ANSERIN.E — THE GEESE — 13ERNICLA. 



463 



le Cascade 



^. lakes of 

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 iving been 

 time as B. 

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ding along 

 orth lip to 

 [Tted nests 

 gtou Tei'i'i- 



■e narrated, 

 ;1 its safety 



iiy of them 

 y generally 

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 3le for food 

 the alarm, 

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 lieations of 

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!, that it is 



e practised 



on gaining 



conceals 



AVhen 



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ind alights 



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iff almost 



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ive in the 



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Its flight is heavy and laborious, the flock forming a triangle, and being always 

 led by an old gander. When wounded the Wild (ioose can swim and dive with great 

 facility, going long distances under the water. When taken alive it is easily do- 

 mesticated, and nii.xes readily with the common tame Goose. Yet even after it 

 lias become quite donu'sticated, and even after it has reared a brood or two, it will 

 ex]ul)it symptoms of uneasiness as the periods of migration approacli, and will some- 

 times fly off and join the wild ones passing within hearing ovcrliead. On the other 

 hand, wliole flocks of Wild Geese have been known to be decoyed by domesticated 

 ones, and induced to alight among tiiem. 



Vlv. Audubon found this Goose on tlie 'Magdalen Islands, sitting on its eggs, early 

 in June, and in Labrador nesting in every suitable marshy plain. According to his 

 observations, all the birds of this sjjccies unite togetlu'r before departing on their 

 spring migrations. He has noted preparatory symptoms of meeting as early as Jan- 

 uary. In his opinion these Geese are far more abundant, during the winter, on the 

 interior waters tlian they are near the sea-coast, lie (jbsi-rved them in immense flocks 

 in Kentucky, and was informed that before the settlement of the country the Wild 

 Goose bred abundantly in all the tennierate parts of North Anuu'ica. As late as 1819 

 Mr. Audul)Oii met with the nest, eggs, and young of this species near Henderson, on 

 the Oliio. It usually builds its nest on tlie ground, in some retired place not far from 

 the water, i)referably among the rankest grass. The nest is carefully formed of dry 

 plants of various kinds, and is of large size, flat, and raised to the height of several 

 inches. In one instance Audubon foiuid a nest elevated above the ground on the 

 high stump of a large tree iu tlic centre of a pond. The greatest number of eggs 

 found in the nest of this bird when iu a wild state is nine ; I)ut six is the more com- 

 mon number. The domesticated (ioose, however, lays as many as eleven. Tlie eggs 

 average 3,50 inches in length by I'./iO in breadth, and are thick-shelled, smooth, and 

 of a dull yellowish-green color. The ])eriod of incubation is twenty-eight days, and 

 there is but one brood in a season. The young follow their parents to the water 

 within a day or two after they are hatched, and remain with them until the following 

 spring, being tiie objects of their devoted care. 



!Mr. Audubon gives an interesting account of a pair of this sjiecies which he cap- 

 tured at the mouth of Green Kiver, Kentucky. Their young were taken with them, 

 and these he succeeded in raising by feeding them with locusts. They mated and 

 bred in conflnement, l)ut the old ones were only partially domesticated, and would 

 not mate. These birds were all especially inimical to dogs, but evinced a still greater 

 dislike of an old Swan and an old Turkey-Cock. They proved very useful in clearing 

 the garden of slugs and snails. 



The flight of this species is Arm, rapid, and protracted, the bird moving with great 

 steadiness and regularity. Before rising it usually runs a IVav feet witli outsjiread 

 wings, but when surprised can rise with a sudden spring. In its migrations it is 

 liable to be thrown into confusion by passing into a fog-bank, or over a city or a place 

 where there is much shi^jping. Severe snow-storms also disturb it ; so much so, that 

 individuals have been known to dash themselves against the walls of lighthouses and 

 other buildings iu the daytime. In the sjiring migrations flocks not infrequently 

 alight in fields of young grain, and commit great havoc in the course of a single night. 

 Both keenness of sight and quickness of hearing are remarkable in this bird, and it is 

 always vigilant and suspicious ; so that it is with great difliculty taken by surprise, 



Mr, MacFarlane found this species breeding in the vicinity of Fort Anderson, 

 the nests being placed near small inland lakes ; they ai)i)eaied as early as May 17. 

 In one instance five eggs of this .species were found in a deserted Hawk's nest warmly 



