1920 J Figgins, Races of Branta canadensis. 97 



says on page 117; "Lower parts deep grayish brown or brownish 

 gray (often not conspicuously paler than upper parts), abruptly 

 defined against white of anal region; white cheek-patches usually 

 separated by a black throat-stripe, or black mottling on throat; 

 white collar round lower neck usually very distinct." 



Grinnell, Bryant and Storer say, (page 225), " The White-cheeked 

 Goose is a large, dark-colored northwestern race . . . . " Baird 

 in describing it states, (page 766) " The name might be taken from 

 the white collar, but for the possibility that this may or may not 

 be always constant." 



Coues' description of occidenialis, (page 904), is as follows: 

 "Similar to the last, {canadensis); of equal size or nearly so, and 

 tail 18-20-feathered. Coloration averaging darker than in the 

 last, on under parts especially, against which the white of anal 

 and crissal region is very well defined. Black of neck bounded 

 below in front by a white half-collar, and white cravat apt to be 

 untied in front making a pair of white cheek-patches. Bill averag- 

 ing shorter, perhaps never 2.00 along culmen, and tarsus relatively 

 longer. The best samples are well marked; others shade into the 

 common form inextricably." 



Referring to Baird's type of Bernicla occidenialis, Swarth (page 

 6), says: "The differences are (1) that the type specimen has a 

 faintly indicated trace of a white half collar at the base of the 

 neck, which none of the Alaskan birds possesses; (2) it has a more 

 nearly continuous line of black spots separating the white cheek 

 patches; (3) it is of .a more reddish brown color ventrally. These 

 are all differences which, judging from more extensive series of 

 other subspecies of canadensis, may well be due to individual varia- 

 tion, and altogether the Alaskan birds appear to be sufficiently 

 like the type of occidenialis to justify the application of that name 

 to the breeding birds of the region where they were secured." 

 Farther on, the same author says: "Of the Alaskan specimens, not 

 one shows even a single white feather at the base of the neck, and 

 while the black throat bar is in three cases faintly indicated by a 

 few black spots, in the remaining five there is not a mark to inter- 

 rupt the continuity of the white cheek and throat patch. Thus 

 these supposedly characteristic markings are shown to be no more 

 constantly present in the race occidenialis than they are in true 



