Bird Study 137 



was ill in bed, the bird wandered about the yard honking disconsolately 

 and refused to eat; he was driven to the side of the house where his mas- 

 ter could look from the window and he immediately cheered up, took his 

 food and refused to leave his post beneath the window while the illness 

 lasted. 



The goose is a stately bird whether on land or water; its long legs give 

 it good proportions when walking, and the neck being so much longer 

 than that of the duck gives an appearance of grace and dignity. The 

 duck on the other hand is beautiful only when on the water or on the 

 wing; its short legs, placed far back and far out at the sides, make it a 

 most ungraceful walker. The beak of the goose is harder in texture and 

 is not flat like the duck's; no wonder the bird was a favorite with the 

 ancient Greeks for the high ridge from the beak to the forehead resembles 

 much the famous Grecian nose. The plumage of geese is very beautiful 

 and abundant and for this reason they are profitable domestic birds. 

 The "picking" occurs late in summer when the feathers are nearly ready 

 to be molted; at this time the geese flap their wings often and set 

 showers of loose feathers flying. A stocking or a bag is slipped over the 

 bird's head and she is turned breast side up, with her head firmly between 

 the knees or under the arm of the picker. The tips of the feathers are 

 seized with the fingers and come out easily; onh^ the breast, the under 

 parts and the feathers beneath the wings are plucked. Geese do not seem 

 to suffer while being plucked except through the temporary inconvenience 

 and ignominy of having their heads thrust into a bag; it hurts their 

 dignity more than their bodies. 



The wings of geese are very large and beautiful ; although our domestic 

 geese have lost their powers of flight to a great extent, yet they often 

 stretch their wings and take little flying hops, teetering along as if they 

 can scarcely keep to earth; this must surely be reminiscent of the old 

 instinct for traveling in the skies. The tail of the goose is a half circle 

 and is spread when flying; although it is short, it seems to be sufficiently 

 long to act as a rudder. The legs of the goose are much longer than those 

 of the duck; they are not set so far back toward the rear of the body, and, 

 therefore, the goose is the much better runner of the two. The track 

 made by the goose's foot is a triangle with two scallops on one side made 

 by the webs between the three front toes; the hind toe is placed high up; 

 the foot and the unfeathered portion of the leg, protected by scales, are 

 used as oars when the bird is swimming. When she SAvims forward 

 rapidly, her feet extend out behind her and act on the principle of a 

 propeller; but when swimming around in the pond she uses them at 

 almost right angles to the body. Although they are such excellent oars 

 they are also efflcient on land; although when running, her body may 

 waddle somewhat, her head and neck are held aloft in stately dignity. 



The Toulouse are our common gray geese; the Embdens are pure 

 white with orange bill and bright blue eyes. The African geese h ave a 

 black head with a large black knob on the base of the black bill; the neck 

 is long, snakelike, light gray, with a dark stripe down the back; the ^^'ings 

 and tail are dark gray; there is a dewlap at the throat. The brown 

 Chinese geese have also a black beak and a black knob at the base of the 

 bill. The neck is light brown with a dull yellowish stripe down the neck. 

 The back is dark brown, breast, wings and tail grayish broAATi. The white 

 Chinese are shaped like the bro^^^^ Chinese but the knob and bill are 

 orange and the eyes light blue. 



