158 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE 



Anser albifrons gambeli Hartlaitb 



A. O. r. Xiiniiier [713 See Color t'late ji 



Other Names. — American White-fronted Goose; 

 Laughing Goose; Harlequin Brant; Gray Brant; Pied 

 Brant; Prairie Brant; Spectacled Brant; Speckled 

 Brant; Yellow-legged Goose; Speckle-belly. 



General Description. — Length, 30 inches. Plumage, 

 grayish-brown with dark patch on lower breast. Bill, 

 comparatively low at base. 



Color. — Lores, forehead, and forc-croivn, u'liitr, bor- 

 dered behind by blackish ; head. neck, breast, and upper 

 parts in general, dark grayish-brown, feathers of back 

 with lighter edges, forming regular and distinct trans- 

 verse bars ; upper tail-coverts, white ; secondaries and 

 ends of primaries, dusky, ashy at base; greater coverts 

 and secondaries bordered with whitish ; sides of body 

 below, grayish-brown ; a large patch more or less broken 

 of deep blackish-brown on lower breast and abdomen ; 

 bill, pink with white tip (the bill is yellow in breeding 



season) ; feet, chrome-yellow ; iris, dark brown. Young: 

 General tone of color browner, no black below ; no 

 white on head ; tip of bill, black or dusky ; otherwise 

 similar. 



Nest and Eggs. — Xest : A shallow depression in the 

 ground, lined with grass, feathers, and down; usually 

 near fresh-water lakes. Eccs : 5 to 7, creamy-white. 



Distribution. — Central and western North Ainerica ; 

 breeds on and near the Arctic coast from northeastern 

 Siberia east to northeastern Mackenzie and south to 

 lower Yukon valley ; winters commonly from southern 

 British Columbia to southern Lower California and 

 Jalisco, and rarely from southern Illinois, southern 

 Ohio, and New Jersey south to northeastern Mexico, 

 southern Te.xas, and Cuba, and on the Asiatic coast 

 to China and Japan ; rare in migration on the .Atlantic 

 coast north to Ungava. 



'{'he W'hite-frontfd Goose was formerly an 

 uiiconinion sjM'ing and autumn migrant on our 

 coast ( Howe and Allen ). Dr. J. A. Allen ( 1879) 

 terms it a rare migrant, sjiring and fail, and says 

 that Dr. Brewer states tliat it was more common 

 thirty or forty years ago, as was the case with 

 many of our other Ducks and Geese. It is now 

 regarded as a mere straggler on the entire At- 

 lantic coast. 



It is known as a Brant in some of our west- 

 ern States, where it is abundant in migration. 



Formerly it was common as far east as the Ohio 

 River. 



The flight of the White-fronted Goose is simi- 

 lar to that of the Canada Goose. There is the 

 same V-shape formation, and at a distance it 

 might be readily mistaken for that of the Canada 

 Goose. Audubon states that in Kentucky this 

 Goose feeds on beechnitts, acorns, grain, young 

 blades of grass, and snails. 



Edward Howe Forbusii. in Gaiiw Birds, 

 Wild-Fowl and Shore Birds. 



CANADA GOOSE 

 Branta canadensis canadensis { Limurus) 



-\. O U. Number 172 See Color Plate 22 



Other Names. — Wild Goose; Common Wild Goose; 

 Cravat Goose; Bi.g Gray Goose; Bay Goose; Reef 

 Goose; Black-headed Goose; Canada Brant; Honker; 

 Long-necked Goose. 



General Description. — Length, 35 to 43 inches. Head, 

 black; body, brownish-gray. Neck, long and slender. 



Color. — Head and neck, black ; a broad circular patch 

 c.ytcnding from upper side of head around tliroat to an 

 equal distance on other side, not reaching lower bill, 

 leaving chin black ; rest of pluma.ge, brownish-gray, 

 more ashy below ; all feathers with paler edges ; upper 

 and under tail-coverts, wiiite: bill and feet, black; iris, 

 brown. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nkst : Usually on a mound in 



marshes ; constructed of grass, reeds, and leaves and 

 lined with down; rarely old nests of Hawks or Eagles 

 are appropriated. Eccs: 6 to 7, dull white. 



Distribution. — North America; breeds from limit 

 of trees in valley of the lower Yukon, northwestern 

 Mackenzie, and central Keewatin south to southern 

 Oregon, northern Colorado, Nebraska, and Indiana; 

 formerly bred casually south to New Mexico. Kansas, 

 Tennessee, and Massachusetts ; winters from southern 

 British Columbia, southern Colorado, southern Wiscon- 

 sin, southern Illinois, and New Jersey (rarely southern 

 Ontario and Newfoundland) south to southern Califor- 

 nia, Texas, and Florida; accidental in Bermuda and 

 lamaica. 



