HOW TO STUDY THE GAME BIRDS 379 



parents in search of food. A delightful account of the care of the 

 goslings by their parents is given by J. G. Long in Northern Trails 

 under the title of "Quaptonk the Wild." 



The food of the Canada geese consists chiefly of unharvested 

 grain and blades of winter wheat during the migration ; they also 

 feed upon the seeds, roots of plants and small animals found in the 

 flooded marshes ; and upon eel grass which they get by thrusting 

 the head down into the water; they also eat quantities of sand to 

 aid digestion. They go to their feeding grounds early in the 

 morning and late in the afternoon. In California the geese do 

 much damage to the wheat fields, but in the East they do little 

 harm. 



The special mark of the Canada goose is the white patch on the 

 throat that extends up on the cheeks, looking as if it had **a ban- 

 daged sore throat." The head and neck are black, the back and 

 wings brown, the underparts ashy gray, and the under tail coverts 

 white. The body feathers are edged with paler colors; the bill 

 and feet are black. The wedge-shape of the flying flock is the 

 special character that distinguishes these geese when in flight. 

 When resting, their large size, black heads and necks and white 

 cheek patches tell us unmistakably what they are. 



The open season in New York State for these geese is from 

 September i6 until December 31. The hunting licenses for resi- 

 dents cost $1.10 and for non-residents and aliens $10.50. Hunting 

 is prohibited on public highways and on any lands supplying towns 

 with water. The bag limit is eight geese. On Long Island the 

 law is somewhat different. The open season is from October 16 

 to January 31. With these laws enacted and because of the 

 wariness of the geese, there is probably a not too great nimiber 

 killed each season to endanger the species. However, probably 

 the laws along the Atlantic Coast should be more stringent than 

 they are at present. These splendid birds should be safely pre- 

 served for centuries to come, for America would not seem like 

 America without the wild goose to "drag its harrow" across the 

 gray skies of our Novembers. 



Honk! Honk! On stormy wings they cleave the upper air, 

 On gusty breeze, above the seas — their onward cohorts fare; 

 They come from frosty solitudes, where broods the Arctic night, 

 Where deserts grim, spread vast and dim, in the auroral light. 



From "The Flight of the Canada Geese" by Isaac McClellan. 



