34 EGGS OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



with a good foundation of grass, moss and the stems of saxifrages, 

 and plentifully lined with down. 



The number of eggs in each nest was four or five. They are 

 creamy- white in colour, finely granulated, and possess a slight 

 gloss. They vary in length from 2'87 to 265 inches, and in 

 breadth from 1"95 to 175 inch. 



THE BEKNACLE GOOSE. 



(Anser leucopsis.)* 



Plate 10, Fig. 2. 



The Bernacle Goose is a fairly common winter visitor to the 

 coasts of the British Islands, but is most abundant on the west 

 coasts of Scotland. Saxby only observed it once in Shetland. 

 In Ireland it is locally distributed, being most common in the 

 north and north-west. It sometimes visits inland districts. It 

 has never been found breeding in a wild state, but has been 

 recorded as occurring in summer in Greenland, Iceland, Spits- 

 bergen, and Novaya Zemlya. It is also said to breed on 

 Kolguev. It winters on the coasts of Northern Europe and 

 those of Hudson's Bay. 



Collett is of opinion that the Bernacle Goose breeds on one of the 

 Lofoden Islands in lat. 68° 15', from whence the proprietor of this 

 island sent him two eggs of a Goose " with white cheeks, but 

 having the rest of the plumage and the feet dark," and " having 

 a slight resemblance to a Cormorant." A solitary pair are said 

 to have bred on the island for some years past, building a nest 

 composed of moss and straw, sometimes on the narrow ledges of 

 the rocks and sometimes in a sheltered locality, under stones or 

 isolated rocky masses, and laying five eggs. 



Eggs laid in confinement are creamy-white, granulated in 

 texture, and without gloss. They vary in length from 2 '9 to 

 2'75 inches, and in breadth from 20 to 1'85 inch. The Lofoden 

 Island eggs received by Collett are slightly smaller, measuring 

 2"6 by 1'8 inch. They are indistinguishable from eggs of the 

 Brent Goose, but may possibly be distinguished from eggs of the 

 White-fronted Goose by their relatively lighter weight. 



* Bcrnicla leucopsis — Saunders, Manual, p. 397. Bratita leucopsis — Sharpe, 

 Handb., II., p. 236. 



