WHITE-CHEEKED GOOSE. 



'T^HIS is purely a western bird, ranging from Sitka, in 

 Alaska, along the Pacific coast to California in winter. 

 It resembles very closely the Canada Goose, but the gen- 

 eral plumage is perhaps a little browner than that of the 

 commoner form; the white throat patches are separated 

 in some examples, by a black stripe, and a white collar is 

 around the lower part of the neck. This collar seems 

 only to be possessed by birds in the fall and winter, 

 gradually disappearing in spring, and becoming obso- 

 lete in summer. The habits of this subspecies do not 

 differ from those of the Canada Goose, but its range is 

 much more restricted. It does not appear to go north 

 of Sitka, in Alaska, and was not seen around the Delta 

 of the Yukon or vicinity of St. Michael's by any of the 

 naturalists who have visited those districts. It is not im- 

 probable that this form is often found associating with 

 flocks of the Canada Goose, and individuals may have 

 been killed in various parts of our country, but as it 

 would require an expert to distinguish them from the 

 well-known species, and even if the white neck ring was 

 noticed, it would probably be deemed an accidental 

 occurrence and of no consequence, few instances of its 

 appearance have been reported away from its usual line 

 of migration. At St. Michael's Island this bird is called 

 by the Russians the Lidenna Goose, the name given to 

 the Emperor Goose on the Aleutian Islands. 



