WATER FOWL OF INDIA AND ASIA. 27 
Its bill is rather over two inches long, and the shank three and - 
a-quarter ; the wing sixteen inches ; the total length is between 
two and three feet. 
It is a North American bird chiefly but also found in North- 
East Asia, and visits Japan in winter. 
The Brent Goose. 
Branta bernicla, SALVADORI, Brit. Mus. Cat., Birds, Vol. 
SOS VIEW pcb19. 
Kokugan of the Japanese. 
Is asmall species, about the size of a large duck, and very 
dark in colour, the head, neck, and breast quite black, with 
a white bar on each side close below the head. The stern 
is, however, white as in geese generally; and the belly and 
flanks are smoky-grey, the latter more or less strongly marked 
with whitish tips to the feathers. 
The length of this goose is about twenty-one inches, the bill 
about ane nn glare shank two, and closed wing just over a 
foot. It is a Northern bird, ranging from Europe to Eastern 
North America, and breeding in high latitudes : the four eggs it 
lays are creamy-white, and it builds near the sea, being purely 
a sea-bird, which feeds chiefly on sea-grass and other marine 
vegetation. Onits winter migration it is found on the Japanese 
coasts. This is the chief wild-goose pursued by the gunner on 
British waters. 
The Black Brent. 
Branta nigricans, SALVADORI, Brit. Mus. Cat., Birds, 
Wolpe ViELe p. 123: 
Is hardly more than a sub-species of the above, with the 
belly nearly as dark as the breast and the general tone of 
the back darker. The white neck-patches, however, meet in 
front. This is the characteristic BRENT of Western North 
America, but like the other, it visits Japan in winter. 
Tke Snow Goose. 
Chen hyperboreus, SALVADORI, Brit. Mus. Cat., Birds, 
Vol. XXVIII, p: 84. 
Haku-gan of the Japanese. 
Belongs to a group with grooved or pleated featherings of 
