THE EGYPTIAN GOOSE. ' 577 



THE ECiYTTIAN GOOSE.' 



Aristotle mentions tlii.s bird as haunting tlio banks of lakes and rivers. It is also 

 named in two of the comedies of Aristoplianes. Athenojus praises it on account of its 

 eggs, giving them the second place, those of the peacock being assigned the first ; and 

 ^^lian alludes to its cunning. 



Herodotus, however, directs special attention to the Egyptian Goose. He shows it was 

 held sacred by the Egyptians, and modern travellers found evidence of its being, at least, a 

 favourite dish among the priests. Mr. Salt remarks: "Horns Apollo saj's, the old geese 

 stay with their young in the most imminent danger, at the ri.sk of their own lives, ■which 

 I have myself frequently witnessed. "N'ulpanscr is the Goose of the Nile, and wherever 

 this goose is represented on the walls of the temples in colours, the resemblance may be 

 clearl}' traced." It is also stated that a place in Upper Egypt had its name, Cheno- 

 boscion, or Chenoboscia (' goosepens '), from these birds being fed there, probably for sale. 

 These, however, may have been sacred geese, as the goose is said to have been a bird 

 under the care of Isis. 



The bill of the Egyptian Goose is as long as the head, slender, nearly straight, rounded 

 at the tip, and laminated on the margin. The upper mandible is slightly curved, the 

 nail hooked, and the lower mandible flat. The wings resemble those of the spur-wino-ed 

 goose, on the bend of the wing or wrist of which is placed a strong, white, horny spur, 

 about five-eighths of an inch in length, turning upwards, and rather inwards. 



The sexes are nearly similar ; the female is rather smaller than the male, and its colour- 

 ing is less intense. There is a narrow edging of feathers round the base of the bill, a line 

 running nearly straight from that edging to the eye, and a larger patch surrounding the 

 eye, of a chestnut hue. In the middle of the breast there is also a patch of dark chestnut ; 

 the rest of the under part of the body, from the slight collar to the thighs, is of a pale 

 buff, with fine irregular transverse blackish brown lines. The legs and feet are of a 

 reddish flesh-colour. 



Mr. Gould states that he has placed the Egyptian Goose among the " Birds of Europe," 

 not from the number of half- reclaimed individuals which are annually shot in Britain, 

 but from the circumstance of its occasionally visiting the southern parts of the Conti- 

 nent, from its native countrj^ Africa. 51. Temminck points out the Island of Sicily as 

 one of the places frequented by it, and adds that this is the species which would appear 

 to have been held in great veneration by the ancient Egyptians, as we frequently find 

 a figure of it among the monuments of that celebrated people. He states that it is 

 abundant on the banks of the Nile, and is distributed over the whole of the vast conti- 

 nent of Africa. This handsome species breeds freely in confinement, and is often seen in 

 the aviaries and near the lakes of those who take pleasure in collecting and domesti- 

 cating ornamental water-birds. 



" The breeding habits of this bird in a wild state are," says Mr. Yarrell, " I believe 

 but little known : they hatch and rear their young without difficulty in confinement, 

 and have bred several seasons in succession in the Gardens of the Zoological 

 Society. 



" In the summer of 1838, an Egyptian goose, in those gardens, paired with a 

 Penguin drake — so called from its walking nearly upright, but which is only a variety 



• Anser ^gvptiacus.— Briss. C'henalopex jEgryptiaeus. — Gould. 



2 V 



