38 THE MOSS BIRDS. 



once throw off his customary sleepiness and quietly 

 murmur "wheer are they?" There are always a 

 few of these fowl in the neighbourhood every 

 winter, coming and going as the weather changes. 

 Occasionally one sees a dozen or so flying over the 

 fields in a V or wedge-shaped skein during the day- 

 time, but as a rule they spend the day on some 

 far away sandpit on the shore "flats," coming in 

 from the sea in the evening to feed on the stubble- 

 land. I cannot say to which species of grey goose 

 these birds belong, never having bagged one myself, 

 and the farmers simply describe them as " a grey 

 goose." I have often seen them when duck shooting 

 on the moss, but so far their Machiavelian cunning 

 has been too much for us, consequently no number 

 appears under that tempting heading " wild geese " 

 in the little game book. 



BRENT GOOSK. An occasional winter visitor, never remaining long 

 (Benticla brenta.) ^fa us> ow j n g to the very poor crop of zostera 

 marina or sea grass, on which this bird principally 

 feeds. 



GOOSANDER. We have an adult male and female in winter 

 {Mcrgus merganser.) plumage, stuffed, which were shot by Jack Aindow 

 from the "boat house" in October, 1889. 



RED BREASTED The late Dr. Skaife chronicles an old male captured 

 MERGANSER. on February iot/1, 1838, near Southport. 



CRESTED GREBE. We have a grand old male bird with full crest and 

 plume, killed on the Moss in the year 1890. 



