284 ANATID^. 



uttered a geutle call-note when any one of their party sepa- 

 rated from the others, or when a hu'd of prey hovered over 

 them : this w^as the only sound that he heard them utter. 

 They preferred green vegetables to grain, and used to drink 

 frequently. 



Dr. SevertzofF describes this Goose as rare in Turkestan. 

 At Obdorsk, at the mouth of the Ob, Dr. 0. Finsch says that 

 it is by no means uncommon ; and on the 1st of July Mr. 

 Seebohm obtained a bird shot from two eggs on an island in 

 70^**. N. lat. in the Yenesei, near w^hich he afterwards saw 

 several birds w^ith their broods on the banks of the river. 

 According to Von Middendorflf, it breeds commonly at the 

 mouth of the Pasina, and he obtained and figured the first 

 authenticated eggs on record on the Boganida. Blyth con- 

 sidered it probable that a Goose shot at Nagpore, out of a 

 flock of four, belonged to this species. 



The winter migrations of the Red-breasted Goose some- 

 times extend to the northern portions of Africa. Specimens 

 said to have been obtained in Algeria have recently been 

 offered for sale ; and in Lord Lilford's collection there is a 

 specimen labelled by the late Mr. S. Stafi'ord Allen, " Alex- 

 andria, December 2nd, 1874." This beautiful species was 

 evidently known to the ancient Egyptians, for several excel- 

 lent authorities have stated that the Museum of the late 

 Mariette Bey at Boulak, contains a slab obtained at Mey- 

 doun, on which are portrayed two Red-breasted Geese, 

 together with tw'o of the White-fronted, and two of some 

 larger species. Mr. J. H. Gurney, jun., says that these 

 portraits are the best executed, and by far the most life-like 

 of any bird-pictures that he saw in Egypt ; and are probably 

 the oldest delineations in existence, their age being supposed 

 to exceed that of the Pyramids. The Editor has consulted 

 the woodcut illustrative of this slab in Loftie's ' Ride in 

 Egj'pt ' (p. 209), and finds its accuracy beyond question. 



Little is known of the nesting of this species. An egg 

 obtained by Mr. Seebohm is of a dull creamy-white, and 

 measures 2*7 by 1*8 in. 



A female of this species obtained in exchange from Hoi- 



