ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



577 



CANADA GEESE AND TOULOUSE HYBRIDS 



The geese feed on the island in summer in 

 small gangs ; but in winter they spend most of 

 their time in Chincoteague Bay, feeding on eel 

 grass and sea lettuce. They become very fat 

 on this diet and in addition are fed a little grain 

 now and tlien to keep them tame. They are 

 also supplied with fresh water througliout the 

 winter. In the spring, on one of the first warm 

 days in March, the Canada Geese pair oflf, gath- 

 ering near the large breeding pastures, when 

 they are let in, one ))air at a time. There is a 

 great deal of quarrelling among them and a 

 few pairs are always brok- 

 en up. 



The geese are grain fed 

 for a short time before lay- 

 ing, all through incubation 

 and until they are set at lib- 

 erty with their young. The 

 birds are never infested 

 with lice, and it is thought 

 that their feathers contain 

 some quality which keeps 

 these pests out. 



The breeding jjaddock 

 encloses about 25 or 30 acres 

 and is surrounded by a 

 board fence about 3 feet in 

 height. About 75 jjairs of 

 birds breed here and raisi 

 from two to three hundred 

 j'oung annually. There are 

 a few small fresh water 

 marshes in the paddock, 

 and where these occur num- 



erous hummocks are thrown 

 u)). whicli soon become cov- 

 e r e d with grass and low 

 brush. These tiny i.slands 

 are the favorite nesting sites 

 and five to seven eggs are 

 laid on these nesting hum- 

 motks. Wlien the young 

 hatch, tliey are pinioned and 

 turned into another pasture 

 with their parents. If the 

 goose is removed, the gander 

 will rear the young success- 

 fully. Hut if the gander is 

 killed by accident or sent 

 away, the female will not or 

 cannot rear licr brood alone. 

 Some of the birds are al- 

 most fifty years old. They 

 breed better when thirty 

 than when ten years of age. 

 A few individuals never 

 mate. In the spring, one 

 familiar with the appearance of the birds can 

 select those which will lay, by the condition of 

 fatty deposits visible under the skin. If con- 

 siderable yellow fat is visible about the abdo- 

 men, there is no likelihood of the bird laying 

 eggs that season. 



When the goslings reach the age of about one 

 month, they are given their liberty. They usu- 

 ally do not breed until three years old. Each 

 pair of adult birds mate for life and invariably 

 returns to the nest which it had occupied the 

 ])revious sjiring. The geese will not as a rule 



AND SWAN ENCLOSURE; COMPARTMENT No. I. 

 Australian Swans and Cygnets. Shoveller Ducks, Wood Duck 

 and Black Brant. 



