The True Geese. 39 



further on and only differs from the True 

 Geese in the shape of the bill), may 

 always be recognised by the pattern of 

 the primaries, the uniformly dark axil- 

 laries and the white upper tail-coverts. 

 These characters apply equally to the 

 old and young birds, and are very con- 

 stant. 



The True Geese may be divided into 

 three sections. In the first, which con- 

 tains the Grey Lag-Goose and the two 

 White-fronted Geese, the whole bill, in- 

 cluding the nails, is of one uniform colour 

 throughout. In the second, which con- 

 tains only the Barred-headed Goose, the 

 bill itself is entirely of a pale colour, 

 but the nail is black. In the third, 

 containing the Bean-Goose and its allies, 

 the bill is black, with a broad, pale band 

 across it, between the nostrils and the 

 nails. These characters will be found 

 very constant and of great use in sepa- 

 rating young birds. 



The Geese of the first two sections 

 have always been well understood, and 

 there is no reason to think that sportsmen 

 have failed to identify them properly. 

 The Geese of the third section, how- 

 ever, have always been difficult to deter- 

 mine. Count Salvadori, when writing 



