56 ANATIDAG 
On a few occasions I have watched them, from ambush, 
feeding in the noon-day. One, two, or perhaps three birds 
will act as sentinels, taking up their positions at the edge 
of the flock. The sentinels appear to eat but little; they 
keep their heads up and necks stretched, and peer sharply 
around until relieved of their duties by other members of 
the flock. Some authorities are of the opinion that the 
sentry-goose keeps up a low muttering cackle, becoming 
silent only when danger threatens, and that by this means 
he attracts the attention of the flock. Other observers 
state that an alarm-note is not given'by the sentry until he 
perceives danger. I have not heard a distinct cry of alarm 
from the sentry when I have suddenly appeared from under 
ambush, though in almost every case the birds looked up 
and peered anxiously around prior to taking flight. I 
have noted, however, that as long as I lay concealed in a 
ditch and completely out of view of the birds, voices, not 
from the sentinels alone, but from several individuals of 
the flock, were to be heard. 
Voice.—The voice of the Grey Lag, when alarmed, is 
loud and harsh; some of its notes are pitched lower 
than others. The ‘cackling,’ which seems to denote con- 
fidence among the flock that no enemy is in sight, 1s softer 
and more modulated in tone. It is not unlike the ‘ cackle’ 
of our domestic bird. 
Flight.—The Grey Lag-Goose is strong on the wing; 
when taking long journeys a flock will assume the form 
of the letter V, which is characteristic of the flight of many 
other species of geese. 
Food.—The chief food is grass; but grain, ripe and 
unripe, is also eaten. 
Nest.—The nest is usually placed in heather, of which it 
is largely composed. In marshy places it is formed of moss 
and reeds; it is lined thickly with down plucked from the 
mother’s breast. The eggs, five to six in number, are dull 
yellowish-white. They are laid about the middle of April, 
and at the onset of incubation the males congregate, and 
leaving the females, take to the nearest water in the vicinity. 
The Grey Lag is the only species of Wild Goose which 
breeds in a state of nature in the British Isles. It formerly 
bred in the fens of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, nest- 
lings having been taken from the first-mentioned county 
up to 1773, while in the latter county, breeding continued 
until the beginning of the succeeding century (Saunders). 
This species is supposed to have bred in Ireland during 
