LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN WILD FOWL 225 



they find there,'' during their annual visits to the coasts of Oregon 

 and Washington. 



Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1909) -was informed by the natives of 

 Alaska " that some years these geese stop in large numbers for a 

 short time to feed upon the herring spawn which is to be seen all 

 along the beach at low tide, where it sticks to the rocks." 



While sojourning in California these geese associate with the 

 white-fronted and snoAv geese and feed largely in the gTai-n fields 

 and grassy plains. In spring they do considerable damage by "pull- 

 ing up freshly sprouting grain; formerly, when they were much 

 more abundant, it was customary for farmers to hire men and fur- 

 nish them with guns and ammimition to keep the geese away from 

 the grain; but the geese have decreased in numbers so decidedly in 

 recent years that this is no longer necessary. 



Game. — The importance of this bird as a game bird in California 

 is well illustrated by the following statement made by Grinnell, 

 Bryant, and Storer (1918) : 



The Hutehins goose, althougli not quite so desirable a bird for the table 

 as are some other species, is the goose which has afforded the greatest 

 amount of sport for the hunter because of its abundance. It has usually been 

 a common goose on the market, where it is known as the " brant." In 1909-10 

 one transfer company in San Francisco sold the following numbers of brant : 

 October, 1,442 ; November, 2,19G ; December, 1,592 ; January, 1,479 ; February, 

 1,226 ; March, 251. Cackling as well as Hutehins geese are probably included 

 in these numbers. This makes a total of over 8,000 geese of only two varieties 

 sold by the one transfer company. That season the same company sold more 

 than 20,000 geese of all kinds. In 1906-7, it sold only 7,431. In 1895-96 there 

 were sold on the markets of San Francisco and Los Angeles 48,400 geese, of 

 which 16,319 were brant. There is little wonder that geese have decreased 

 in numbers more than most other game birds. The markets of San Francisco 

 during 1910-11 paid from $2.50 to .$8 a dozen for geese other than the snow 

 geese. On the Los Angeles markets during 1912-13 the same geese sold at 

 from 65 cents to $1 a pair. 



Wwier. — ^A very good account of the winter home and habits of 

 this goose is given by Coues (1874), as follows: 



We must, however, visit the regions west of the Rocky Mountains to find 

 the Hutehins goose plentiful in its favorite winter residences, and observe it 

 under the most favorable circumstances. On river, lake, and marsh, and 

 particularly along the seacoast, it is found in vast numbers, being probably the 

 most abundant representative of its family. It enters the United States 

 early in October, or sometimes a little earlier, according to the weather, and 

 in the course of that month becomes dispersed over all its winter feeding 

 grounds. It is generally in poor condition on its arrival, after the severe 

 journey, perhaps extending from the uttermost Arctic land ; but it finds abun- 

 dance of food and is soon in high flesh again. During the rainy season in 

 California the plains and valleys, before brown and dry, become clothed in 

 rich verdure, and the nourishing grasses afford sustenance to incredible 

 numbers of these and other geese. Three kinds, the snow, the white-fronted, 



