THE AMERICAN WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 



"As stupid as a Goose! " 



Yes, I know that is the way 

 our family is usually spoken of. 

 But then I'm not a tame Goose, 

 you know. We wild fellows 

 think we know a little more than 

 the one which waddles about 

 the duck-pond in your back yard. 



He sticks to one old place all 

 the time. Waddles and talks 

 and looks the same year after 

 year. We migratory birds, on 

 the other hand, fly from place to 

 place. Our summers are passed 

 here, our winters there ; so that 

 we pick up a thing or two the 

 common Goose never dreams of. 



" The laughing Goose ! " 



Yes, some people call me that. 

 I don't know why, unless my 

 Honk, honk, honk! sounds like a 

 laugh. Perhaps, though, it is 

 because the look about my 

 mouth is so pleasant. 



Did you ever see a flock of us 

 in motion, in October or Novem- 

 ber, going to our winter home ? 



Ah, that is a sight! When 

 the time comes for us to start, 

 we form ourselves into a figure 

 like this "]> a big gander tak- 

 ing the lead where the dot is. 

 Such a honk, honk, honking you 

 never heard. People who have 

 heard us, and seen us, say it 

 sounds like a great army over- 

 head. 



Where do we live in summer, 

 and what do we eat? 



You will find us throughout 

 the whole of North America, but 

 in greater numbers on the Pacific 

 coast. The fresh-water lakes 

 are our favorite resorts. We 

 visit the wheat fields and corn 

 fields, nibbling the young, ten- 

 der blades and feeding on the 

 scattered grain. The farmers 

 don't like it a bit, but we don't 

 care. That is the reason our 

 flesh tastes so sweet. 



And tough ! 



My, how you talk! It is only 

 we old fellows that are tough, we 

 fellows over a year old. But of 

 course a great many people 

 don't know that, or don't care. 



Why, I once heard of a gan- 

 der that had waddled aroirnd a 

 barn-yard for five long years. 

 Thanksgiving Day arrived, and 

 they roasted him for dinner. 



Think of eating an old, old 

 friend like that ! 



Where do we build our nests? 



Away up north, in Alaska, 

 and on the islands of the Arctic 

 Sea. We make them of hay, 

 feathers, and down, buildingthem 

 in hollow places on the ground. 



How many eggs? 



Six. I am very good to 

 my mate, and an affectionate 

 father. 



166 . 



