228 BRITISH’ SEA BIRDS: 
known to dive. The flight of this species is both 
rapid and powerful, the birds usually forming into 
Vs or Ws to perform their journeys. The call- 
note is a loud, far-sounding gag-gag, variously 
modulated on different occasions. Its food con- 
sists largely of grass and tender grain plants, 
but grain of all kinds is sought, together with 
various buds and leaves. 
The Gray Lag Goose breeds early, in some 
localities the eggs being laid in March or April, 
a month later in the more northern districts. It 
is a social bird at this period, and numbers of 
nests are often made close together. Its breeding 
grounds are secluded moors and swamps. The 
huge nest, made on the ground, is placed amongst 
heath or dense vegetation, and is composed of 
branches of heather, dry grass, rushes, bracken, 
turf, and so on, and lined with down. The six 
or eight eggs are creamy-white. The gander keeps 
guard close to the nest, whilst the goose incubates 
the eggs; and when the young are reared a move 
is usually made seawards. 
WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 
This Goose, the Branta albifrons of Scopoli, but 
the Axnser albifrons of most modern writers, is a 
winter visitor to our islands, not only local in distri- 
bution, but much more abundant in some years than 
others. It may be readily distinguished from the 
preceding species by its orange-yellow bill, white 
