594 BRANTA 



reddish brown. Culmen 3'5, wing 17'7, tail 7'1, tarsus 3'0 inch. 

 Domestic birds of this species, and occasionally wild birds, have a large 

 frontal knob on the bill, and the domestic bird has the bill red. 



Hal. Eastern Siberia, from the Ob river to Kamchatka and 

 the Kurile Islands, wintering in China, resident in Japan; 

 Corea and Mongolia on passage ; Manchuria. 



Though it does not differ from the other Geese in its general 

 habits it is said to affect the rivers in preference to the lakes, 

 and breeds on the grassy steppes, the nest being a mere 

 depression in the ground lined with a little dry herbage, and 

 deposits 4 to 6 eggs, which are creamy white, rather smooth in 

 texture of shell, and measure about 3'24 by 210. 



BRANTA, Scop., 1769. 



829. BRENT GOOSE. 



BRANTA BERNICLA. 



Branta bernicla (Linn.), Syst, Nat. i. p. 198 (1766) ; (Wils.), Am. Orn. 

 viii. pi. 72, fig. 1 ; (Audub.), B. Am. vi. p. 203, pi. 379 ; Salvad. Cat. 

 B. Br. Mus. xxvii. p. 119 ; Ridgway. p. 118 ; B. torquata (Naurn.), 

 xi. p. 393, Taf. 292 (nee. Gmel.) ; B. Irenta (Tunst.), Orn. Brit. p. 4 

 (1771) ; (Gould), B. of E. v. pi. 352 ; (id.) B. of Gt. Brit. v. pi. 7 ; 

 (Dresser), vi. p. 389, pi. 415, fig. 2 ; (Saimders), p. 411 ; (Lilford), 

 vii. p. 69, pi. 26. 



Bernache cravant, French ; Oca colombactio, Ital. ; Ringel-Grans, 

 German; Eotgans, Dutch; Knortegaas, Dan.; Gaul, Ringgaas, 

 Norweg. ; Prutgds, Swed. ; KaulushanM, Sepelhanhi, Finn. ; 

 Koku-gan, Jap. 



ad. (England). Head, neck, upper back and breast black ; sides of 

 the neck marked with white ; rest of back, scapulars, and wing-coverts 

 dark brown margined with lighter brown ; rump blackish brown, the sides 

 and upper tail-coverts white ; tail and quills blackish brown ; under 

 parts white, the upper parts indistinctly barred with pale ashy brown ; 

 flanks ashy brown with white margins ; bill and legs black ; iris dark 

 brown. Culmen 1-5, wing 12'6, tail 4'2, tarsus 21 inch. Female similar. 

 The young bird has the plumage duller than the adult. 



Hob. The high north of Europe, Asia and Eastern North 

 America, in winter migrating south to the British Islands, con- 

 tinental Europe, and sparingly to the Mediterranean ; in Asia 

 south to Japan ; in America south to the Mississippi valley. 



Is essentially a bird of the coast and is seldom found far from 

 the sea. It feeds chiefly on vegetable matter but is also said 



