578 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN. 



SNOW GEESE HYBRIDS, CHINCOTEAGUE ISLAND 



allow other pairs to nest within fifty to one hun- 

 dred yards. The ganders are very erratic in 

 this respect, some being especially savage, while 

 others do not object to new comers founding 

 their nests a shorter distance awaj'. The birds 

 are strictly monogamous. In the fall, all de- 

 formed or undersized birds are disposed of, and 

 only the largest and finest are kept. Many 

 young birds are sold for ornamental purposes 

 and for decoys. 



According to ]\Ir. Whealton and the men who 

 iiave charge of the birds, there seem to be two 

 so-called races, known as the Northern and the 

 Southern Wild Geese. The latter are smaller and 

 darker and differ greatly in their habits. They 

 are very wild, never becoming tame ; are sly and 

 trickj', of a cowardly disposition, and do not 

 interbreed with the other race. They have been 

 eliminated from the flock because of their unde- 

 sirable traits, but a few are kept by other people, 

 as they breed fairly well. 



The geese are plucked three or four times each 

 year, beginning with May first, and from then 

 on at intervals of seven weeks; all of the con- 

 tour feathers with the exception of those of tlie 

 wings, tail and neck are taken, the down of 

 course being left. An average adult bird yields 

 about one-third of a pound at a picking, and the 

 market value of these feathers is about .^Oc. a 

 pound. The first picking (May 1st) occurs 

 when the birds are tending their young. It 

 stops to a certain extent the fighting which is 

 always going on at this time; both by reducing 

 the strength of the birds and by making it less 



easy for them to obtain a 

 good hold, or to strike each 

 other witli their wings. The 

 first and last pluckings yield 

 the heaviest feathers; the 

 mid-smnmer plumage being 

 lighter. At these times a 

 large party of men and boys 

 corral the geese from vari- 

 ous parts of the island into 

 a large pen. As the geese 

 are picked they are liber- 

 ated. 



T li a t Chincoteague Is- 

 land is adapted not only 

 for the rearing of wild 

 geese alone, is shown by the 

 success which Mr. Whealton 

 lias had with other species 

 of water birds. The swans, 

 — Mute, Whooping and 

 Black, are simply turned 

 out in pairs, separated from others. They are 

 kept there continually, and when once they have 

 started to breed, they continue to do so every 

 year. All of the paddocks have plenty of for- 

 age, but the birds are fed daily on wheat and 

 corn. During the jiresent year the Black Swans 

 made their nest and laid their eggs when the 

 snow was on the ground, hatching their young in 

 February, when the pond was frozen tight. A 

 hole was cut in the ice and the young, four in 

 number, were successfully raised. 



Hybrids have been produced between Canada 

 Geese ("Northern" Race), and Toulouse, Emb- 

 den and Chinese Geese. These hybrids lay 

 eggs but they are never fertile. 



Crosses between the Common and Snow Geese 

 are fertile and have been bred back to pure 

 Snows for several generations, the hybrids being 

 indistinguishable from pure-blooded Snow 

 Geese. Toulouse hybrids are very large birds 

 with the body color of a Toulouse, but with the 

 head and neck very nearly white. They are in- 

 variably sterile. 



The Chinese hybrids, when young, are a shade 

 darker than the Canada Geese. When they 

 reach adult plumage, thev become lighter in 

 color, and only one who is accustomed to them 

 can distinguish them from pure-blooded Canada 

 Geese. 



The Snow Geese hybrids were originally pro- 

 duced with a white Conunon Goose and a Snow 

 gander. The offspring are usually white with 

 dark wings and sometimes dark tails also. They 

 retain the mandibular hollow of the Snow Geese. 

 When this hybrid is bred back with the pure 

 Snow, a white goose is produced that can be 



