;6 



ANATID.E. 



ly very common in the fens of this country, residing there 

 the whole year, breeding there, and bringing out eight or 

 nine young ; but that the general system of draining pursued 

 in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire, has been the 

 means of driving them away. Certain it is that now the 

 Grey-legged Goose is comparatively a rare bird at any season, 

 and whole winters pass away without a single example occur- 

 ring in the London market, though the bird is well known to 

 some who are constantly upon the look-out for it. A few 

 specimens appeared in October 1837, and in January 1838, 

 and I considered myself fortunate in obtaining two specimens 

 in March 1840, at the common wild goose price, of a poul- 

 terer who did not know them as distinct from the Bean 

 Goose. Montagu says they have been killed in open coun- 

 tries when feeding upon young green wheat ; they feed also 

 on the grasses, aquatic plants, and any sort of grain. 



The Grey-legged Goose is considered to have bred former- 

 ly in L-eland, but is now a rare visiter there, even in winter. 

 A specimen is occasionally obtained in Devonshire,* and the 

 same may be said of it in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Durham, 

 and Northumberland. This species visits both Orkney and 

 Shetland in winter, but does not remain to breed there. 

 Richard Dann, Esq. who has supplied me with interesting 

 notes referring to many of the species of this extensive family 

 of birds, more particularly as to their breeding ground and 

 habits in Scandinavia, says, " On the inlets and islands from 

 Bergen northwards, this Goose is not uncommon during the 

 summer, particularly about Hitteren, where they are tolerably 

 numerous early in August, and one of our party shot one 

 there, which proved to be a very large gander. Their migra- 

 tion so far north, however, seems to be confined to the coast, 

 never having met with them in Lapland, or in the northern 

 parts of Sweden or Norway. They make their appearance 

 * Montagu's collection of birds, as left by him, did not contain this species. 



