GREY-LAG GOOSE. 63 



GREY-LAG GOOSE. 



WILD-GOOSE. GREY-LAG WILD GOOSE. 

 PLATE CLXXXIII. FIGURE I. 



Anser palustris, FLEMING. SELBY. 



A nser ferus, J ENYNS. 



Anas anser, PENNANT. 



Anas ferus, MONTAGU. 



r I THE nest of this Goose is made of grass, rushes, 

 -*- leaves, or dry stalks of plants, under cover of 

 some rushes or osiers, and is well lined with feathers. 

 It is large in size, and is located in a marsh, or by 

 the border of a lake or inland sea. The male keeps 

 guard near it while his partner sits. 



The eggs are said to be commonly four or five 

 in number, but to amount also to as many as twelve 

 or fourteen, the former the produce of younger, and 

 the latter of older birds; eight or nine the intermediate 

 quantity. They are of a dull yellowish white, smooth 

 and shining in appearance. 



Meyer says, ' The female is very careful in covering 

 the eggs with some of the surrounding materials, 

 whenever she leaves the nest for a short time; and it 

 may serve as a safe guide to persons who go in search 

 of the eggs, that if they are uncovered they are forsaken, 

 and are, consequently, not worth leaving in the nest. 



