154 THE NESTS AND EGGS OF 



The eggs of the Lesser White-fronted Goose are from 

 five to seven in number. They are creamy-white. 

 Average measurement, 2-9 inches in length by to 

 inches in breadth. The duration of the period of 

 incubation is unknown, but the female probably alone 

 performs that task. 



Diagnostic characters : In the present state of 

 our knowledge it is impossible to attempt to give any 

 character which might be distinctive. Sufficient reliable 

 information is not yet obtainable on which to found any 

 diagnosis of the eggs of this Goose, providing such is 

 really possible. 



Family ANATID.^. Genus Bernicla. 



Sub-family ANSERINM. 



BRENT GOOSE. 



Bernicla brenta {Brisson). 

 (British : Common autumn and winter migrant.) 

 Single Brooded. Laying season, late in June. 



Breeding area : North-western Palaearctic region. 

 The typical form of the Brent Goose breeds on 

 Spitzbergen, Franz-Josef Land, and Nova Zembla, 

 and possibly along the coasts of Arctic Siberia and 

 the islands ofif them, but how far to the east is not 

 known. 



Breeding habits : The Brent Goose is a migratory 

 bird, and returns to its breeding grounds in the Arctic 

 regions late in May or early in June. When I wrote 

 my account of the nidification of the Brent Goose in 

 the work on Game Birds aiid Wild Fozvl, I relied for 

 my information on the observations made by Captain 



