248 FEATHERED GAME 



white, also the edge of the wing. The under 

 parts are covered with a thick coat of black 

 down beneath the feathers as in the ducks. 

 The bill is whitish, marked at the end by a 

 dull, reddish patch. Frontal shield chestnut. 

 Legs and feet greenish. Iris bright red. 

 Length from fourteen to sixteen inches; extent 

 from twenty-three to twenty-six inches. 



THE GREATER SNOW GOOSE. 



(Chen hyperborea nivalis.) 



This species is one of general distribution in 

 North America, though in comparison with the 

 numbers found in the West the Snow Goose is 

 of rare occurrence in New England, and here, 

 as in the rest of the Atlantic States, it is entirely 

 maritime. These birds breed in the far north, 

 mostly on the Arctic shores of the continent and 

 on the almost unknown islands beyond, and their 

 only visits to New England are made during 

 the migrations. Even then they stay scarcely 

 longer than is necessary to rest and lay in a 

 stock of provisions for another flight. They ar- 

 rive on their journeying to the north a few days 

 later than does the Canada goose and commence 



