190 THE GUN: AFIELD AND AFLOAT 



Yellow-billed Bean goose. Mr. Frohavvk asserts that 

 two quite distinct species have long been confounded 

 under the name A. segetum, whereas A. arvensis is 

 much the more abundant of the two in Britain. In 

 this connection M. Serge Alpheraky, who is at work on 

 a monograph of the ' Geese of Russia/ remarks : " I am 

 sure that although you have in Great Britain Anser 

 seetum as a winter bird, it must with you be a scarce 

 bird, as it is, according to my investigations, everywhere 

 in Europe. I suppose that in general to every hundred 

 arvensis there exist in this world but one or two segetum. 

 Such is my impression based on a goodly number of 

 skins from different parts of Europe and Asia. I 

 suppose that you will find but very few British-killed 

 specimens of segetum in your collections, and that 

 arvensis is par excellence the Bean goose of your country 

 in winter." Judging by a specimen of this supposed 

 new and smaller Bean goose at large in St. James's Park, 

 London (there were two or more formerly), it appears to 

 me to be somewhat more closely allied to our common 

 Pink-footed goose than to Anser arvensis, for it has the 

 bill and other characteristics of the former, in fact might 

 fairly pass for it but for its somewhat dark plumage and 

 the presence of orange on legs and feet and yellow on 

 the bill in place of the normal pink. Still the colour of 

 the plumage of this particular specimen is not altogether 

 a safe guide, for the delicate greys of a Pink-foot's 

 feathers might soon become stained and darkened by 

 London smoke. Moreover, the pink coloration on bill, 

 legs, and feet is not an altogether constant feature 

 with the last-named short-billed grey goose. Mr. Cecil 

 Smith, having bred Pink-footed geese in semi-captivity 

 for many years, has stated that the coloration of bill 



