Bird Study 139 



which a gander gave me when I was a child, holding me fast by the blouse 

 while he laid on the blows. 



Geese feed much more largely upon land vegetation than do ducks; 

 a good growth of clover and grass make excellent pasture for them ; in the 

 water, they feed upon water plants but do not eat insects and animals to 

 any extent. 



Undoubtedly goose language is varied and expresses many things. 

 Geese talk to each other and call from afar; they shriek in warning and in 

 general, make such a turmoil that people do not enjoy it. The goslings, 

 even when almost grown, keep up a constant "pee wee, pee wee," which is 

 nerve-racking. There is a good opportunity for some interesting investi- 

 gations in studying out just what the different notes of the geese mean. 



The goose is very particular about her toilet; she cleans her breast 

 and back and beneath her wings with her bill; and she cleans her bill 

 with her foot; she also cleans the top of her head with her foot and the 

 under side of her wing with the foot of that side. When oiling her 

 feathers, she starts the oil gland flowing with her beak, then rubs her head 

 over the gland until it is well oiled; she then uses her head as a "dauber" 

 to apply the oil to the feathers of her back and breast. When thus pol- 

 ishing her feathers, she twists the head over and 

 over and back and forth to add to its efficiency. 



WILD GEESE 



HERE is a sound, that, to the weather-wise farmer, 

 means cold and snow, even though it is heard 

 through the hazy atmosphere of an Indian summer 

 day; and that is the honking of wild geese as they 

 pass on their southward journey. And there is not a 

 more interesting sight anywhere in the autumn 

 landscape than the wedge-shaped flock of these long-necked birds with 

 their leader at the front apex. The wild goose trails his harrow," 

 sings the poet ; but only the aged can remember the old-fashioned harrow 

 which makes this simile graphic. The honking which reveals to us the 

 passing flock, before our eyes can discern the birds against the sky, is 

 the call of the wise old gander who is the leader, to those following him, 

 and their return salute. He knows the way on this long thousand-mile 

 journey, and knows it by the topography of the country. If ever fog 

 or storm hides the earth from his view, he is likely to become confused, 

 to the dismay of his flock, which follows him to the earth with many 

 lonety and distressful cries. 



The northern migration takes place in April and May, and the southern 

 from October to December. The journey is made with stops for rest and 

 refreshment at certain selected places, usually some secluded pond or 

 lake. The food of wild geese consists of water plants, seeds and corn, 

 and some of the smaller animals living in water. Although the geese come 

 to rest on the water, they go to the shore to feed. In California, the 

 wild geese are dreaded visitors of the cornfields, and men with guns are 

 employed regularly to keep them off. 



The nests are made of sticks lined with down, usually along the shores 

 of streams, sometimes on tree stumps and sometimes in deserted nests of 

 the osprey. There are only four or five eggs laid and both parents are 



