GEESE 123 



having been able to observe others while they were unconscious 

 of my whereabouts and feeding, but judge that it is a charac- 

 teristic habit. 



They feed on various berries that are abundant in the far 

 north, and in sections of the west they eat grain when obtain- 

 able. The stomachs of many spring specimens I examined 

 proved to contain only large quantities of grass, roots and 

 stubble, and much tvhite sand. 



172a. Branta canadensis hutchinsii (Rich.). Hutchin's 

 Goose. 



Plumage : the only practical difference in plumage is that in this sub- 

 species the tail feathers are only 14 to 16 in number ; the measurements of 

 the birds are smaller. Length (in birds in flesh) 26.00 to 34.00 ; wing 15.00 

 to 16.00 ; culmen 1.20 to 1.75 ; tarsus 2.25 to 3.00. 



Geog. Dist. — North America, breeding far north and migrating south in 

 winter through the western United States ; also northeastern Asia ; casual in 

 Maine. 



County Records. — Cumberland ; Dr. H. H. Brock of Portland has a specimen 

 which was taken at Cape Elizabeth, November 13, 1894, (A List of Birds of 

 Me. p. 37 ; also F. & S. 20, p. 125) ; three received in the spring of 1899 from 

 this vicinity, (Portland) (Lord). Franklin ; I have seen a specimen said to 

 have been shot in the Rangeley region, (Brock). 



This subspecies is a mere straggler or casual migrant, appear- 

 ing at the same seasons and usually associated with flocks of 

 the Canada Goose. The habits are similar but eggs are said 

 to average smaller, one measuring 2.90 x 2.07. 



173. Branta bernicla (Linn.). Brant. 



Plumage of adults : neck black, sprinkled with white at the sides ; head, 

 throat and upper breast black ; belly and longer and lateral tail coverts white ; 

 lower breast and sides grayish ; back brownish gray with the feathers tipped 

 with lighter. Immature plumage : secondaries white-tipped, forming con- 

 spicuous bars ; white on neck in small specks. Wing 12.00 to 13.50 ; culmen 

 1.35 ; tarsus 2.25. 



Geog. Dist. — Northern parts of northern hemisphere ; in North America 

 chiefly on the Atlantic coast ; rare away from salt water ; breeds in Arctic 

 regions and in winter migrates southward, reaching the Carolinas. 



County Records. — Cumberland; rare, (Brock); common in the spring of 

 1901, (Lord). Hancock ; spring migrant, (Dorr). Kennebec ; Hamlin, R. S. 



