Severtzoff's 'Fauna of Turkestan.' 117 



Pallas, not agreeing, except as regards the large size, as 

 pointed out to me by Brandt, who considered Pallas's Anser 

 grandis to be nothing but a large form of Anser cyynoides. 

 It is true that A. grandis, Pall., resembles Anser cygnoides, 

 much as A. grandis, Midd. [A. middendorffi, nob.), docs 

 Anser segetum. The two latter differ as follows : — A. mid- 

 dendorffi, is larger, has an orange band on the black mandi- 

 ble ; and its head is redder, being reddish brown, and not 

 greyish brown, as in ^. segetum ; and even this last charac- 

 teristic is not constant, as is to be seen from Von Sclirenck''s 

 Amoor specimens. Males of ^. middendorffi from the Amoor 

 measure— total length 33" 5"'-34" 4'", extent 64"-64/' 7'", 

 culmen 1" 9'"-2", weight 1{)-10| lb. It is therefore larger 

 than Anser cinereus, which measures 33|" in length, G24" in 

 extent, and weighs 9 lb. A. middendorffi occurs in flocks 

 of thousands on the Aris river and its tributaries, on the 

 Keless and Chirchick ; towards the north-cast of the Aris it 

 occurs on passage. But in 1867 and 1868 it was not so nu- 

 merous as usual on the above-named rivers, and was met with 

 more numerously on the unfrozen lakes in the vicinity, Avhere 

 food was more abundant throughout the winter. In these 

 flocks were also individuals of Anser segetum and of another 

 species, which was, I believe, Anser obscurus, Brehm, a small 

 form of Anser segetum ; but these birds were more wary than 

 A. middendorffi, and I could not obtain a specimen. I also 

 occasionally saw small flocks of A. albifrons. It is curious 

 how the Geese may be classified into small divisions of forms 

 which approach each other in appearance, some already con- 

 stituting distinct species, whereas others are yet in the pro- 

 cess of separation, differing only by some trifling but constant 

 difference in size, colour, or form of beak. They may be 

 arranged as follows : — 



1 . Anser grandis, Anser cygnoides. 



2. Anser middendorffi, A. segetum, A. arvensis, A. obscu- 

 rus, Brehm., &c. 



3. Anser cinereics, A. albifrons, A. medius, A. minvtns, and 

 A. cineraceus, Brehm. 



4. Cygnopsis canadensis, Bernicla leucopsis. 



