BLUE GOOSE 143 



for which they grubbed deep in the soil, appeared to be the common 

 tundra grass." While the plant life on their summer range is quite dis- 

 tinct from that of their winter resorts, their feeding habits in summer 

 are very similar to those on their winter grounds as described by McAtee 

 (1910) who says that in the Mississippi delta the Blue Geese rest by day 

 on mud flats bordering the Gulf. At the time of his visit (January- 

 February) "these were entirely destitute of vegetation, a condition to 

 which the geese had reduced them by their voracious feeding. Every 

 summer these flats are covered with a dense growth of 'cut grass/ 'John- 

 ston grass/ and 'flag grass/ and every fall are denuded by the Blue 

 Geese .... The birds feed principally upon the roots of these plants, 

 but the tops of all are eaten at times, if not regularly. Each goose works 

 out a rounded hole in the mud, devouring all of the roots discovered, 

 and these holes are enlarged until they almost touch before the birds 

 move on." 



The autumn migration of the Blue Goose from the breeding range 

 begins some time during the first half of September. At that time the 

 tundra pools are beginning to freeze over and the first light snowfalls 

 are temporarily mantling the tundra. It is quite probable that with the 

 arrival and passing of the Snow Geese from their more northern grounds 

 about the end of the first week in September, the Blue Goose multitudes 

 join them to begin their southward flight. O. J. Murie in notes quoted 

 by Bent (1925) says that the extensive salt-water marshes around the 

 south and part of the west shore of James Bay furnish an excellent feed- 

 ing place for the Blue Geese. "By September at least they begin to ar- 

 rive in James Bay, and during this month and most of October they con- 

 gregate in immense flocks, principally in Hannah Bay, at the extreme 

 south end of James Bay .... The birds become extremely fat, sometimes 

 bursting open in the fall to the ground when shot." 



The Blue Geese winter chiefly on the coast of Louisiana. McAtee 

 (1910) says: "The center of abundance of the species is a narrow strip 

 extending along the coast of Louisiana from the Delta of the Mississippi 

 to a short distance west of Vermillion Bay. To the eastward the bird is 

 known only as a straggler, and to the west it diminishes gradually in 

 numbers, being scarce on the extreme western coast of Louisiana and 

 rare on the Texas coast." 



In the conclusion of his bulletin on the Blue Goose, Soper says: 

 "The habits of this bird are such that it congregates in large numbers, 

 principally in two places: first, in its winter habitat in the region of the 

 Mississippi Delta, and second, on its summer breeding ground on the 

 western tundra plain of Baffin Island. . . . While I feel confident of the 

 security of this notable game bird within the Canadian Arctic, and its 

 ability to continue there free from serious molestation for an indefinite 

 period, a doubt arises as to its chances for survival in the more southern 

 regions which it occupies during the fall, winter and early spring. As 

 .... very little is seen of the Blue Goose during its brief passage over 

 the southern portion of the Dominion in fall of the year, the problem 



