176 BULLETIN 130, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



July 11, 1892. The male disputed my advance with head lowered and much 

 hissing, quite after the fashion of the barnyard goose, and before I was aware 

 of the existence of goslings I shot the female. Then I took two of the goslings, 

 that were about 2 weeks old, leaving the gander to rear the remaining six. 

 The birds were on the nest at the time of capture. The nest itself was well 

 lined with grasses and placed near a pile of broken stone beside a marshy spot 

 some acres in extent and about 100 yards from a shallow pond. 



On August 21, when again passing through the valley, I was happy to see 

 the male proudly marching at the head of his family of six at least 10 miles 

 from the nest. As he had a broken wing and his family then had every in- 

 dication of being able to shift for themselves, I reluctantly, and in the interest 

 of science, dispatched him. 



A brief note in the report of the Greeley (1888) expedition to 

 Grinnell Land indicates that this c:oose probably breeds on this and 

 other lands west of northern Greenland, as a pair was seen June 12, 

 1882, near Fort Conger, latitude 82° north, and another June 13, 

 1882, on the shore of Sun Bay. The snow geese found breeding in 

 northern Greenland by tlie Crocker Land Expedition were undoubt- 

 edly greater snow geese, but unfortunately no specimens of birds or 

 eggs were preserved. Mr. Ekblaw's notes state : 



The geese nested in the grassy swales and flats along the lake-dotted flood 

 plain of the streams which empty into North Star Bay. The nests are placed 

 in depressions among the tussocks so that the brooding birds are not readily 

 detected ; built up somewhat with mud and grass and dead vegetation and 

 lined with white feathers and down, they are much better constructed than 

 are the nests of the eider and the oldsquaw. 



The first eggs are laid soon after July 1. A full clutch is 6 or 7 eggs. In 

 about four weeks they hatch. The mothers and the young frequent the 

 larger inland lakes until the young are able to walk and swim and dive fairly 

 well, and then they take to the open sea. In late August or early September 

 the fall molting season comes on. The geese then repair to the most remote 

 and isolated lakes to be safe and free from disturbance while their wing 

 feathers are renewed. At this time they are relatively helpless and the 

 Eskimo find them easy prey. By mid-September the molting season is over 

 and the geese leave at once. 



Eggs. — Apparently there are no eggs of the greater snow goose 

 in collections. All the eggs in collections came from regions where 

 this subspecies is not known to breed and are almost certainly re- 

 ferable to the smaller race. 



Plumages. — The downy young, referred to above, is described 

 by Dr. D. G. Elliot (1898) as follows: 



Lores, dusky. Two black stripes from bill, passing above and beneath the* 

 eye. Top of head, dark olive brown. Sides of head, neck, and entire under 

 parts, light yellow. Upper parts, dark olive brown. Bill, black; nail, yel- 

 lowish white. 



The subsequent molts and plumages are apparently the same as 

 those of the lesser snow groose. 



