ANSERINE — THE GEESE — ANSER. 



449 



AJiser albifrons Gambcli, RiDGW. Pr. U. S. Nat. Miis. 1880, 203 ; Nom. N. Am. B. 1881, no. 593 a. 



— CouKS, Check List, 2(1 ed. 1882, no. 693. 

 Anser erythropus, Baird, Stansbury's Rep. 1852, 321 (nee Linn.). 

 Anser frontalis, Baird, B. N. Am. 1858, 562 (= young ; New Mexico); Cat. N. Am. B. 1859, 



no. 566. 



Hab. The whole of North America, breeding far northwai-d ; Cuba, 

 restricted to the Palsearctic Region and Greenland. 



a. Gambeli. 



The true A. albifrons, 



'fSm 



Sp. Char. Adult: Prevailing color brownish gray, this uniform on the head and neck, and 

 becoming mucli darker on the flanks : feathers of the mantle, wings, sides, and flanks distinctly 

 bordered terminally with pale brownish ash (sometimes approaching grayish white) ; upper edges 

 of the upper layer of flank-feathers pure white, producing a conspicuous white stripe when the 

 feathers are properly adjusted. Breast and ab- 

 domen grayish white, mixed more or less with 

 irregular spots and patches of black, sometimes 

 scattered and isolated, but oftener more or less 

 confluent. Anal region, crissum, and upper tail- 

 coverts immaculate pure white ; rump brownish- 

 slate ; greater wing-coverts glaucous-gray tipped 

 with white ; secondaries black, their edges nar- 

 rowly white ; primaries slaty black, growing ashy 

 basally ; primary-coverts glaucous-gray. Tail 

 brownish slate, broadly tipped with white, the 

 feathers narrowly skirted with the same. Front 

 of the head, from the base of the bill to about 

 half way across the lores and forehead, including 

 the anterior border of the chin, white, bordered 

 behind by brownish black, which gradually fades 

 into the grayish brown of the head and neck. 

 Bill reddish (wax-yellow, /r/e Nelson), the nail 

 white ; feet reddish. Young (== A. frontalis, 

 Baird) : Nearly similar to the adult, but the 

 anterior portion of the head dark brown, instead 

 of white ; wing-coverts less glaucous ; black 

 blotches of the under surface absent. Nail of 

 the bill black. Dovmy young: Alun'e, olive- 

 green ; beneath, dingy greenish yellow, deepest 

 yellow on the abdomen. (Hardly distinguisha- 

 ble from young of Bernida canadensis, but appa- 

 rently more deeply colored, and with greater 

 contrast between color of upper and lower sur- 

 faces.) 



Wing, I4..5n-17.25 inches ; culmen, 1.40- 

 2.35 ; tarsus, 2.60-3.10 ; middle toe, 2.35-2.70. 

 Tail-feathers 16 to 18, usually the former. 



A. albifrons. 



h. albifrons. 



Sp. Char. Exactly like A. Gamheli, but smaller. Wing, 15.00-15.75 inches; culmen, 1.65- 

 1.75 ; depth of maxilla at base, .90, width, .80-.85 ; tarsus, 2.25-2.80 ; middle toe, 2.20-2.45. 



The principal variation among individuals of this species is in the amount of the black blotch- 

 ing on the lower parts. In some specimens (as No. 10463, Frontera, Texas) there are only two or 

 three small spots, while in others (as No. 16788, Hudson's Bay Territory) the black predominates 

 over the lower parts, being continuous on the abdomen, and only broken on the breast by the 

 VOL. I. — .57 



