158 Capt. C. C. Abbott on the Birds 



are sat upon or not. Owing to the gander generally stationing 

 himself about one hundred yards from where the female is sit- 

 ting, I used to think it was easy to find the nest ; but I have 

 sometimes walked about for nearly an hour before I could come 

 upon the female, who never moves until she is almost trodden 

 upon. A curious peculiarity of this bird is that, when they leave 

 their nest, after laying, they cover it up with straw, and when 

 they leave it after the eggs are sat upon, they cover it up with 

 down. No doubt, in the latter case, this is done to keep the 

 warmth in the eggs, and in the former to prevent their destruc- 

 tion by birds of prey. This peculiarity of covering up the eggs 

 seems to be common to all the geese and ducks of the Falkland 

 Islands. 



The Upland Goose lays generally in the first week in October. 

 Sometimes I have found seven, sometimes eight eggs in a nest, 

 the latter number being, I think, the maximum. The young 

 birds nearly acquire their adult plumage the first year, and are 

 only distinguishable by the mottled colour of their feet and 

 their plumage being less bright. In the second year the young 

 birds moult their wing-feathers, and are then found together in 

 large flocks near the sea-coast, where, on being disturbed, they 

 immediately run down to the salt water, being unable to fly in 

 this condition. 



30. Chloephaga rubidiceps, Sclater. (Brent Goose.) 

 This bird, which is called in East Falkland the " Brent Goose," 

 is not so common as the other varieties, except in some places in 

 the North Camp, where I have seen very large numbers, pro- 

 bably a hundred, but always in pairs. The male is easily di- 

 stinguished from the female by his larger size. The usual nest- 

 ing-place of this bird is among dry bushes, — the male bird, while 

 the female is sitting, usually being found on the edge of the 

 nearest water (generally salt), which, however, is frequently not 

 in sight of the nest. The eggs are generally five (sometimes, 

 but rarely, six) in number. The young birds of the first year 

 assimilate in plumage to the adults, except that the speculum of 

 the wing is of a dull black instead of a glossy green. The time 

 of laying of this Goose is the first week in October. 



