834 THE CACKI.IXG GOOSE. 



the wt'lcoiiie cliaiigc frciii a diet uf fish eaten all thiimgli the winter to geese, 

 which soon becomes the stai)le. 



"As Alay advances and one by one the ponds open, and the earth looks 

 ont here and there front nntler its winter covering, the loud notes of the \ari- 

 ous wild fow'l are heard, beconiing daily more numerous. Their harsh and 

 varied cries make sweet music to the ears of all who have just passed the win- 

 ter's silence and dull monotony, and in spite of the low'ering skies and oc- 

 casional snow-squalls e\'ery one makes readv and is ot'f to the marshes. 



"The tlocks come cleaving their way from afar, and as they draw near 

 their summer homes raise a chorus of loud ncjtes in high-pitched tone like the 

 syllable ink.' ra])idlv repeated, and a reply rises upon all sides, until the whole 

 marsh re-echoes with the din, and the new-comers circle slowly up to the edge 

 of a pond amid a ])erfect chorus raised by the geese all about, as if in con- 

 gratulation. 



"Even upon first arrival ni;iny of the birds appear to be mated, as I have 

 frequentl}- shot one from a flock and seen a single bird leave its companions at 

 once and come circling about, uttering loud call-notes. If the fallen bird is 

 only wounded its ni;ite will almost invariably join it, and frequently allow itself 

 to be approached and shot without attempting to escape. In sonie instances I 

 have known a bird thus bereaxed of its partner to retnain in the \icinity for 

 two or three days, calling and circling about. Altlm many are mated, others 

 are not, and the less fortunate males fight bard and long for possession of 

 females. I frequentl\- amused myself, wdiile at the Yukon mouth, by watching 

 flocks of geese on the muddv banks oi the river, wdiich was a favorite resort. 

 The females kejjt to one side and dozed, or dabbled their bills in the mud: the 

 males were scattered al)out, and kept moving uneasily from side to side, mak- 

 ing a great outcry. This would last but a few minutes, wdien two of the war- 

 riors would cross each other's ]);ith, and then began the battle. The\- would 

 seize one another by the bill, and then turn and twist each other about, their 

 wings hanging loosely by their sides meanwhile. Suddenly they would close up 

 and each would lielabor his ri\-al with the bend of the wing, until the sound 

 could be hearil two or three hundred yards. The wing-strokes were always 

 warded ot¥ by the other bird's wing, so but little tlamage was done, but it usu- 

 ally ended in the weaker bird breaking loose and running away. Just before 

 the males seize each other they usually utter a series of peculiar low growling 

 or grunting notes. 



"The last week of May finds many of these birds already depositing their 

 eggs. Upon the grassv borders of ponds, in the midst of a bunch of grass, or 

 on a .small knoll these birds find a s])ot where they make a slight depression and 

 perhaps line it with a scanty layer of gras.ses, after which the eggs are laid, 

 numbering from five to eight. These eggs, like the birds, average smaller than 

 those of the other geese. 



