BRENT GOOSE 71 



wegian coast, but being an isolated instance, it affords 

 us little help as to the general geographical distribution 

 of this species in the breeding-season. Tn cold weather 

 this bird migrates along the sea-board of North Western 

 Europe, very few examples passing south of France. 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial, Top of head, throat 

 and neck, black, contrasting strongly with the white under- 

 parts ; front of head, cheeks and chin, white; black band 

 running from the front of the eye to the base of the beak ; 

 back and wings, delicate ; french ' or ; lavender ' grey, barred 

 with bluish-black and white ; primaries and tail-feathers, 

 black ; upper and under 'tail-coverts, white ; breast and 

 abdomen, also white ; flanks, barred with pale grey. 



Adult female nuptial. Similar in plumage to the male. 



Adult winter, male and female. Similar to the nuptial 

 plumage. 



Immature, male and female. Cheeks, spotted black and 

 white ; back and wing-feathers, edged with rufous ; flanks 

 barred darker than in the adult. 



BEAK. Black. 



FEET. Black. 



IKIDES Very dark brown. 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH 27 in. Female smaller. 



WING 1C) 



BEAK 1-4 



TAHSO-METATARSUS ... 2'3 ,, 



EGG '2-8 x T9 in. 



BRENT GOOSE. Beniicla brenta (Pallas). 



Coloured Figures. Gould, 'Birds of Great Britain,' vol. v, pi. 7; 

 Dresser, ' Birds ot Europe,' vol. vi, pi. 415, fig. 2 ; Lilford, 

 ' Coloured Figures,' vol. vii, pi. 26 ; Alpheraky, * Geese 

 of Europe and Asia,' pi. 16. 



The Brent Goose often called the Sea Bernacle is 

 more exclusively marine in its habits than the last mentioned 



