i8o THE BRENT GOOSE 



THE BRENT GOOSE 



BERNICLA BRENTA 



Head, beak, neck, breast, feet, quills, and tail, black ; on each side of the 

 neck a patch of white with a few black feathers intermixed ; upper 

 plumage dingy ; all the tail-coverts white ; belly brownish grey, barred 

 on the flanks with greyish white. Length twenty-two to twenty-three 

 inches. Eggs greyish white. 



The Wild Geese which we have hitherto been considering feed on 

 grass, clover, and grain, in quest of which they resort to inland 

 marshes, meadows, and arable land ; but the Brent is a decidedly 

 marine bird. During its annual visits to our shores it stays out 

 at sea by night, cradled by the billows, and at early dawn repairs 

 to the muddy flats and sand-banks, where it feeds exclusively on 

 marine plants, especially laver and zostera. As soon as these are 

 left bare by the ebbing tide, the Brents are taught by their instinct 

 that they have no time to lose, and hasten in ' skeins ' or ' gaggles " 

 making in their flight a trumpet-like noise, which, heard at a distance, 

 resembles that of a pack of harriers or fox-hounds in full cry. They 

 prefer to take their stand en those parts of the ooze which are 

 least intersected by creeks, and there, if left undisturbed, they 

 continue to feed without intermission till the rising tide lifts them 

 off their feet. Then, away to sea again ! or, if the weather be boister- 

 ous, they seek for shelter in the rivers and estuaries. They are 

 local in their attachments, returning annually to the same feeding- 

 grounds. They do not associate from choice with other species, 

 for though they may be frequently seen feeding in the vicinity of 

 various Waders, they form no society with them, and are, indeed, 

 in quest of different food. Seaside fowlers are well acquainted 

 with the peculiarity of their habits, and not only know where to 

 look for them when they are settled, but at what points they can 

 most easily be intercepted, going and returning. It is the custom 

 of the fowler to conceal himself behind some lurking-place, natural 

 or artificial ; or, if this be wanting, to stretch himself on the ground. 

 Then, as a skein, unconscious of danger, approaches, he suddenly 

 shows himself ; the birds, panic-struck, huddle together before 

 they alter their hne of flight, and the sportsman fires into the midst 

 of them. 



They are the most abundant of all the Geese which frequent 

 our shores, and are killed in great numbers and sent to market. 

 They come to us in November and remain till late in February, 

 when they begin to migrate in successive flights, the youngest birtl 

 staying until April. It is not believed that they ever remain to 

 breed, but that they repair to the Arctic regions, and make their 

 nests oi withered herbage in marshy ground. 



