28o 



DUCK GROUP 



Although the barnacle goose undoubtedly nests in the far north of 

 the Old World, and possibly also in Greenland, its breeding-haunts are 

 at present not definitely known ; and at least up to the year 1902 the 

 British Museum collection contained no eggs of this species save a few- 

 laid in confinement. In winter this goose visits the coasts of a con- 

 siderable portion of northern Europe, and occasionally wanders as far 

 south as the northern shores of the Mediterranean, while in America it 

 is also met with in small numbers on those of Hudson Ba}-. In 

 Great Britain, although rare on the eastern coasts, and still more so on 

 those bordering the English Channel, the barnacle goose is an abundant 



UAKNACLL GOOSli. 



bird on the west coast, where, especially on the Solway Firth, it may 

 sometimes be seen in thousands ; its sojourn within our borders com- 

 mencing as early as the latter part of September and continuing to the 

 end of March. It is likewise common at this season on the western 

 islands of Scotland ; while it also occurs in the more southern islands 

 of the Shetland group, a fact testifying emphatically to its cold-loving 

 nature and its repugnance to warm climates. In Ireland it is a regular, 

 although local, winter-visitor to the coasts and islands of Louth, Donegal, 

 Sligo, Mayo, and Galway. 



On the shore this species may be distinguished from the brent 

 goose (with which it is often confounded) by the sharp line of division 

 between the black of the neck and the white of the breast, and by the 



