Goose-shooting 233 



Formerly the wild goose bred throughout tem- 

 perate North America, and at the present time 

 occasionally breeds within our boundary, in North 

 Dakota and the adjacent states. The large body 

 of western geese, however, pass on to the country 

 lying north and west of Hudson Bay, the At- 

 lantic geese breeding in Labrador and to the north 

 and west of it, and in Newfoundland. In the Hud- 

 son Bay region they are among the first spring 

 arrivals, and the foremost stragglers are seen in 

 April. By early May large numbers have arrived ; 

 for a time they remain in flocks, and frequent the 

 shores and shallow water, but soon separate into 

 pairs and select some small inland lake or marsh. 

 The nest is usually on the ground, carefully formed 

 of grasses and weeds, of large size and somewhat 

 raised. Sometimes a stump is chosen, and there 

 are instances of the birds nesting in trees, using 

 the deserted nests of hawks or ravens. 



In the Okanogan district of British Columbia 

 the Canada goose is said to breed frequently in 

 trees in the deserted nests of hawks. Mr. Charles 

 de B. Green reports finding there in the same 

 nest in a tree, two eggs of the osprey and three of 

 this species, both ospreys and Canada geese being 

 present and complaining. One egg of the goose 

 was left in the nest, and a week later he found the 

 osprey sitting on this egg while the geese were 

 not seen in the vicinity. 



