GEESE. 145 



an outside bird, who, whilst his companions are 

 greedily feeding, stands erect, looking suspiciously 

 round on all sides. When near enough to hear, 

 I have remarked that the watching goose continually 

 utters a low guttural chuckle, which seems to imply, 

 " All's well," " All's well." On suspecting danger, or 

 noticing an unusual movement in the vicinity, he is 

 instantly silent. This cessation of sound on his 

 part is at once followed by the startled attention of 

 all the rest. Such facts are well known to fowlers, 

 more especially those who wait and watch by the 

 hour to obtain a shot, and who are often close 

 enough to observe such habits and peculiarities, 

 whilst lying in anxious concealment themselves. 

 These men aver that should the watching goose 

 feed or sleep, he is liable to be summarily chastised 

 by the others, who apparently know their safety, 

 when feeding or resting, depends on the culprit's 

 vigilance. Geese can communicate alarm in a quiet 

 way as well as in a noisy one. A couple of winters 

 ago I was lying in a deep channel at low tide. 

 There was a large gaggle of several hundred Brent, 

 feeding some distance off. One of them wan- 

 dered from his companions a long way in search, 

 I suppose, of daintier food. He suddenly popped 

 his head over the bank, within a dozen yards of 

 where I lay motionless in my punt, awaiting the 

 rising tide that would bring me within shot. The 

 Goose stared, I stared. " Brenta " will soon spring 

 up, I thought, and spoil my chance of a shot with my 

 swivel gun. Not so, he merely stalked slowly back 

 to his friends, and on reaching them sprang up and 

 led them off seaward. 



