ei4 GLEANINGS. 



the young lead-color above, is extremely boreal, breeding- 

 about the straits of Hudson's Bay, and is more common in 

 the west than in the east in its southern migrations. 



The Blue Goose {A. ccerulescens), nearly the size of the 

 former, and about the same form, plumage ashy-blue, 

 varied with brown, head, tail-coverts and under parts, 

 white — should be regarded as a distinct species, and not 

 merely the young of the former. This has been placed be- 

 yond a doubt by the late researches of Mr. Wm. Dutcher; 

 and Mr. Fortiscue, of Hudson's Bay, says that the two 

 species occupy distinct breeding habitats in the north. 



The Brant Goose {Bra?ita bernicla) is some 2 feet long, 

 head and neck black to the breast, a patch of white streaks 

 on the middle of the neck, upper tail-coverts, white, brown- 

 ish-gray above, and lighter underneath, becoming white 

 toward the under tail-coverts. It is an arctic species, visit- 

 ing the Atlantic to the Southern States in winter. There is 

 a darker variety called the Black Brant, rare on the Atlantic, 

 but abundant on the Pacific. 



The Booby Gannet (Sula fiber) ^ a little smaller than the 

 Common Gannet, brown, white from the neck down, bill 

 and feet yellow, belongs to the South Atlantic and Gulf 

 States. 



The White Pelican {Fclecanus trachyrhynchus)^ about 5 feet 

 long and 8 or 9 feet in expanse, is white; back of the head 

 and breast, yellow ; fore part of the wings, black; bill, sack 

 and feet, yellow. Wintering in the Southern States, and 

 breeding in the northwest, it is but accidental on the North 

 and Middle Atlantic. The Brown Pelican (P.fuscus) is 

 strictly maritime, found on the South Atlantic and Gulf 

 Coasts, and in California. The most marked feature of 

 these peculiar birds is the large sack under the chin, easily 

 holding several quarts, and used as a sort of dip-net for 



