ANSERIN.K — THE GEESE — DENDUOCYCNA. 



479 



specially on 

 ['t dusky. 

 -2.r)0. 

 variation in 

 ing in Bonie, 



Prof(?ssor 

 en siiid to 

 1 Islands; 

 ms of ^Ir. 

 lie regions 

 n pains to 

 nd the cx- 



to be nn- 

 uls visited 

 wevor, by 



)f St. yi\- 



and about 

 lers. Mr. 

 t bird, and 

 ion in the 

 ;he Yukon 

 er species. 

 i)int being 

 ;ain spcci- 

 tirce about 



sea-coast. 

 . Dall ob- 

 le largest 



head and 



Iffeet. Its 



arger and 



being in 

 ese. The 

 all states, 

 ible task ; 

 ting, 

 ing to the 



Dall saw 

 nger than 

 n Ilytilvs 



the Eus- 

 •ge flocks. 



and it is 



uring the 



ge. Tills 



reported 



rling that 



river. Mr. Bannister also speaks of the strongly otfensive odor of its flesh, stating 

 that skinning it leaves a taint upon the hands which can hardly be removed by wash- 

 ing. He considers the flesh so strong as to lie wholly unlit for food, though the 

 Indians and the Eskimos eat it. 



According to the observations of Mr. Elliott, this sjieeies visits the Prybilof Islands, 

 but only as a straggler, and sometimes landing in such an exhausted condition that 

 the natives capture whole flocks in open chase over the grass, the l)irds being unable 

 to use their wings for flight. lie adils that he found the flesh of this bird — contrary 

 to report — free from any unideasant flavor, and in fact very good. The objection- 

 able (puility is only skin-deej), and may be got rid of l)y due care in the i)reparation 

 of the bird for the table. 



Jlr. E. Adams (•• Ibis," 1878), in his Notes on the lairds observed by him on Nor- 

 ton Sound, near the mouth of the Vukon, refers to this bird as the " White-headed 

 Goose," its name in the Eski dialect being Snil-jdr-lih. He flrst met with it at Port 

 Chirence, and was told by an old hunter that it came in very small numbers every 

 year, and was excellent eating. Coming suddenly upon a flock of eight, on the Kith 

 of May, he could not get near them, but was able to examine them through a glass 

 as they were standing in the water, just at the edgi; of a lake, dressing their feathers. 

 They reminded him very much of the IJarnacle CJoose, but were larger, had more 

 white, and no black on their neck, and had red bills and feet. Their local name is 

 supposed to be derived from an Indian word signifying a cap. 



The eggs of this species taken by Mr. Dall, June L'O, 1873, in Kusilvak Slough, 

 at the mouth of the Yukon, vary in length from 3.33 inches to 3.40, and in breadth 

 from 2.90 to 3.10. In shape they are of an unusually elongated form, nearly eepial 

 at both ends ; in color white, but with a general dirty brown aspect, caused by minute 

 discolorations. 



Genus DENDROCYCNA, Savainson. 



Dendroncssn , Wagl. Isis, 1832, 281 (type, Anas arcmtta, Cuv. nee Swainson, 1831). 



Deiidroci/ijim, Swains. Cliissif. 1!. II. 1837, 305 (same tyiie). 



1 Leptotarsia, Eyton, Monog. Anat. 1838, 29 (type, /,. Eytoai, Goulu). 



Char. Bill longer than the liead, the edges nearly parallel, deep through the base, depressed 

 terminally, the nail larg(! and much hoijked ; mandible almost wholly concealed behind the over- 

 hani>ing ;idge of the maxilla ; neck and legs long, the tarsus nearly etpuil to or longer than the 

 middle toe, and reticulated in front (as in the .Swans and true Geese) ; wings i-ather short, 

 rounded, the primaries not projecting beyond the ends of the inner secondaries ; second to fourth 

 quills longest, and nearly equal ; tail short, almost hidden by the coverts. Habits, arboreal. 



The Tree Ducks apjiear to be more nearly related structurally to tlie Sheldrakes (Tadonm, C'as- 

 arca, etc.) and the Goose-like genus ChcnalojKX, than to the true Ducks on the one hand or Geese 

 proper on the other ; and with these forms jierhaps constitute a distinct group. 



The genus Dendrocycna is distributed througlnHit the tropical and subtropical regions of the 

 earth, some of the species having a very anomalous range ; for instance, the D. fuha is common in 

 Mexico and the southern border of the United States, and in the southern p.irt of tropical South 

 America (South Brazil, Buenos Ayres, etc.), but is apparently absent from the entire intervening 

 territory ; but what is still more remarkable, tlie same species is said to be found in Madagascar 

 and Southern India. The D. vidnafa of South America is also a common biixl of Western Africa.^ 



The American species oi Dendrocycna may be distinguished as follows ; — 



» See Scl. & Salv. P. Z. S. 1864, p. 



299. 



I . ! 



i' 



