UEENT GOOSE. 137 



Male; weight, not quite three pounds; length, one foot nine 

 inches, to nearly two feet; bill, black, small, and rather narrow; 

 iris, dark blackish brown. Head, crown, and neck all round, 

 dull black, with a small white patch, intermixed with a few 

 black feathers on the sides of the last-named: the amount 

 of each colour varies in different individuals. Breast above, 

 black; below, greyish slate-colour, the edges of the feathers 

 lighter coloured; back above, dark dull slate-coloured, blackish 

 brown, the edges and tips of the feathers paler than the 

 remainder; below, blackish. 



The wings have the first quill feather the longest; greater 

 and lesser wing coverts, dark brownish black, margined with 

 a paler shade; primaries, blackish brown; secondaries, also 

 blackish brown; tertiaries, dark blackish brown, the edges 

 paler coloured. Tail, dark blackish brown; upper tail coverts, 

 white; under tail coverts, white; they extend in length beyond 

 the end of the tail. Legs, toes, claws, and webs, black with 

 a tinge of reddish brown. 



The female is a little less in size than the male. Her 

 plumage has more of a shade of rusty brown. 



The young, the first year, are without or nearly without 

 the characteristic white mark on the side of the neck. The 

 head and neck are of a dull leaden grey colour, the breast 

 below light grey, the feathers of the back and wing coverts 

 are tipped with brown. The legs are paler than in the adult 

 birds, and more inclining to brown. 



