GEESE. 



33* 



crescent edged with white at the end, while the primaries and tail-feathers are 

 almost black ; the breast and abdomen being greyish white, and the under tail- 

 coverts pure white. This species is an inhabitant of the coasts of Northern 

 Europe, ranging in winter to the British Islands, and occasionally found as far 

 south as Spain and Italy. How far eastwards it extends in Northern Asia is at 

 present unknown; while there is no definite information as to its breeding, 

 although it probably nests in Novaia Zemlia, Spitzbergen, and the regions still 



MALE AND FEMALE HALF-BRED UPLAND GEESE. (From Sclater, PrOC. Zool. SoC., 1876.) 



further north. It probably also breeds in Greenland, being occasionally found on 

 the Atlantic coasts of North America. A fourth very distinct representative of the 

 genus is the Canada brent goose (B. canadensis), easily recognised by its black 

 head and neck, with a large triangular patch of white on each cheek, usually 

 joined by a band beneath the throat, but sometimes separated by a narrow black 

 line. Occasionally there is also a white collar encircling the lower part of the 

 neck. As regards the rest of the plumage, the tail, rump, and primaries are 

 brownish black, the upper tail-coverts and region of the vent white, and the 



