BEAN GOOSE. 267 



unapproachable gi-ounJ. They are very abundant in Tip- 

 perary, Limerick, Cork, and the midland counties, where 

 they find their food to perfection." 



It is difficult to define with accuracy the range of this 

 species in Europe and Asia, owing to the doubt which so 

 often exists as to the correctness of the identification by 

 the recorders. It visits Iceland ; breeds in considerable 

 numbers in Norway and Sweden, mostly beyond 64° N. lat.; 

 and also in North Russia, where Messrs. Seebohm and Harvie- 

 Brown found it nesting on the ' tundras ' of the Yenesei. 

 At Dvoinik, on 27th of July, the former observed a migratory 

 flock of several hundred old Geese and about as many young, 

 marching like a regiment of soldiers, most of them being in 

 full moult and unable to fly, so that eleven adults and 

 five goslings were secured. Capt. A. H. Markham, R.N., 

 brought back specimens from Novaya Zemlya, where he 

 found this species very abundant in July and August, 

 especially in the Matyushin Shar and on the east coast. 

 Its breeding range extends across northern Siberia to 

 Amurland;* and in winter flocks visit Japan and China, 

 although this species has not yet been identified in India. 

 It occurs in winter in Asia Minor, Palestine, North Africa, 

 and, in varying proportions, throughout the basin of the 

 Mediterranean. Westward it has been known to go to 

 Madeira, and over the Continent of Europe it is generally 

 distributed on passage and in winter. In Picardy it is 

 said to be the most numerous species, and Vieillot men- 

 tions that one of the names of this bird throughout 

 France is Oie des moissons, or Harvest Goose, from its 

 frequenting corn-fields. 



The breeding-habits of the Bean-Goose do not diff'er 

 materially from those of its congeners : an egg brought from 

 Norway, and given to the Author by the late Mr. Hewitson, 



• The names of Anser grandis, A. middendorffi, A. serrirostris, have been 

 conferred on forms of doubtful specific distinctness. Examples from North- 

 eastern Asia and China have very large bills, and some males in Mr. Seebohm 's 

 collection show a tawny colour on the head and neck, like that in A. cygnoides, 

 which is found in the same regions. 



