THE BOOK OF MIGRATORY BIRDS 49 



of cheering her long vigil than of assuring his anxious 

 mate that he is all right. After twenty-eight days' close 

 sitting, the brown, downy brood hatches out, delighting 

 the maternal heart. Strange to say, after all her solicitude, 

 she is strangely lacking in prudence. She will march her 

 brood over long distances, never looking behind her, until 

 some drop from exhaustion. Then, again, otters and pike 

 devour them in the water, and cats and other enemies on 

 land ; indeed, it is a wonder how any of them survive. 



The brent goose is the most common, and a general 

 object of interest to the fowler. He can easily be distin- 

 guished from other geese at a distance, the beak, head, 

 and neck, breast, tail, and feet being deep black. The 

 back is slate-grey, and upon each side of the neck he has 

 a white patch. The female has similar plumage. Unlike 

 other geese, the brent never feeds on dry land, nor have 

 we seen him on land. He gafhers his sustenance from the 

 seashore and in the estuaries, frequenting the ooze and 

 shallow water, and collecting floating seaweed, and more 

 especially sea grass. This latter is the favourite food, and 

 in the presence of brent, or black geese, as they are often 

 termed, can at once be recognised, as, while other wild 

 geese bite off wet grass as if cut with a pair of shears, the 

 brent tears it up, eating the white part of the root, and 

 throwing the other away. Brent visit these islands in 

 thousands, and, no matter how vigorous the gunning may 

 be, it only renders them more wary, but does not drive the 

 flocks away. 



With regard to guns and ammunition, as upon most 

 other subjects, the doctors differ. Under such circum- 

 stances, wise sportsmen steer a course of their own, and 

 when doing this we have found that, as far as shore- 

 shooting is concerned, heavy guns are a mistake. Some 

 persons will advocate a double-barrel 8-bore. Now, 

 this is not only an ammunition - wasting weapon, but 

 terribly cumbersome in the strongest hands. If an 8-bore 

 must be carried, let it be a single-barrel, as it is quickly 

 loaded. What, however, can beat a i2-bore double with 



