TftE BRAY-LAO GOOSE. 



593 



black glossed with purple, but the throat, front of the breast, and abdomen are white, 

 it rather exceeds the domestic Goose. 



In size 



WE now arrive at the true Geese, our first representative being the CAPE BABBON GOOSE, 

 or CEKEOPSIS, so called from the cere which covers a large portion of the beak. This fine bird 

 is a native of New Holland, and is found, as its name implies, at Cape Barren Island, in 

 Bass's Straits. It is of large size, fattens easily, its flesh is good, and it breeds without 

 difficulty when in confinement, so that it possesses many of the qualifications for domestica- 

 tion. It has, however, one drawback, for it is very quarrelsome, and its powerful beak and 

 large dimensions make it a dreaded foe in the poultry-yard. It feeds on grass like the common 

 Goose, and requires but little care on the part of the owner, and if it could only be induced to 

 lay aside its quarrelsome habits would be quite an acquisition to our limited list of domestic 

 poultry. 



For some time after its first discovery it was so fearless of man that it would suffer itself 

 to be approached and knocked down with sticks, but it has now learned caution through 

 bitter experience, and at the sight of a human being seeks safety in flight. Although one of 

 the true Geese, it cares little for the water, and in this respect, as well as in others, resembles 

 the wading birds. The eggs of the Cereopsis are cream-colored, and the voice of the bird is 

 loud, hoarse, and has a decided trumpet-like tone that can be heard at a considerable 

 distance. 



The general color of this bird is brownish-gray, mottled on the back with a lighter hue, 

 and spotted with black on the wing-coverts and scapularies. On the head the gray fades 

 nearly into white. The bill is short, sharp, and hard, and can be used with great force as an 

 offensive weapon. Its color is black, and it is covered with a very large greenish-yellow cere. 

 The legs are pinkish and the eyes bright red. 



THE GRAY-LAG GOOSE is found in many parts of the world, and in a wild state makes occa- 

 sional visits to northern Europe, and it is probable that the Domestic Geese may derive some 

 of their blood from the 

 other species of the 

 same genus. The white 

 color of the adult Do- 

 mestic Gander seems 

 to be the result of care- 

 ful breeding, probably 

 because white feathers 

 sell at a higher price 

 than the dark and gray 

 plumes. In a state 

 of domestication the 

 Goose lives to a great 

 age, and when treated 

 kindly becomes strong- 

 ly attached to its 

 friends, and assumes 

 quite an eccentric 

 character. Of the 

 breeding and manage- 

 ment of the Goose 

 nothing can be said in 

 these pages, the reader 



being referred to the numerous extant works on domestic poultry. When wild its flavor is 

 not so delicate as after it has been domesticated and properly fed, and when a wild Goose is 

 shot in the northern climates the sportsman always buries it in the earth some hours before 



VOL. II. 75. 



GRAY-LAG GOOSE. Anser cinerew. 



