66 INDIAN SPOETING BIRDS 



definitely said that Gould had one which was killed in the 

 Deccan. 



As the bird has a wide distribution in the north of the 

 Eastern Hemisphere, and visits the shores of the Mediterranean 

 in winter, it is at any rate highly probable that these records are 

 correct. Several forms are distinguished, chiefly differing in the 

 distribution of the colours on the bill and in the size. The bird 

 figured in Hume's plate is of the race distinguished as aroensis, 

 in which the orange occupies the bill nearly to the exclusion of 

 the black, whereas in the typical form this colour is confined to 

 a band in front of the middle of the bill, the bill being thus 

 mostly black. This is generally the case also with the race 

 middendorfi, which visits China in winter, and is certainly a 

 probable visitor ; but BIyth said that Gould's bird was a common 

 bean-goose, while the bird named after von Middendorf is 

 particularly large, especially with regard to the bill, and 

 is prone to exhibit a yellowish shade on the head, admittedly 

 variable, however, and accidental, like the rusty stain so 

 often found on the head of the swan. It is also admitted that 

 there may be much more than a mere band of orange on the 

 bill of this Eastern bean-goose, and so it seems most advisable 

 at present to call them all simply bean-geese ; anyone who 

 shoots a specimen can indulge in details of marking and 

 measurement to his heart's content. 



White-fronted Goose. 



Anser alhifrons. 



Every goose that has some white on the forehead is not 

 necessarily a white-fronted goose, nor does the absence of white 

 in that part disqualify a bird for the title; for the grey-lag often 

 shows a little white at the base of the bill, and young white- 

 fronted geese have none, but are rather darker there than 

 elsewhere. 



The real distinctive points are the combination of orange 

 legs with a yellow or flesh-coloured or pink bill, changing after 

 death to orange, but in any case without any black on it. The 

 body-colour of this bird is much browner than in the grey goose. 



