THE BRENT GOOSE. 191 



changed to the rude and chilling chorus of Boreas ; the cloud- 

 less sky of summer is replaced by the dark and rolling fore- 

 runners of the tempest ; the surge rolls with redoubled vio- 

 lence, and the snowy locks of the breakers are hurled high 

 in the furious war of elements ; we can dimly discern through 

 the foggy air large black masses of immense extent, scarcely 

 to be distinguished from clouds, varying in appearance with 

 every blast ; the unaccustomed ear is at once struck with the 

 hoarse and loud cries proceeding from those countless multi- 

 tudes ; the loud, prolonged whaup of the curlew, the incessant 

 clamorous calling of the geese, and the shrill and peculiar 

 whistles of the duck tribe, coming distinctly though the 

 frosty air, all tend to produce in the hearer a wish to become 

 more versed and accustomed to the habits and manners of 

 those migratory wanderers. 



With the exception of the Wexford and part of the Louth 

 coasts, we are aware of few localities on the eastern coast where 

 the brent goose occurs in such numbers as frequent Dublin 

 Bay during severe weather ; flocks of which during some pre- 

 vious years we have seen numbering many thousands, all 



" Watchful and agile, uttering voices wild 

 And harsh, yet in accordance with the waves 

 Upon the beach." 



The extreme limits of an island opposite Clontarf we have 

 seen at times almost black with numbers of these birds. 



On the approach of spring they return to their native home, 

 and their wild and musical cries have often attracted atten- 

 tion when pursuing their aerial journey over the houses of the 

 city: 



" Ranged in figures, wedge their way, 

 Intelligent of season, and set forth 

 Their airy caravan. High over seas 

 Flying, and over lands, with mutual wing 

 Easing their flight. The air 

 Floats as they pass, fanned by unnumbered plumes." 



We might also observe the markets of Liverpool, Man- 

 chester, and Edinburgh, are supplied with a small proportion 

 of the brent goose, obtained by night shooting in Ireland. 



On some parts of the Wexford and Dublin coasts they are 

 shot from " scrapes" (sand dug up in the neighbourhood 

 where the geese feed, in the hollow of which the shooter lies). 

 When an opportunity arrives the shooter fires at the farthest 

 off, in order that the dropping shot may wing the nearest 



