674 CYGNID^E. 



Head and upper part of neck brown ; lower part of neck reddish ashy, 

 body above brownish cinereous vrith white undulations ; longest scapulars 

 edged with white ,* upper tail coverts black ; lesser and median coverts bluish 

 ashy, edged with white ; two first primaries bluish, others black ; tail black ; 

 breast arid upper abdomen ashy whitish ; lower abdomen and under tail 

 coverts pure white. Bill much smaller than in the last, fleshy red or purplish, 

 the base and the nail black ; feet pinkish red. (Jerd.} 



Length. I*! to 29 inches; wing 15*9 to 17; tail 5*5; bill at front 175; 

 tarsus 3 ; middle toe 3. 



Hal. This is an extremely rare bird in India. Hume records a picture of one 

 which was got in the Punjab, and also a statement that Colonel Irby killed 

 one at Alumbagh near Lucknow. He has seen a pair among Grey Lags on a 

 sandbank in the Jumna, and an assurance has been given him by Co). 

 Graham that it is not uncommon on the Brahmaputra in Assam. This is afl 

 we know of its occurrence in India. In Northern Europe it is common, and 

 probably also Central Europe and Northern Asia. 



Anser albifrons. The White-fronted Goose. 



1376. Anser albifrons, Gm., Naum. Vogt. t. 289 ; Jerd., B. Ind. 

 iii. p. 780; Str. F. i. p. 259; viii. p. 421 ; Murray, Hdbk., ZooL, fyc., Sind-, 

 Hume and Marsh, Game Birds, Ind. p. 73 ; Murray, Vert. ZooL, Sind, 

 p. 284. The WHITE-FRONTED or LAUGHING GOOSE. 



Forehead white or yellowish white, followed by a narrow dark band ; chin 

 the same j head, hind neck and nape brownish grey, shaded in some speci- 

 mens with reddish ; throat pale greyish white, darker in some ; breast and 

 flanks pale brownish, with cross bars of black, paler and whitish on the lower 

 breast, with broader black bars ; back dark greyish brown, the feathers with 

 pale reddish brown edges ; upper and under tail coverts white ; tail with the 

 middle feathers dark grey, tipped with white ; the lateral ones entirely white ; 



