NATURAL HISTORY 



565 



^he beuk like that of the speckled 

 loon ; and like them, it cannot 

 fi}-, but flutters along on the sur- 

 face of the water, or dives for 

 security when pursued. 



7. The brant are of three 

 kinds : the white, the brown, and 

 the pied. I'he white brant are 

 very common on the shores of 

 the Pacific, particularly below the 

 water, where they lemain in vast 

 numbers during the winter : they 

 feed like the swan-geese, on the 

 grass, roots, and seeds which 

 grow in the marshes : this bird 

 is about the size of the brown 

 brant, or a third less than the 

 common Canadian wild goose : 

 the head is rather larger, the 

 beak thicker than tliat of the wild 

 goose, shorter, xlnd of mucli the 

 same form, being of a yellowish 

 white colour, except the edges of 

 the chaps,' which are frequently 

 of a dark brown : the legs and 

 feet are of tlje same form as the 

 goose, and are of a pale flesh co- 

 lour : the tail is composed of six- 

 teen feathers of equal length with 

 those of the goose and brown 

 brant, and hears about the same 

 proportion in point of length : 

 the eye is of a dark colour, and 

 nothing remarkable in size : the 

 wings are large \vhen compared 

 with those of the goose, but not 

 so much so as in the brown brant : 

 the colour of the plumage is a 

 pure unifoim white, except the 

 large featliers at the exti'eniity of 

 tlic w ings, which are black : the 

 large feathers at the first joint of 

 the wing next to the body are 

 white : the note of this bird dif- 

 fers essentially from that of the 

 goose ; it more resembles that of 

 the brown brant, but is somewliat 

 difl'erent : it is like the note of a 



young domestic goose, that has 

 not perfectly attained its full 

 iound : the flesh of this bird is 

 exceedingly fine, prefct^ble to 

 either the goose or brown brant. 



'2. The brown brant are much 

 of the same colour, form, and 

 size as the white, only that their 

 wings are considerably longer 

 and more pointed : the plumage 

 of the upper part of the body, 

 neck, head, and tail, is much the 

 colour of the Canadian goose, but 

 somewhat darker, in consequence 

 of some dark feathers irregularly 

 scattered throughout. They have 

 not the same white on the neck 

 and sides of the head as the goose, 

 nor is the neck darker than the 

 body : like the goose, they have 

 some white feathers on the rump 

 at the joining of the tail : the 

 beak is dark, and the legs and 

 feet also dark with a greenish 

 cast : the breast and belly are of a 

 lighter colour than the back, and 

 are also irregularly intermixed 

 with dark brown and black fea- 

 thers, which give them a pied 

 appearance : the flesh is darker 

 and better than that of the goose. 

 The habits of these birds resem- 

 ble those of the geese, w ith this 

 difference, that they do not re- 

 main in this climate in such num- 

 bei-g during the winter as the 

 others, and that thev set out 

 earlier in the fall season on their 

 return to the south, and arrive 

 later in the spring than the goose. 

 There is no difterence between 

 this bird and that called simply 

 the brant, so common on the 

 lakes of the Ohio and Missis- 

 si])])!. The small goose of this 

 country is rather less than the 

 brant ; its head and tieck like the 

 brant. 



3. The 



