BIRDS OF THE STREAMS 81 



Food. Fish, frogs, small mammals, birds, &c. ; little 

 comes amiss. 



Nest. March or April. 



Site. On the ground in a reed-bed or swamp. 



Materials. Sticks, reeds, and rushes. 



Eggs. Four. Uniform olive-brown or green. 



GREY-LAG GOOSE (Anser cinereus). 



From which our domesticated geese are descended. 



Once a resident and breeding in East Anglia, now a 

 winter visitor. It still remains to breed in decreasing 

 numbers in the north of Scotland. 



Haunts. Marshes and waste lands near the sea. 



Plumage. Head, neck, and upper parts greyish 

 brown ; rump and wing-coverts bluish grey ; under 

 parts dull white with a few dusky spots. Bill orange but 

 pink towards end ; nail white. Legs flesh-coloured. 

 Length 35 in. Female similar, but smaller. Young 

 darker, and no dusky spots on under parts. Young in 

 down, olive brown. 



Language. A gaggle, much like the farm-yard Goose. 



Habits. Gregarious. Flight rapid and powerful, with 

 the neck outstretched ; the flock usually flies in wedge- 

 form. Always very shy and wary. Like all the mem- 

 bers of this order, it is a good swimmer. 



Food. Largely graminivorous. Grain in winter. 



Nest. April. One brood. 



Site. On the ground, amongst heather or grass. 



Materials. Sticks, reeds, grass, and moss. Eggs 

 buried in greyish-white down from the female's breast. 



Eggs. Six to eight or more. Dull yellowish or creamy 

 white. 



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