43 



GREY-LAG GOOSE. 



WILD-GOOSE. GREY-LAG WILD-GOOSE. 

 PLATE CLXXXIII. FIG. I. 



Anser palustris, . . . Fleming. Selby. 



Anse>' ferus, .... Jenyns. 



Anas anser, .... Pennant. 



Anas ferus, .... Montagu. 



The nest of this Goose is made of grass, rushes, 

 leaves, or dry stalks of plants, under cover of some 

 rushes or osiers, and is well lined with feathers. It is 

 large in size, and is located in a marsh, or by the 

 border of a lake or inland sea. The male keeps guard 

 near it while his partner sits. 



The eggs are said to be commonly four or five in 

 number, but to amount also to as many as twelve or 

 fourteen, the former the produce of younger, and the 

 latter of older birds; eight or nine the intermediate 

 quantity. They are of a dull yellowish white, smooth 

 and shining in appearance, 



Meyer says, "The female is very careful in covering 

 the eggs with some of the surrounding materials, when- 

 ever she leaves the nest for a short time; and it may 

 serve as a safe guide to persons who go in search of 

 the eggs, that if they are uncovered, they are forsaken, 

 and are, consequently, not worth leaving in the nest. 

 As soon as the Goose has laid her full number of eggs. 



