ANSKRIN.E — THE GEESE — BERMfLA. 



405 



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 OS, wliii'h 

 iiantity of 



were also 



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 lie vicinity 

 with it in 

 intl Aguas 



Liy l)oth in 



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 •. IMsi'lioff, 



is said to 



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ichardson 

 ir speeies, 

 ntnry ago. 



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 t was well 



o Phl:-<i- 

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 y, and tho 



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 ig it goes 



bred near 

 Joosc was 

 obhed, tho 



ons keeps 



Although closely resembling the C'anada Goose in most resiiects. except its smaller 

 size, its habits are said to lie (piite ditt'erent from those of th;it hinl. Wliih' the 

 cdiKti/i'usU frecpieuts tlie t'resli-water lakes and rivers of tlu; intci'ior, and feeds chiefly 

 on herbage, the /fufc/iliisi is always found on the sea-coast, feeding on the mariiK! 

 plants and the mollusca which adhere to them — whence its Hesh derives a strong lishv 

 taste, in form, size, and general colors of the phuuage it more nearly resenddes the 

 Brant than the (Canada Goose. 



Acc(jrding to Mr. Barnston, Hutcdiins's Goose arrives at Hudson's Bay later in 

 the season than II. cunadensiit, and at about the sanu' tinu- as the Snow (Joose. It 

 is shot in considerable quantities at 7\ll)any and elsewhere ahmg tlie <'oiist of James 

 Bay. This bird does not incubate in scattered or detached partic.'s throughout the 

 wooded country, but proceeds in larger and united flocks to tlu; extrenu' north, reaching 

 Hudson's Bay about the beginning (d' May, and at once beginning to feed in the 

 .salt-nuirshcs among tlu^ soft white-rooted grasses, remaining a fortnight or three 

 weeks, in company with the '• Wavcys," or Snow (Jecse. J'.y this time tlie Geese 

 are in good plight, and they tlien take their (lei)arture, not reapj)eariug until they 

 return with their young broods in the montli of September. Th»y are killed in 

 less numbers on their jiassage to Hiulsou's Bay than the ciiiitK/ciisi's, which may be 

 accounted for by their habits; l)ut when once the birds have settled u])on their 

 feeding-gnmnds, the slaughter of them is immense. 



Captain James Clark Boss, as (pioted by Audubon, states that this species ari'ives 

 in Hocks, in the neigld)orhood of Felix Harbor, about the middle of June, and soon 

 disperses in pairs to its breeding-jdaces. At Iglo(dik, the oidy jiliice where he had 

 previously met with them, their nests were found in the marshes near the sea. JUit 

 on this occasion several pairs constructed their nests on a ledge of rocks near the foot 

 of a high precipice; Immediately above them the Dovekie.s, Loons, and several .spe- 

 cies of Gulls, and near its summit the Gyrfalcon and Kaven, had also built their 

 nests. From three to four eggs were found in each nest, of a ]nu'e white c(dor and (d' 

 an oval form, measuring .'5.10 inches in length l)y L'. 10 inches in breadth. Its Hesh 

 Mr. Boss pronounces of a most excpusite Havor. 



In Texas, both on the coast aiul inland. !Mr. Dres.ser found these birds quite 

 common. During the winter he shot several on JlitidieU's Bond. The shore luinti-rs 

 there tire well aware of the difference between this species and the canadensis, cidling 

 the latter the "• 15ay Goose," and th(> former the "Prairie Goose." Dr. ^Nferrill also 

 mentions this form as being more common than the riin(i(/eiis!s. 



Dr. ('ooper states that this bird is altogether tho most <'ommoM of the 15rant family 

 of Geese along the Pacific coast, where it arrives about the first of <.)ctober, and frc;- 

 (pients both the inland ])lains and the salt-marshes that border tiu^ const. He thiidis 

 it goes as far south as San Diego, though h(> met with none tlicre. It iisually feeds 

 on the plains early in the morning, and toward noon returns to the water, Avhere it 

 rests during the middle of the day anil night. Large nund)crs are shot, both while 

 feeding and resting, but the mode of pursuit varies according to cii'cnmstances. 

 The brush shed and the trained ox are used on the plains; but in the water a Ijoat is 

 required, Avith which the Geese may be ai)proached very closely under cover of the 

 tall weeds. With a large gun twenty or thirty are often killed in two shots, one fired 

 while the birds are sitting, the othei' as they rise. After feeding again in the .after- 

 noon, the greater part of those in the interior are said to assemble at favorite roosts 

 in the wide creeks and sloughs, though many are seen in scattere<l Hocks about the 

 marshes. Dr. Cooper is confident he saw this s])ecies in the San Joaquin Valley as 

 early as September 10, and on the loth he met with a large Hock there. Mr. llidgway 



VOL. I. — .")9 



