AVES ANATIDyB. 43! 



out on her long journey to the Magellanic Islands on her feet ; and her 

 mate, though called to by that mysterious imperative voice in his breast, 

 yet would not forsake her ; but flying a little distance to show her the 

 way, and returning again and again, and calling to her with his wildest 

 and most piercing cries, urged her still to spread her wings and fly with 

 him to their distant home." (W. H. Hudson, Birds and Man, pp. 209- 

 210, 1901.) 



"After leaving Punta Arenas, we landed at Elizabeth Island, which is 

 without trees, but covered with grass, and is likely soon to be occupied 

 as a sheep-run. The island is the breeding-place of large numbers of 

 Wild Geese (Chloephaga Patagonica]. The geese were very abundant, 

 and a wild-goose chase in Elizabeth Island is a very different matter from 

 one at home. When I had shot nine geese I found that I had no light 

 task before me in carrying them to the boat at the end of the island, over 

 the soft and yielding soil. Goose-shooting in the Falkland Islands simi- 

 larly soon satiates the sportsman, who finds himself early in the day with 

 a heavier bag than he can stagger under. 



"The geese at Elizabeth Island showed some wariness, and some little 

 trouble had to be taken in order to get within shot of them, unless they 

 were met with in long grass. When on the alert, they settled on the 

 summits of the hillocks and ridges, in order to have a wide view of the 

 enemy. One had to creep up under cover of the hill-slopes, and make a 

 final rush forwards toward the flock. The birds are startled by this, and 

 it is some time before they can make up their minds to fly." (Moseley, 

 Notes, Natur. Chall. 1879, pp. 551-552.) 



"The geese at the Falkland Islands are far tamer than those at Elizabeth 

 Island, and seem not to understand a gun, though they have been shot at 

 now for a long period. The Falkland Islands, however, were never inhab- 

 ited by any savage race, and the birds have not had time to learn. The 

 other birds in Magellan's Straits, which also occur at the Falklands, as for 

 example the Loggerhead Ducks, show the same contrast in their wildness. 

 They have been hunted for generations by the hungry Fuegians. 



"The young wild geese at Elizabeth Island, whilst still covered with 

 black down, run amongst the grass with astonishing quickness, and are 

 as difficult to shoot as rabbits. It is no easy task to catch them by run- 

 ning. A brood when met with separates, every gosling running off" in a 

 different direction. The young birds dodge behind a tuft of grass, and 



