90 INDIAN DUCKS 



eight hours. Mr. Finn records from three live liirds l)efore hiui, that of the 

 soft parts " tiio hill is of a Ijeautiful •i'ose-i)ink, not orange .... the 

 eyelids arc lemon-yellow. In its dark eyes and orange feet, &c." All 

 three of these birds had the soft parts similarly coloured. According to 

 Alpheraky : — 



In the Lesser Whito-frontod Goose the yellow colouring and slightly 

 swollen state of the ceroma are extremely characteristic. These swollen 

 eyelids appearing so early (in the first plumage) are of a lemon-yellow 

 colour, forming a complete ring round the eye, which, as we have already 

 seen, is never tlie case w-ith the White-fronted Goose." 



Young'. — Are less marked with black on the lower parts, often not at all 

 and tlie white on the forehead is absent. This seems to appear first in the 

 spring of the first year, and increases gradually with age, probaljly not 

 reaching its full width until about the third \ear. 



Distribution. — This little goose is found over the greater part of 

 Northern Europe, to the west as far as Great Britain (l)ut only on 

 rare occasions), in Lapland and eastwards, through Hiberia and 

 Northern China. In the cold weather, it is found in Western 

 Europe, Turkey, Asia Minor, North Egypt, Persia, Afghanistan, 

 Northern India, China and Japan. 



In India it has been but rarely recorded, and I can find few notes 

 of its occurrence since the publication of ' Game-Birds.' Blanford, in 

 ' Eastern Persia,' ii., p. 30H, records Aitscr cyiithropiis from Persia, 

 and in a footnote he says : — 



"One goose at least is very common in Persia. Many couple 

 remain to breed in the reeds round the lake Dashtiarjan and the 

 marshes near Sliiraz, whence goslings are often In'ought into the 

 town. I have never seen them in mature plumage, nor lieen able to 

 shoot an old bird, so cannot say to what species they belong." 



I was told Ijy a correspondent in Cashmere that he had shot four 

 geese there in 1901 which were of this species. Mr. H. E. -Tames, in 

 the lecture, part of which was given in No. 2, Vol. viii, Bombay 

 N.H.S. Journal, says: "A friend, of Sukkur, last year shot the very 

 rare Aiiscr eri/tliropus, the White-fronted Goose, and ate it." I 

 conclude that Anser crijtJiropus is correctly given, and that it is only 

 the trivial name which is not the one by which we generally know 

 the Dwarf Goose. 



I am afraid a very large number of birds which should be 

 skinned and preserved, are plucked and eaten. Some dozen years 



