264 BULLETIN 130, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



CovrtsMp. — Almost at once after their arrival on the islands, the emperor 

 geese appeared to be mated, the males walking around the females, swinging 

 their heads and uttering low love notes, and incoming flocks quickly disinte- 

 grated into pairs which moved about together, though often congregating 

 with many others on flats and sand bars. Tlie male was extremely jealous 

 and pugnacious, however, and immediately resented the slightest approach of 

 another toward his choice ; and this spirit was shown equally when an indivi- 

 dual of another species chanced to come near. When a pair was feeding, the 

 male moved restlessly about, constantly on the alert, and at the first alarm the 

 pair drew near one another, and just before taking wing uttered a deep, 

 ringing u-liigh, u-luph; these, like the flight notes, having a peculiar deep tone 

 impossible to describe. 



At low tide, as soon as the shore ice disappeared, the broad mud flats along 

 shore were thronged with them in pairs and groups numbering up to 30 or 40 

 individuals. They were industriously dabbling in the mud for food until satis- 

 fied, and then congregated on bars, where they sat dozing in the sun or lazily 

 arranging their feathers. By lying flat on the ground and creeping cautiously 

 forward, I repeatedly approached within 30 or 40 yards of parties near shore 

 without their showing any uneasiness. 



Nesting.— The first of June they began depositing eggs in the flat marshy 

 islands bordering the sea all along the middle and southern part of the delta. 

 The nests were most numerous in the marshes, a short distance back from the 

 muddy feeding grounds, but stray pairs were found nesting here and there far- 

 ther inland on the same tundra with the other species of geese and numerous 

 other waterfowl. Near the seashore, the eggs were frequently laid among the 

 bleached and wave-torn scraps of driftwood lying along the highest tide marks. 

 On June 5, a female was found on her eggs on a slight rise in the general level. 

 A small gray-bleached fragment of driftwood lay close by. The goose must 

 have lain with neck outstretched on the ground, as I afterward found was their 

 custom when approached, for the Esquimo and I passed within a few feet on 

 each side of her ; but, in scanning the ground for nesting birds, the general 

 similarity in tint of the bird and the obvious stick of driftwood had complete 

 misled our sweeping glances. We had gone some 20 steps beyond when the 

 sitting bird uttered a loud alarm note and flew swiftly away. The ground 

 was so absolutely bare of any cover that the 3 eggs on which she had been sit- 

 ting were plainly visible from where we stood. They were lying in a slight 

 depression without a trace of lining. The same ruse misled us a number of 

 times ; but on each occasion the parent betrayed her presence by a startled 

 outcry and hasty departure soon after we had passed her and our backs were 

 presented. They usually flew to a considerable distance, and showed little 

 anxiety over our visit to the nests. The nests I examined usually contained 

 from 3 to 5 eggs, but the full complement ranged up to S. When first laid, 

 the eggs are pure white, but soon become soiled. They vary in shape from 

 elongated oval to slightly pyriform, and are indistinguishable in size and shape 

 from those of the white-fronted goose. As the complement approaches comple- 

 tion, the parent lines the depression in the ground with a soft, warm bed of 

 fine grass, leaves, and feathers from her own breast. The males were rarely 

 seen near the nest, but usually gathered about the feeding grounds with others 

 of their kind, where they were joined now and then by their mates. 



Eggs. — The emperor goose lays from 3 to 8 eggs; probably 5 or 

 6 is the usual number. The eggs that I have seen are elliptical 

 ovate in shape, with variations toward ovate and toward elongate 



