HUTCHINS' GOOSE. 



I_I UTCHINS' Goose during the winter season frequents 

 chiefly the western portions of the United States. It 

 breeds in the far north on the shores and islands of the 

 Arctic Sea, and in the Delta of the Yukon, also at St. 

 Michael's. It is abundant in the Aleutian Islands and 

 nests on Atka and the Nearer Islands. The nests are 

 placed on the shores near fresh water, or on small islands 

 in the lakes or large ponds, and consist of a quantity of 

 dry grass and leaves with some down and feathers inter- 

 mingled. The number of eggs is generally six, and in the 

 Aleutian Islands Dall says this species chooses hilltops 

 for its breeding places, and the young were unfledged on 

 July lo. In its habits and economy Hutchins' Goose re- 

 sembles the Cackling Goose, but in appearance perhaps is 

 nearest to the Canada Goose, though greatly inferior in 

 size, its average total length being about ten inches less. 

 In its migrations it usually keeps to the sea-coast, but in 

 the United States it passes through the Mississippi Val- 

 ley to the Gulf, but not in any great numbers, while on 

 the Pacific coast it is one of the most abundant of the 

 Geese. It associates with the Canada Goose, and once 

 I shot a fine specimen of Hutchins' Goose from out a 

 flock of its larger brethren at Puckaway Lake, Wiscon- 

 sin. This specimen is now in the Museum of Natural 

 History in New York. The flock was flying by, and 

 noticing a small bird toward the rear of the line, I killed 

 it, and found I had a fine specimen of Hutchins' Goose. 

 In California this species frequents the marshes on the 

 coasts and also visits the plains in the interior, and joins 

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