164 
LESSER SNOW GOOSE 
169. Chen hypeboreus. 25 in. 
Plumage entirely white; ends of primaries black; top 
and back of head sometimes tinged with rusty; bill and 
feet red; eye brown. This variety is like the next, which 
is the bird commonly seen in the East, although the 
Lesser Goose is found east to the Mississippi Valley. 
GREATER SNOW GOOSE 
169a: C. h. nivalis. 33 in. 
Snow Geese travel in large flocks, the same as do the 
Canada Geese, led by an old male that has traveled the 
airy road many times before. At times, flocks are seen 
on the prairies, so large that they give the ground the 
appearance of being covered with snow. They are very 
wary and will all take flight at the first alarm. 
Notes.—Usually silent, but they sometimes *“ honk.” 
Nest.—Of grasses, sometimes, but not always, lined 
with down; 5 to 8 buffy white eggs (3.40 x 2.40); June. 
Range.—Breeds in the Arctic regions; winters on the 
South Atlantic coast. 
