidentalis BAIKD. (Prybilov Islands.) 

 Bernicla canadensis leucopareia RIDGW. Nom. N. Am. B. 1881. No. 594&. COUES, 2d 



Check List, 1882, No. 703: 2d Key, 1884, No. 689. 



Bernicla canadensis, d. leucopareia B. B. & K. Water B. N. Am. i, 1884, 456, 459. 

 Branta hutchinsi, /3. leucoparia RIDGW. Proc. U. 8. Nat. Mus. i, 1878, 445. (Stockton, Cal.) 

 Branta canadensis, b. leucopareia COUES, B. N. W. 1874, 554. 

 Branta minima RIDGW. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. viii, Apr. 20, 1885, 23. STEJN. Orn. Expl. 



Kamtsch. 1885, 147 (in text). 

 Branta canadensis minima RIDGW. Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus. viii, 1885, 355; Man. N. Am. B. 



1887, 117. TUBNER, Contr. Nat. Hist. Alaska, 1886, 139 (habits). A. O. U. Check List, 



1887, No. 17-2c, NELSON, Rep. Nat. Hist. Alaska, 1887, 86 (habits). 

 Branta canadensis ELLIOTT, Monog. Seal Islands, 1882, 130. 



HAB. Pacific coast of North America, breeding abundantly about the Yukon delta and 

 contiguous shores of Norton Sound, and migrating south in winter to California; occasional 

 migrant to Mississippi Valley (Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, etc.). 



SUBSP. CHAR. Similar to B. canadensis occidentalis, Baird. but very much smaller. 

 Differing from B. canadensis hutchinsii in smaller size, especially the bill, and much 

 darker coloration. White cheek-patches usually separated by a black stripe or spotting on 

 the throat, and lower part of neck encircled by a more or less distinct white collar. Lower 

 parts dark grayish brown, abruptly defined against the white of the anal region. Total 

 length, about 22.00-25.00 inches; wing, 13.60-14.50; culmen, 0.95-1.35; depth of bill at base. .60- 

 .75; width, .52-.60; tarsus, 2, 40-2.75 ; middle toe, 1.90-2.30; tail-feathers, 14 or 16. Adult (No. 

 68,526, male ad., St. Paul's Island, Alaska, May 14, 1872: H. W. ELLIOTT). Throat with a black 

 "isthmus" .75 of an inch broad, separating widely the white cheek- patches. A distinct white 

 collar between the black of the neck and dark brownish gray of the chest, this about .75 of 

 an inch wide in front, and extending completely around, though much narrower, and some- 

 what interrupted, behind. Lower parts dark brownish gray, abruptly defined against the 

 white of the crissum. Wing, 14.25 inches; culmen, 1.30; depth of maxilla at base, .75; width, 

 .65; tarsus, 2.55; middle toe, 2.30; tail-feathers, 14. 



Other specimens in the collection are chiefly in summer plumage, having paler lower 

 parts and less conspicuous white collar; but nearly all have the two cheek-patches com- 

 pletely separated by a broad black isthmus on the throat. 



With only two exceptions, the specimens are from the Pacific coast, chiefly the northern 

 portion. 



Young (No. 9,956, North Red River, Manitoba, September: R. Kennicott). Much like the 

 adult, but the black of the neck fades gradually into the smoky gray of the chest, with- 

 out being separated by the usual white collar; the white cheek-patches are thickly, though 

 minutely, speckled with black ; the feathers of the lower parts, and also the upper tail- 

 coverts, have blackish shafts. It measures as follows: Wing, 13.70: culmen, 1.25; tarsus, 

 2.60; middle toe, 2.10. 



