144 ANATHLE. 



extending a little upwards on the forehead, from which 

 the Anser alUfrons derives one of its names : the figure 

 of the White-fronted Goose, the fourth species here given, 

 will exhibit this mark. The legs of many of our do- 

 mestic Geese are orange coloured, like those of the white- 

 fronted ; the legs of the Wild Grey-lag Geese are of a 

 pale flesh colour. The white colour of the horny termina- 

 tion of the beak, called the nail, is common to both. The 

 occasional deviation from the natural colour of the plumage 

 of the wild birds to a pure white, which is probably caused 

 by domestication and selection, has been referred to. 



The Grey-lag Wild Goose is said to have been for- 

 merly very common in the fens of this country, residing 

 there the whole year, breeding there, and bringing out 

 eight or nine young ; but that the general system of drain- 

 ing pursued in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Lincolnshire, 

 has been the means of driving them away. Certain it is 

 that now the Grey-lag Goose is comparatively a rare bird 

 at any season, and whole winters pass away without a 

 single example occurring in the London market, though 

 the bird is well known to some who are constantly upon 

 the look-out for it. A few specimens appeared in October 

 1837, and in January 1838, and I considered myself for- 

 tunate in obtaining two specimens in March 1840, at the 

 common wild goose price, of a poulterer who did not know 

 them as distinct from the Bean Goose. Montagu says 

 they have been killed in open countries when feeding upon 

 young green wheat ; they feed also on the grasses, aquatic 

 plants, and any sort of grain. 



The Grey-lag Goose is considered to have bred formerly 

 in Ireland, but is now a rare visiter there, even in winter. 

 A specimen is occasionally obtained in Devonshire,* and 



* Montagu's collection of birds, as left by him, did not contain this species. 



