254 ANATID^. 



The first three portions were formerly considered as belong- 

 ing hut to one genus, Anas ; and hence the family name 

 Anatidse ; hut modern systematists have found it desirahle 

 to divide them into smaller groups, which are known to he 

 distinct in their characters and habits, and these will be 

 hereafter referred to. 



By fowlers Wild Geese are divided into ' Grey ' and 

 ' Black ' Geese, and under the former four species are 

 included. The Grey Lag Goose, the first on our list, has 

 not always been so well defined or represented as to exhibit 

 the true specific characters that distinguish it from the 

 Bean Goose and White-fronted Goose, with which the Grey 

 Lag Goose is the most frequently confounded. The present 

 species is considered to be the origin from which our valuable 

 domestic race is derived ; and to show the aptitude of the 

 wild bird to this purpose, the Author may mention that 

 the Zoological Society of London, possessing a pinioned 

 wild Grey Lag Gander, which had never associated with 

 either Bean Goose or White-fronted Goose, though both were 

 kept on the same water with him, paired with a domestic 

 Goose (selected in the London market from the circumstance 

 of her exhibiting in her plumage the marks which distinguish 

 the true Grey Lag species) ; a sitting of eight eggs was the 

 consequence, and the offspring were prolific. 



At the first exhibition of domestic poultry and water-fowl 

 at the Gardens of the Zoological Society, in the Regent's 

 Park, at the end of May, 1845, there was a fine specimen of 

 the wild Grey Lag Goose, sent from India by Mr. Blyth to 

 Mr. Bartlett, who exhibited the bird. The next coop con- 

 tained the finest and the heaviest pair of domestic Geese, 

 sent by Mr. Nolan, from Dublin. It was obvious that these 

 domestic birds were derived from the Grey Lag Goose. The 

 pinky flesh-colour of the beak and the white nail ; the distri- 

 bution of the markings of the plumage generally, the large 

 blue grey space on the anterior portion of the wing, the 

 flesh-colour of the legs and feet, and the voice, were alike- 

 in both. The half-bred Geese, previously referred to as bred 

 by the Society, were also exactly similar. The Author has 



