420 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
is pure white; and on opening his bill a process resembling teeth 
is very noticeable.” 
Prior to the receipt of this note I had written to Mr. Robert 
Warren, of Moyview, Ballina, in the same county, whose practical 
knowledge of Ornithology rendered his assistance in the matter 
most desirable, and, being somewhat doubtful whether the species 
had been correctly identified, requested his opinion. He had not 
heard of the occurrence, and was inclined to think that on enquiry 
the birds would turn out to be Bernicles. Mr. Sweetman’s 
description, however, of the pure white plumage seemed almost 
conclusive. Mr. Warren promptly instituted enquiries, and on 
the 8lst August was enabled to send me the following letter from 
Mr. Crampton, dated the previous day :— 
“From the description given in Cuvier’s ‘ Natural History,’ 
I think there can be no doubt as to the bird you refer to being the 
Snow Goose. With the exception of black tips to the wings 
the bird is snow-white; a little smaller than the common goose, 
and much more elegant in shape. He is now quite tame, and has 
assumed the leadership of our domestic flock, taking them long 
distances away in the mornings and returning to the yard in the 
evenings with remarkable punctuality.” 
In answer to enquiry as to the colour of the bill and feet, and 
the mode in which this bird was captured, Mr. Crampton obligingly 
replied, on September 2nd, as follows :— 
“The goose is rather smaller than our land Bernicle. The legs 
and feet are the same in colour, but a shade darker and more livid 
looking than the common goose. The bill is much the same in 
colour as that of the common goose, perhaps a little brighter, but 
with a hard black enamel-like edging along the upper part of the 
lower mandible, and the same to a less degree on the upper one. 
“As to the place and mode of capture, there is a large tract of 
wet reedy marsh between the lake and the sea, and within a few 
hundred yards of my house, much frequented in winter by ducks, 
geese, and occasionally swans. In this marsh, in the end of 
October last, I saw two strange white birds. After a wet stalk, 
I wounded and secured one. It lived in my garden for six weeks 
and then died. The day succeeding its capture the second bird 
was seen flying over the marsh, and it occurred to me to try and 
trap him, which [ accomplished in the following way:—I had a 
space about six feet in diameter cleared in the centre of some 
