BRENT GEESE. 509 



found at this season in the Orkneys and Shetlands, and is a regular winter 

 visitor to the Channel Islands. 



The breeding-range of the two forms of Brent Goose has been already 

 given, so far as it is known. The bird is common on migration on the 

 Faroe Islands, on the coasts of Scandinavia, and the shores of the Baltic, 

 arid has once been obtained at Archangel. It is found in winter on the 

 coasts of Denmark, North Germany, Holland, Belgium, and North France, 

 and occasionally visits the Mediterranean and Black Seas and the delta of 

 the Nile. On the Atlantic coasts of America it is found in winter as far 

 south as Texas, and has once been recorded from Lake Michigan. 



Brent Geese are very common in winter on many parts of the east coast 

 of England. By far the greater number are the dark-bellied variety, but 

 a few examples of the pale-bellied form are obtained every year. The 

 flocks of Brent Geese which visit our shores are generally composed of both 

 young in first plumage and adult birds; unlike many species, these Geese 

 appear to migrate in one flock, old and young together, but in some years 

 no young appear at all. It is possible that some seasons are so cold in 

 the high north where the Brent Goose breeds, that the eggs do not hatch. 

 On our shores these birds are very wary ; they lie out to sea during high 

 tide, and when the falling waters have left the great mud-banks where the 

 green grass-like herb Zostera marina, or grass-wrack, grows, they come up 

 in enormous flocks to feed. They tear this plant up and eat the roots, as 

 the Wigeon does. When a punt approaches, they rise in a mass long out 

 of range, and fly about like a swarm of bees. A few of the oldest and 

 most wary birds retire to the sea, but the majority settle down again to 

 feed on the mud-banks. This may occur several times until the punt is 

 within range, each time a further detachment of the old birds being sepa- 

 rated from the flock, which often consists principally of young inexperi- 

 enced birds when the fatal shot is fired. 



In the extreme north of the Arctic regions the number of birds natu- 

 rally diminishes. Capt. Feilden only saw about a score species north of 

 lat. 81 in Grinnell Land, and four of these belonged to the Anatidse, the 

 Long-tailed Duck, the Common and King Eiders, and the Brent Goose. 

 It is also the only Goose recorded from Franz-Josef Land in about the 

 same latitude. Besides having a slightly more northern breeding-range 

 than the Bernacle, it is decidedly more marine in its habits. When its 

 favourite feeding-grounds on the mud-flats are under water during high 

 tide, instead of retiring inland it goes out to sea. It is also said to be a 

 less wary bird than its ally, and to allow of a much nearer approach with- 

 out taking alarm. The cry of the Brent is a double note, which has been 

 likened to the syllables torock, constantly repeated as the birds call to each 

 other on the wing. In other respects the habits of the Brent Goose do not 

 differ from those of the Bernacle Goose. 



