78 



The Geese are more terrestrial and herbivorous than the Ducks but 

 they are equally at home on the water. They do not normally dive, but 

 secure food from the bottom by tipping and reaching by means of their long 

 necks. The sexes are alike and there is little seasonal change of plumage. 

 The Goose is an excellent table bird and for this reason and on account of its 

 superior size it is much sought after by sportsmen. Geese are exceedingly 

 wary and, though greatly reduced in number, have been able to take better 

 care of themselves than many other large game birds. 



Economic Status. Feeding largely upon grasses and frequenting 

 cultivated areas in migration more than other members of their order they 

 may do more harm than the Ducks, but this has never been seriously held 

 against them. Their value in other directions is so obvious that less 

 complaint has been made against Geese than against other species equally 

 worthy of protection but whose usefulness though real is less obvious. 



Genus Chen. Waveys. 



169. Snow Goose. LAUGHING GOOSE. WAVEY. FR. L'OIE BLANCHE. Chen 

 hyperboreus. L, 23. A rather small Goose, pure white with black primaries. Juveniles 

 with more or less grey or greyish brown washing locally or over all. 



Distinctions. Cutting edges of mandibles are more or less bowed away from each 

 other, exposing tooth-like serrations and giving to the face the appearance from which the 

 name, laughing, is derived. 



Field Marks. Colour and evident goose-like flight and outline. 



Nesting. On the ground. 



Distribution. The Lesser Snow Goose breeds on the Arctic coast and islands from 

 Coronation gulf westward. It migrates down the interior of the continent, the Greater 

 Snow Goose appears along the Atlantic coast. 



SUBSPECIES. There are two subspecies of Snow Goose in Canada, the Lesser 

 and the Greater, differing only in size; but as the two intergrade this is not an entirely 

 reliable distinction. There is a difference based upon the comparative shapes and sizes of 

 the bills, but it requires specimens for comparison for its appreciation. Though often 

 incorrectly recorded the Greater Snow Goose is a very scarce bird. It is the extreme 

 eastern form of the species and can be expected only along the Atlantic coast and the 

 lower St. Lawrence. 



The name "Wavey" is a corruption of the Indian word "Wa-wa," 

 meaning Wild Goose. 



169.1. Blue Goose. FR. L'OIE BLEUE. Chen caerulescens. L, 26. Slaty grey body, 

 wave-marked with lighter feather edges on back and more or less so below; slate colour 

 strongest on wings and rump; head white. Juvenile similar but head and neck greyish 

 brown. The bill shows in slightly reduced degree the teeth serrations of the Snow Goose. 



Distinctions. The combination of white head contrasted with blue-grey wings does 

 not occur in any other eastern American Goose. 



Field Marks. White head and darker body probably best field marks. 



Nesting. On the ground. 



Distribution. Seems to be confined in breeding season to the east of Hudson bay; 

 bulk of migration through Manitoba; a rare migrant on the Great Lakes on its way to or 

 from the Mississippi valley. 



For a long time the Blue Goose was thought to be only a juvenile 

 plumage of the Snow Goose, but is now recognized as a separate species. 



