THE AMERICAN WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 



KITE -FRONTED or 

 L,aughing Geese are found 

 in considerable numbers 

 on the prairies of the 

 Mississippi Valley. They are called 

 Prairie Brant by market-men and 

 gunners. Though not abundant on the 

 Atlantic seaboard, vast flocks may be 

 seen in the autumn months on 

 the Pacific Slope. In Oregon and 

 northern California some remain all 

 winter, though the greater number go 

 farther south. They appear to prefer 

 the grassy patches along streams flowing 

 into the ocean, or the tide-water flats 

 so abundant in Oregon and Washing- 

 ton, where the Speckle-bellies, as they 

 are called, feed in company with 

 the Snow Geese. The nesting place 

 of this favorite species is in the wooded 

 districts of Alaska and along the 

 Yukon river. No nest is formed, from 

 seven to ten eggs being laid in a 

 depression in the sand. 



It is said that notwithstanding all 

 references to their ungainly movement 

 and doltish intellect, the Wild Goose, 

 of which the White-fronted is one of 

 the most interesting, is held in high 

 estimation by the sportsman, and even 

 he, if keen of observation, will learn 

 from it many things that will entitle 

 the species to advancement in the 

 mental grade, and prove the truth of a 

 very old adage, that you cannot judge 

 of things by outward appearance. A 

 goose, waddling around the barnyard, 

 may not present a very graceful appear- 

 ance, nor seem endowed with much 

 intelligence, yet the ungainly creature, 

 when in its natural state, has an ease 

 of motion in flight which will compare 

 with that of any of the feathered 

 tribe, and shows a knowledge of the 



means of defense, and of escaping the 

 attacks of its enemies, that few 

 possess. There is probably no bird 

 more cautious, vigilant, and fearful at 

 danger than this. Should their 

 suspicion be aroused, they rise upward 

 slowly in a dense cloud of white, and 

 sound their alarm notes, but they may 

 not go over fifty yards before they 

 alight again, so that the amusement of 

 watching them may be continued 

 without much toil or inconvenience. 



The White-fronted Goose visits 

 Illinois only during its migrations, 

 coining some time in October or early 

 in November, and returning in March 

 or April. During its sojourn there it 

 frequents chiefly open prairies, or 

 wheat fields, where it nibbles the 

 young and tender blades, and corn- 

 fields, where it feeds upon the scattered 

 grains. In California, Ridgway says, 

 it is so numerous in winter as to be 

 very destructive of the growing wheat 

 crop, and it is said that in the Sacra- 

 mento and San Joaquin valleys, farmers 

 often find it necessary to employ men 

 by the month to hunt and drive them 

 from the fields. This is most success- 

 fully accomplished by means" of brush 

 hiding places, or " blinds," or by 

 approaching the flocks on horseback 

 by the side of an ox which has been 

 trained for the purpose. 



The White-fronted Goose is greatly 

 esteemed for the excellent quality of 

 its flesh, which, by those who have 

 learned to appreciate it, is generally 

 considered superior to that of any other 

 species. While the cruel pursuit of 

 the bird, merely for purpose of sport 

 ought not to be continued, appreciation 

 of its value as food may well be 

 encouraged. 



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