THE GEESE OF THE 

 PACIFIC COAST 



The hunting grounds of the Pacific Coast have a 

 greater variety of geese than any other section of 

 America. Here are to be found every species known 

 to the Eastern states, except the barnacle brant of the 

 Atlantic. But in return for the absence of this species 

 of sea brant we have the black sea brant, the white- 

 cheeked goose, the ross goose, the emperor goose (none 

 of which are found east of the Rocky Mountains) and 

 the hutchins goose, the lesser snow goose, the white- 

 fronted goose and the little brown brant, which are only 

 stragglers east of the Mississippi valley, and only spar- 

 ingly seen that far east. Thus it will be seen that with- 

 in the Pacific Coast hunting grounds there are four gen- 

 era and nine species of the goose family. AH of these 

 are found in the northern parts of these hunting 

 grounds, but only about one-half of them visit the south- 

 ern parts. Increased areas of cultivation, the drainage 

 of vast sections of marshy lands and the absence of 

 laws for their protection have greatly reduced the once 

 wonderful supply. 



Acres of geese sounds fabulous, yet miles of geese is 

 the only expression which conveys an adequate idea of 

 the wonderful numbers in which these birds were seen 

 on the Coast half a century ago. The great majority 

 of the geese of the Coast at that time were of the white 

 varieties, and it is a veritable fact that in California, 

 and especially in the Sacramento, San Joaquin and Los 

 Angeles valleys, these geese congregated during the 

 winter months in such numbers as to whiten the plains 

 for miles. Many flocks of honkers were mixed with 

 them, as well as some of the other darker varieties. 

 These darker species of the family, however, were far 

 more plentiful in the northern parts of the State than 

 in the southern. That part of the Sacramento valley 

 known as the Maine Prairies has always been a favorite 

 feeding place for the Canada goose and its sub-species. 



THE CANADA GOOSE, OR HONKER 



(Branta canadensis) 



The Canada goose, or honker as it is commonly called, 

 was and is quite common on the Coast. This goose, the 

 largest of the Americans, has a wide distribution, rang- 

 ing from the Atlantic to the Pacific and from the Arctic 

 to Central America. They breed as far south as south- 

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