[ii8] BIRDS OF OREGON 



present. Neither of us has hunted in this area, but we have examined 

 numerous geese killed there without finding a single ' 'Cackler. ' ' At present 

 we know it chiefly as a western Oregon bird that, curiously enough, is 

 most abundant in the State in the Klamath area on the east side of the 

 Cascades. 



Black Brant: 



Brant a nigricans (Lawrence) 



DESCRIPTION.- "Adults: Head entirely black, neck almost encircled by a broad white 

 collar open behind; upper parts dark sooty brown; breast black, shading to dark 

 slaty; anal region white. Young: white collar indistinct or wanting; larger wing 

 coverts and secondaries broadly tipped with white." (Bailey) Downy young: "The 

 downy young black brant is thickly covered with soft down in dark colors; the 

 upper half of the head, including the lores, to a point a little below the eyes is 

 'fuscous' or 'benzo brown'; the chin is white; the back varies from 'benzo brown' to 

 'hair brown,' darkest on the rump; the flanks and chest shade from 'hair brown' to 

 'light drab,' fading off nearly to white on the belly and throat." (Bent) Si^e: 

 "Length ii-z^, wing 12.. 70-13. 50, bill 1.2.0-1.35." (Bailey) Nest: A depression in 

 the moss and grass of the tundra, lined with down. Eggs: 4 to 8, buff to cream. 

 DISTRIBUTION. Genet al: Breeds on Arctic Coast and Islands of Siberia and Alaska to 

 Coronation Gulf. Winters on Pacific Coast from Vancouver to Lower California. 

 In Oregon: Common winter resident of coast. Appears inland as a straggler, if at all. 



THERE HAS BEEN a great deal of confusion in the minds of early observers 

 as to the Black Brant on the inland waters of Oregon. Bendire (1877) 

 reported it as an uncommon migrant seen several times in the hands of 

 the Indians; Mearns (1879) recorded it from Fort Klamath on the author- 

 ity of Dr. Henry McElderry, the post surgeon; Anthony (1886) considered 

 it as occasional in spring and fall in Washington County; and Woodcock 

 (1902.) listed it as found inland at Dayton, Scio, and Elkton, on the 

 authority of various observers; but so far as we can find, not one of these 

 records is supported by a specimen. It is possible, of course, that in the 

 earlier days of more water and a greater flight of waterfowl this maritime 

 species did occasionally drift inland. Yet the confusion that exists 

 throughout the country in inland records of the Black Brant leads us to 

 seek another explanation. 



The Little Cackling Goose (Branta minima), smallest and darkest mem- 

 ber of the canadensis group, was not recognized as distinct until Ridgway 

 described it in 1885. Inasmuch as it is much darker and quite distinct 

 from either of the other two representatives of the group found inland, 

 it is quite possible that these early records refer to that dark race rather 

 than to the present species. This theory seems strengthened by the fact 

 that Merrill in 1888 reported B. c. minima as a common species at Fort 

 Klamath but made no mention of B. nigricans. However this may be, the 

 facts today are that the Little Cackling Goose is still a common bird 

 inland, whereas the Black Brant, known also as "China Goose," is 



