112 MICHIGAN BIRD LIFE. 



coast of North Carolina, while the Lesser Snow Goose breeds from the 

 Hudson Bay region westward and in winter is found mainly if not entirely 

 in the interior. 



We have numerous records of Snow Geese in Michigan, sometimes under 

 the name of hyperboreus, sometimes nivalis, and occasionally with no 

 indication as to the species or subspecies. It seems likely that without 

 exception all these records refer to the Lesser Snow Goose, Chen hyperboreus, 

 unless possibly specimens of the totally different Blue-winged Goose have 

 sometimes been mistaken for young Snow Geese. The older records_ of 

 Snow Geese from the state certainly are not rehable in so far as this question 

 is concerned. The only satisfactory evidence at our disposition consists 

 of the few specimens still accessible known to have been taken within our 

 hmits or very near them. Of these there seem to be in all less than a dozen, 

 but without exception these prove to be Lesser Snow Geese. These, so far as 

 I am able to record them, are as follows: One taken at St. Clair Flats No- 

 vember 5, 1905 by a local sportsman and recorded by Swales and Taverner as 

 the Lesser Snow Goose, after careful measurement and examination of a 

 sketch of the bird by J. H. Fleming and Dr. Louis B. Bishop; one specimen, 

 an immature female in dusky plumage, taken October 27, 1905 on Point 

 Pelee near Leamington, Ontario; an immature specimen in the Barron 

 collection at Niles, identified by the writer, and probably taken in the 

 vicinity of Niles, although without data (Possibly this is one of the two 

 specimens recorded by D. D. Hughes as shot from a flock of five in Calhoun 

 county November 4, 1867; he states that both of these were mounted for 

 his collection) ; an adult specimen in full plumage received from A. H. 

 Boies of Hudson, who states that it was killed in Hillsdale county, Novem- 

 ber 28, 1890. 



In addition to these positive records there are numerous records of the 

 occurrence of Snow Geese in various parts of the state. Dr. Gibbs states 

 "I have shot Snow Geese in Kalamazoo county, but am not able now to 

 say which species, and the specimens are not available." O. B. Warren 

 says "Occasionally seen in Marquette county during the fall migrations, 

 one was taken in 1895." Mr. L. Whitney Watkins states that a flock of 

 one hundred and fifty was seen at Manchester, near the boundary between 

 Washtenaw and Jackson counties, April 2, 1894. Major Boies states that 

 Snow Geese are "said on good authority to frequent the w^aters of Hay 

 Lake and Monosco Bay, St. Mary's River." Snow Geese are also reported 

 as not uncommon in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Ontario, but in 

 most cases the records seem to be no more satisfactory as regards the sub- 

 species than those of our own state. Mr. P. A. Taverner quotes Mr. J. H. 

 Fleming of Toronto as saying that he has found only specimens of the 

 Lesser Snow Goose in the collections which he has examined in Ontario. 

 On the other hand W. W. Cooke states that both forms of the Snow Goose 

 occur during the winter season in the lower Mississippi Valley. "It seems 

 probable that in this district the Mississippi River is the approximate 

 dividing line between the two forms, to the westward C. hyperborea being 

 the more common, and to the eastward C. nivalis. Both forms winter 

 as far north as southern Illinois, and the Lesser Snow Goose is abundant 

 in winter in Louisiana and Texas. * * * jt winters sparingly in 

 southern Colorado, more commonly in Utah, abundantly in Nevada, and 

 along the Pacific coast." (U. S. Dep't of Agriculture, Biological Survey, 

 Bull. No. 26, 1906, p. 66). 



Under the head of the Greater Snow Goose Mr. Cooke states "There is 



