56 ANATID.E 



On a few occasions I have watched them, from ambush, 

 feeding in the noon-day. One, two, or perhaps three birds 

 will act as sentinels, taking up their positions at the edge 

 of the flock. The sentinels appear to eat but little ; they 

 keep their heads up and necks stretched, and peer sharply 

 around until relieved of their duties by other members of 

 the flock. Some authorities are of the opinion that the 

 sentry-goose keeps up a low muttering cackle, becoming 

 silent only when danger threatens, and that by this means 

 he attracts the attention of the flock. Other observers 

 state that an alarm-note is not given by the sentry until he 

 perceives danger. I have not heard a distinct cry of alarm 

 from the sentry when I have suddenly appeared from under 

 ambush, though in almost every case the birds looked up 

 and peered anxiously around prior to taking flight. I 

 have noted, however, that as long as I lay concealed in a 

 ditch and completely out of view of the birds, voices, not 

 from the sentinels alone, but from several individuals of 

 the flock, were to be heard. 



Voice. The voice of the Grey Lag, when alarmed, is 

 loud and harsh ; some of its notes are pitched lower 

 than others. The * cackling,' which seems to denote con- 

 fidence among the flock that no enemy is in sight, is softer 

 and more modulated in tone. It is not unlike the ' cackle ' 

 of our domestic bird. 



Flight. The Grey Lag-Goose is strong on the wing ; 

 when taking long journeys a flock will assume the form 

 of the letter V, which is characteristic of the flight of many 

 other species of geese. 



Food. The chief food is grass ; but grain, ripe and 

 unripe, is also eaten. 



Nest. The nest is usually placed in heather, of which it 

 is largely composed. In marshy places it is formed of moss 

 and reeds ; it is lined thickly with down plucked from the 

 mother's breast. The eggs, five to six in number, are dull 

 yellowish-white. They are laid about the middle of April, 

 and at the onset of incubation the males congregate, and 

 leaving the females, take to the nearest water in the vicinity. 



The Grey Lag is the only species of Wild Goose which 

 breeds in a state of nature in the British Isles. It formerly 

 bred in the fens of Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire, nest- 

 lings having been taken from the first-mentioned county 

 up to 1773, while in the latter county, breeding continued 

 until the beginning of the succeeding century (Saunders). 



This species is supposed to have bred in Ireland during 



