The eggs, four in number, are smooth and creamy- 

 white in colour. Incubation begins about the middle of 

 June. 



The Brent is readily tamed, and thrives well in captivity. 



Geographical distribution. This Goose has a wide breed- 

 ing-distribution in Arctic Europe and America, far beyond 

 the limit of forest growth. It breeds on the Siberian 

 Islands and Coasts, on the Islands in the Arctic Ocean as 

 Kolguev, Novaya-Zemlya, Spitzbergen and Franz Josef 

 Land. In winter it visits the sea-board of Europe, North 

 Africa and Western Asia. 



DESCRIPTIVE CHARACTERS. 



PLUMAGE. Adult male nuptial. Head, throat, neck, 

 and upper breast, black ; a small white patch on either side 

 of the neck, which sometimes becomes confluent, forming 

 either a complete ring or a ' horse-shoe ' of white feathers ; 

 back and wings, brownish- black, with paler edges ; primaries, 

 rump and tail, black ; upper and under tail-coverts, white ; 

 lower breast and abdomen, bluish-grey, with the edges of 

 the feathers of a lighter shade. 



Adult female nuptial. Browner in colour than the male. 



Adult winter, male and female. Almost similar to the 

 nuptial plumage, except that the feathers of back and wings 

 are tinged with rusty-brown. 



Immature, male and female. The colours are much 

 duller than in the adult and there is less white on the neck. 



BEAK. Black, including the ' nail.' 



FEET. Black. 



IRIDES. Blackish-brown. 



AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 



TOTAL LENGTH '23 in. 



WING 13-5 ,, 



BEAK 1'5 ,, 



TARSO-METATABSUS 2 



EGG 27 X T3 in. 



Allied Species and Representative Forms. B. nigricans, 

 with a white collar and black lower breast, is the American 

 representative. 



