118 



GEESE 



sides; feet, orange or yellowish. Tail, like rump, and 

 broadly to narrowly tipped with white, under-surface of 

 tail, light to dark grey; upper and under coverts white, 

 Wings. Coverts, greyish brown, middle coverts tipped 

 with ashy white, the greater more broadly tipped 

 with whitish, giving a double wing-bar effect; pri- 

 maries, black, ashy grey basally, with whitish shafts; 

 secondaries, dusky brown; tertials, brownish, margined 

 outwardly with white, inner webs, brownish black; 

 lining and axillars, slate grey. 



The black marking on the 

 breast is variable 



JUVENILE. During first autumn, similar to adult but, in general, more uni- 

 form grey and paler below. Lacks white face-patch; pale tips to body and wing 

 feathers may be narrower or wanting and no black cross-patches on breast. White 

 upper tail-coverts mixed with greyish brown. Bill, dull yellowish, or grey with lilac 

 tinge; nail dusky. After complete moult during following summer plumage is fully 

 adult. 



SPECIMEN IDENTIFICATION 



ADULTS. General effect: A medium-sized, greyish-brown goose with a mixed 

 black-and-whitish breast. Chief distinguishing features (a) white band around face 

 at base of bill (the "white front"), (b) breast, whitish, irregularly splashed with 

 black or dusky brown, (c) skin at edge of eyelid, greyish brown, (d) feet, yellowish. 

 Features (a) and (b) distinguish this goose from all but the Tule Goose, which 

 is larger, of darker general coloration and has the 

 skin at edge of eyelid orange yellow instead of grey- 

 ish brown. (See "Specimen Identification" of Tule 

 Goose.) The Emperor Goose also has orange-yellow 

 feet but there the resemblance ceases. 



black "grinning' 



JUVENILES. Juvenile White-fronts and juvenile 

 Tule Geese are similar to juvenile Blue Geese, but 

 in the last species young birds have dark feet and 

 patch on side of bill. See "Description." 



FIELD MARKS 



(Abundant in western half of continent; rare in eastern.) 



ON THE WATER. A medium-sized, dark goose, distinctive in being the only 

 adult with the head, neck, chest and upperparts, solidly brown, except for the 

 "white front." 



IN FLIGHT. The splashed black-and-white breast, 

 white tail-coverts and yellow legs are noticeable if 

 not too distant. In migration they fly high, in 

 V-shaped flocks and resemble Canada Geese, for 

 which they may easily be mistaken. Both on water 

 and in flight this race is indistinguishable from the 

 Tule Goose, which, however, is restricted in its 

 winter range to the Upper Sacramento Valley in 

 California. 



VOICE. A long, clanging, oft-repeated cackle, 

 wah-wah-wah-wah, uttered while in flight, resem- 

 bling laughter. 



