50 MID-APRIL 
waddled up the bank in company in order 
to get away from us in the boat, for we 
rowed quicker than they could swim. I snap- 
shotted them (Plate XIII). We could never 
make out how the female had become dis- 
abled ; she may have been ill, or heavy in 
the egg, or injured, and perhaps had been shot 
at. At any rate she was afterwards found 
dead. On submitting the photograph to a 
well-known authority, I was informed that 
the birds were Canada Geese (Anas cana- 
densis). It is very improbable that they 
had flown to this country of their own ac- 
cord, so they were doubtless imported birds 
and visiting here from some private waters. 
The owner must be mourning the loss of 
them, or that of the hen at all events ; per- 
haps the male got back to his old home. 
The white collar just under their heads was 
a very marked feature of their long black 
necks. The bodies were dark, the breasts 
and underpart of the body behind grey, and 
the backs brown, whilst the tail and pinions 
were black. 
