' Geese of Europe and Asia.' 533 



made other mistakes, and, therefore, Mr. Alpheraky has 

 discarded Severtzow's name and has given to Middendorff's 

 Goose the new name of Melanonyx arvensis sibiricus. From 

 this proceeding I utterly dissent. In the first place, the bill 

 of Middendorff 's Goose is coloured exactly like that of the 

 Bean-Goose and not like that of the Yellow-billed Bean- 

 Goose, and therefore Middendorff's Goose evidently is not 

 a form of Anser arvensis, but of A. segetum. Besides, 

 Severtzow meant to give the name Anser middendorffi to the 

 bird which Middendorff figured in plate xx. f. 1 (head) 

 of the ' Reise in Sibiriens ' under the name of Anser grandis 

 Midd. (nee Gmel.) , and this bird is the same as the one to 

 Adiich Mr. Alpheraky has given the name of Melanonyx 

 arvensis sibiricus, which, therefore, is a synonym of Anser 

 middendorffi. 



There are only two other species of the Melanonyx- group 

 to speak of, and these are Anser brachyrhynchus and 

 A. neglectus. The latter has been described since the 

 publication of the ' Catalogue of Birds/ Both species are 

 nearly allied and they are peculiar in having the light band 

 round the bill and the feet of a light pink; apparently the 

 pink colouring of the bill in A. brachyrhynchus is more 

 extended on the sides than in A. neglectus. In the plumage 

 there is one important difference duly noticed by Mr. Alphe- 

 raky, viz. the former has the wing-coverts ashy grey, while 

 the latter has the same coverts blackish brown as in 

 A. segetum. This is a very good distinguishing character 

 between the two allied species. There are other differences 

 of importance : A. neglectus is of a larger size and has the 

 bill longer and more robust, but I doubt whether it will be 

 always easy to distinguish A. neglectus from A. segetum, when 

 skins have dried and thereby lost the distinctive coloration 

 of the light band of the bill. According to Alpheraky, the 

 bill of Sushkin's Goose is comparatively weak and narrow, 

 less high at the base, and has the nail smaller and narrower. 

 As regards colouring, Mr. Alpheraky declares that he has 

 been " unable to find any distinctive differences." 



The two allied birds differ also in their geographical 



