RICHARDSON'S GOOSE 



97 



In his account of the birds of Southampton Island, Sutton (1932), 

 says that Richardson's Goose "is a common, locally abundant, summer 

 resident all along the southern coast of Southampton Island, wherever 

 there are little lakes with small islands, upon which it may nest. As a 

 migrant it is sometimes so common, that I am led to believe that birds 

 which nest on Melville Peninsula and even on Baffin Island may occa- 

 sionally pass over or stop for a time at Southampton. It arrives a little 

 later in the spring than the Lesser Canada Goose, the Lesser Snow Goose, 

 and the Blue Goose, but considerably in advance of the Brant. In the 

 fall its migrant flocks are composed of from one to three family-groups, 

 which travel southward together. It has never been known to winter in 



the region 



"On June 8 several small bands, some pairs of which appeared to be 

 mated, and a few single birds were seen flying toward the head of the 

 bav. They gave forth a high-pitched, honking outcry. On June 10 I 

 watched several birds, which appeared to be courting. They were fre- 

 quenting the snowless patches of ground, where they dignifiedly walked 

 about, craning their necks this way and that, bowing and cronking in 

 their high falsetto voices. On June 11 several small flocks were seen. 

 By this time the birds all seemed to be mated, but they went about in 

 companies of six or eight. In the early morning we usually heard them 

 north of the Post. At about 10 o'clock they rose with a good deal of 

 clamor to make their way to 

 the head of the bay, where 

 they fed, rested for a time, 

 then returned. . . . 



"On June 16, early in the 

 morning, I found a nest con- 

 taining two eggs on a small, 

 grassy island, about forty 

 yards from the shore of a 

 rather large lake tw r o miles in- 

 land from the frozen bay. 

 There was much ice in this 

 lake, and I was able to make 

 my way out to the island by 

 leaping from chunk to chunk. 

 The eggs were uncovered. 

 When I returned early in the 

 afternoon I found the female 

 on the nest, and the male 

 standing nearby, his head 

 held downward as if he were 

 trying to hide. As I drew 

 nearer, he snaked his way 

 slowly to the water's edge, 



