164 Wild Geese 



It is a remarkable fact, considering the vast number of Geese 

 that winter on our shores, spending a fair half-year with us, how 

 little acquainted the generality of field naturalists and sportsmen are 

 with their ways and habits. Here in the Midlands, the chances of 

 observation are naturally small, an occasional flock passing high 

 overhead, on its migratory flight across England ; while now and 

 then a specimen appears in the local markets, which has been shot 

 in the water-meadows during a spell of hard weather, though these 

 occurrences seem much fewer than in former times. In his " Birds 

 of Oxfordshire," Aplin records local examples of the six different 

 species from the county. Around the coast, the case is very different 

 — there is probably not a littoral county in England or Wales, 

 Scotland or Ireland, including of course the islands, that is not 

 visited in considerable numbers by Geese of one kind or another, 

 which would afford ample opportunity for observation, by those 

 who care to put up with the necessary discomfort which the pursuit 

 of Geese anywhere necessarily entails. 



It may be well to say a few words about Geese generally, before 

 going into details concerning the different species. The Geese 

 which visit this country are roughly divided by wild-fowlers into 

 two groups, " grey " and " black." Scientifically, Geese belong to 

 the order Anseres, to the family Anatidae, to the sub-family Anserina?. 

 The six common species which visit this country are included, 

 according to most British authors, under two genera : i. A user 

 (of which A. cinereiis is the type), comprises the Grey-lag, White- 

 front, Pink-foot and Bean. 2. Bernida (of which Bernicla brenta 

 is the type), comprises the Barnacle, Brent, Red-breasted and 

 Canadian Goose. These two genera, Anser and Bernicla, correspond 

 very fairly with the " grey " and " black " Geese of the wild-fowler. 



All this seems very straightforward, but at the same time, 

 there are few families of birds where confusion reigns more entirely 

 supreme than the Palearctic Geese at the present day. Among the 

 " grey " Geese there is a very marked distinction in the colouration 

 of the nail of the beak. In the case of the Grey-lag and White- 

 fronted, the nail is white ; in the case of the Bean and Pink-footed, 

 the nail is black. I shall have something to say of these distinctions 

 when I come to my own experiences, but the white and black nails 

 have been recognised by most authors as of the highest diagnostic 

 value, and Buturlin, the Russian naturalist, who was followed by 

 Sergius Alpheraky (" Gusi Rossii , " 1894), established a new genus, 

 Melanonyx, for the black-nailed species. Alpheraky's work was 

 subsequently (1905) translated into English under the title of " The 

 Geese of Europe and Asia," that is the Geese of the Old World, and 

 was illustrated with twenty-four coloured plates, by the well-known 

 Enghsh artist and ornithologist, Mr. F. W. Erohawk. 



Melanonvx included, of course, our Bean-goose, {segetiim) and 

 Pink-footed Goose (brachyrhynchus) , but adds at least one more, 

 the Yellow-billed Bean (arvensis) to the species which certainly visit 



