72 NORTH AMERICAN FAUNA 61, FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



of the series had its face stained and the throat and entire intestinal tract 

 dyed blue from a diet of berries. 



In the spring of 1925, these birds were feeding at low tide on 

 tide flats in Izembek Bay. The tide is about an hour later at the 

 head of Izembek Bay than at the entrance; the same situation 

 exists between the two sides of the long Hazen Point. The 

 emperor geese were well aware of this, and when their feeding 

 grounds were flooded by the incoming tide they simply flew up 

 to Hazen Point, crossed over a few hundred yards to the east side, 

 where the flats were still exposed, and continued feeding. The 

 narrower parts of this point were favorite flyways. In this area, 

 the principal food was thought to be eel grass. On June 14, at 

 the margin of a pond, it was noted that the grass was grazed 

 off short ; the area was trampled and was littered with droppings. 

 However, the stomach of an immature bird found in a bald eagle's 

 nest on Amak Island on July 10 contained remains of small crabs. 



Emperor geese are often reported as feeding on some kind of 

 kelp in winter. At Kanaga Island, we were told that they feed 

 on kelp and the green shoots of Elymus, which, even in winter, 

 may be found under the dead vegetation. One informant stated 

 that the geese probed into the ground and pulled out the horizon- 

 tal rhyzomes of Equisetum. We had noted droppings on Ogliuga 

 Island consisting of the herbaceous parts of Equisetum arvense; 

 but these droppings could not be positively identified. 



Several observers in the Aleutians reported that emperor geese 

 feed extensively on green "sea lettuce," as well as Fucus, and the 

 "exposed roots" of Elymus. 



Chase Little John, apparently referring to Sanak Island and 

 Morzhovoi Bay, says: "Here they live almost entirely on a 

 bright green seaweed, locally known as sea lettuce, but at times 

 eating small mussels." 



Cottam and Knappen (1939) have presented a comprehensive 

 statement on the food habits of the emperor goose, based on 

 analyses of 35 stomachs. Few, if any, of these stomachs were 

 obtained in the Aleutian Islands, yet the data agree fairly well 

 with observations made in this area. Their findings (based on 

 the contents of 33 stomachs) show 91.58 percent vegetable matter, 

 and 8.42 percent animal matter. Their findings are further sum- 

 marized as follows: Algae, 30.73 percent; eel grass and other 

 pond weeds, 13.91 percent; grasses and sedges, 24.94 percent; 

 undetermined and miscellaneous plant fiber, 22 percent; bivalve 

 mollusks (Pelecypoda), 3.66 percent; crabs and other crustaceans, 

 2.18 percent; rodents and fishes, 1.76 percent; and miscellaneous 

 animal life, 0.82 percent. 



