BRENT GEESE 335 



crouching thus. By taking advantage of some small 

 hollow in the mud, they reduce themselves to much less 

 bulk than one would imagine such large birds to be 

 capable of; and so closely do they then resemble bunches 

 of drift weed, etc., that you may easily be searching 

 all round, while your victim lies motionless, his keen 

 eye intent on you, within a dozen yards. 



The plumage of these birds is subject to considerable 

 variation. Generally speaking, it may be described 

 thus : — Head and neck black, sooty in tone, but yet 

 glossy ; back and wings dark slate-blue ; the whole of 

 the tail-coverts, above and below, pure white, causing 

 the conspicuous "white sterns." It is the plumage of 

 the under parts which varies most, this ranging from the 

 palest grey (almost white in some birds) to quite dark 

 colours. In many of the latter dark-complexioned in- 

 dividuals the breast is slate-blue, almost as dark as the 

 back ; but in about one bird in a thousand it is of a 

 bright glossy-brown shade. 



These dark-breasted birds are the exception, the 

 vast majority being pale grey or dusky below, but 

 all conspicuously barred about the flanks. Then, on 

 turning over a pile of brents, one finds here and there 

 a bird with pale edgings to the upper wing-coverts, 

 forming a regular series of light bars across the wing. 

 Such birds are the young of the year; but it is difficult 

 to see why they should be, relatively, so scarce. The 

 reverse is what one would expect, unless, indeed, it 

 should prove that the young are less inclined to so far 

 prolong their migrations, and that the bulk of our visitors 

 are adults. Some of these bar-winged birds have the 

 white neck-spot fully developed, more so than many of 

 the plain-plumaged examples. 



