26o Natural History Bulletin. 



lighter, that of the rump and top of the head remaining a seal 

 brown, and the brown collar becomes lighter and less distinctly 

 defined. 



In still older specimens, which, however, are almost entirely 

 downy, the sides and flanks are closely and regularly barred 

 with dark brown and brownish buff. The throat and breast 

 are gray, the collar being a yellowish brown. The stripes 

 about the head are less clearly defined, although the white 

 dorsal spots are still conspicuous. 



In a specimen which has attained the greater part of its 

 contour feathers, these changes in the direction of the obliter- 

 ation of primitive markings have progressed still further, the 

 white dorsal spots being almost the only remnant of the con- 

 spicuous markings described above. In this specimen the 

 down still remains on the head, neck and interscapular region, 

 and extends ventrally in a wedge-shaped mass, broadest anteri- 

 orly, and running to a point in the median line of the belly. 



In still older, but not full fledged specimens, the white dor- 

 sal spots have finally disappeared. The development of the 

 peculiar stiff tail feathers of this genus is well shown in the 

 series before us. In the 3^oungest specimens they project 

 slightly bevond the general down}- covering, and show sparse- 

 ly scattered filamentous barbs, springing from a comparatively 

 stiff shaft. These barbs bear no booklets. In larger speci- 

 mens these sparsely barbed ends project beyond the growing 

 ends of the full webbed rectrices, a considerable length of the 

 shafts between the sparsely barbed and fully webbed parts 

 being devoid of barbs. In the largest of the downy speci- 

 mens the tail feathers are long and well-formed, but still bear 

 the original sparsely barbed ends on their tips. By holding 

 these up to the light, a series of punctures are seen to mark 

 the points where the tips will finally break off, leaving the 

 normall}'- developed feather. 



Fourteen specimens secured; i ?, 13 downy young. 



Chen hyperborea (Pall.). Lesser Snow Goose. Exceed- 

 ingly numerous during migrations, but none seen by us. The 



