122 Mr. A. Strickland on the British Wild Geese. 



is never found in the open country; but it is stated to be found in 

 large migratory flocks on the continents of Europe and America, 

 and is the only British goose found in the latter country. 



The Anas ferus or Anser, the Grey-lag Goose, never was a 

 migratory species in this country, but permanently resided and 

 bred in the carrs of Yorkshire, and probably the fens of Lincoln- 

 shire j it has long since been banished from these places, 

 yet still breeds sparingly in the western islands of Scotland. 

 These birds are the origin of our domestic goose ; and I had 

 lately an opportunity of removing all doubt upon that subject 

 by observing three beautiful birds brought from Scotland by a 

 friend of mine, which were taken when he was shooting in that 

 country. They at once assumed all the characters and habits of 

 the domestic bird, and, had they not come to an untimely end, 

 would probably soon not have been capable of being distin- 

 guished from them ; they also exemplified my statement of the 

 perfection of the colours of the bills of young birds. Nothing 

 could exceed the beauty of their pink bills and white nails : so 

 striking is this that we might as justly consider them a distinct 

 species, under the name of the Pink-billed Goose, as has been 

 done in the case of the Pink-footed Goose by making that a 

 distinct species, though it is only an immature bird. With these 

 remarks I dismiss these two species, and proceed to consider 

 what remains of this group, not the Grey-lag or White-fronted 

 Goose. 



From time immemorial, one of the features of the north and 

 east of England has been the regular periodical appearance of 

 countless flocks of wild geese, which arrive every autumn about 

 the end of harvest, and, when the objects of nature received more 

 attention than they do in these days, got the name of the Bean 

 Goose, as coming in the time of bean-harvest and when the 

 bean-stubbles were ready for them. Can it be doubted that these 

 large flocks are the produce of one distinct species marked by 

 nature with peculiar characters and habits ? This species is the 

 only one that has any claim to the name of Bean Goose (or 

 Segetum), the only migratory species in this country, and the 

 only abundant and common species we have. Unaccountable as 

 the case may appear, this bird is not figured or characterized in 

 any work on natural history I am acquainted with, and is not 

 mentioned in the works of Mr. Yarrell, Mr. Gould, or Mr. 

 Morris, further than ascribing the habits of this bird to one 

 given by these authors (with the figures and description of an 

 entirely diff*erent species) under the erroneous name of Segetum, 

 or Bean Goose. Some years ago Mr. Bartlett, struck by the 

 obvious diff'erence between the geese he met with in the mar- 

 kets and the descriptions and drawings given of the Bean 



