BIRDS OF NEW YORK 227 



sions given by authorities for the Lesser snow goose. One was taken on 

 Shinnecock bay, October 8th, 1881 [see Dutcher, Auk, 1:34], the other on 

 Montauk Point, October 29th, 1888. 



Chen hyperborea nivalis (Forster) 

 Greater Snow Goose 



Plate 21 



Anas nivalis Forster. Philos. Trans. 1772. 62:413 



Anser hyperboreus DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 350, fig. 238 



Chen hyperborea nivalis A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 2. 1895. No. 169a 



nivd'lis, Lat., like snow, snowy 



Description. Adult: Plvtmage pure white, the wing tips black, the 

 head often washed with rusty; bill pinkish or carmine red, the nail white 

 and the "grinning" opening black; feet pale lake-red; iris dark brown. 

 Young: Head, neck and upper parts light gray, the feathers margined with 

 lighter; rump, tail, and under parts whitish; bill and feet much darker than 

 in the adult. 



Length 27-31 inches; extent 58-63; wing 17-17.15; tail 6.5; bill 2.3-2.65; 

 tarsus 3-3.5; middle toe and claw 3-3.5; weight 5-6.5 pounds. 



The Greater snow goose is supposed to breed mostly on Victoria Land 

 in the Arctic ocean. It "is enormously abundant on both the eastern and 

 western shores of Hudson bay during spring migration" and winters chiefly 

 in the lower Mississippi valley from southern Illinois to the gulf, but is 

 found mostly east of the Mississippi river, while the Lesser snow goose is 

 found to the westward. The Greater snow goose is also found on the 

 Atlantic coast from North Carolina to Cuba and occasionally winters as 

 far north as Cape Cod, and it is asstimed in the present report that all 

 records of Snow geese in New York State where the specimens were not 

 procured refer to this species. The following are the definite records we 

 have of this species: 



Ithaca, N. Y., March 1876. (2 young). Forest and Stream, 7: 283 

 Lake George, N. Y. Nov. 19, 1881. (Flock). Merriam, N. O. C. Bui. 7: 128 

 Ossining, N. Y. April 8, 1882. (200-300). Fisher, N. O. C. Bui. 7: 251 

 Moriches, L. I. Sept. 28, 1886. Adult. (Lucas & Buck). Dutcher, L. L Notes 

 Lake Champlain, N. Y. Few years ago flock seen by E. G. White, Ottawa, 185 Wurten- 

 burg St. (Some were shot.) 



