DECOY BIEDS. BBENT GEESE. 259 



In November, 'sixty-five, in an afternoon and morning 

 shooting, a friend and self killed eighty-five wild geese, as 

 well as a large number of duck. The scene of this per- 

 formance was a corn-field, the weather bitterly cold, with 

 snow flying, although the previous week had been warm 

 enough for summer clothing. 



As I am about to say so much on mallard shooting, and 

 the advice I will give the sportsman in reference to their 

 pursuit being equally applicable to the Canada goose, I 

 trust the reader will pardon my not further extending my 

 remarks. 



BRENT GEESE are well known in the United Kingdom, 

 yet they are comparatively scarce among us in numbers, 

 when compared to the immense flocks that are to be found 

 in autumn and spring scattered all over the western prairies, 

 or in winter and early spring along the Atlantic seaboard 

 of the United States. From their size the novice will 

 frequently mistake them for wild geese, but a little expe- 

 rience will soon teach him that there is a marked difference 

 in their flap of wing, and in the figures they form while in 

 flight. Again, the large white marking on the lower por- 

 tion of the breast and along the stomach, conspicuous for 

 a great distance, soon tells the tale that they are not the 

 more coveted larger species. 



Another characteristic of this species is, that they are 

 far less wary than geese, and appear to be gifted with such 

 an amount of curiosity, that even when they are almost 

 out of sight of the sportsman they may frequently be re- 

 called within gunshot by waving a pocket-handkerchief, or 



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