334 ~ FLAMINGOES, DUCKS, AND SCREAMERS. 
o 
with the metatarsus exceeding the length of the third toe; and the first toe is well 
developed. The windpipe of the male differs from that of ordinary geese in being 
dilated at the lower end. In colour the Egyptian goose has the sides of the head 
and front of the neck mottled yellowish white ; a patch round the eye, the hinder- 
neck, and a collar round the lower part of the latter are chestnut-brown; on the 
upper-parts the general hue is mingled grey and black, and that of the under-parts 
yellowish brown, marked with black and white, and becoming lighter on the 
hinder-part of the breast and abdomen; the breast having a patch of chestnut 
brown. The carpal portion of the wing and wing-coverts is white, with black tips 
to the smaller coverts; the secondaries are tinged with reddish bay, and edged . 
with chestnut; and the prim- 
aries and tail-feathers are 
brilliant black. The iris is 
yellow ; the beak is horn-colour 
above, with the tip pink, the 
nail, margin, and base dark 
brown, and the lower mandible 
cherry-red; the legs and feet 
being pink. 
This handsomely coloured 
bird, which is the vulpanser of 
Herodotus, was domesticated 
by the ancient Egyptians, and, 
although not sacred, was the 
emblem of Seb, the father of 
Osiris. It now occurs in the 
Nile Valley southwards of 
Cairo, and thence ranges over 
the greater part of tropical 
Africa, and is the common wild 
goose of the Cape Colony. 
Going about either singly or in 
pairs, the Egyptian goose frequents both rapid running streams and pools and lakes , 
and its nest may be situated either on dry land or among long swampy grass in 
the Zambesi district. Further north these birds have, however, been known to 
rear their young on ledges of steep cliffs. The young brood leave their parents as 
soon as they are strong enough to fly. When on the wing, a loud, harsh, grating 
noise, which has been compared to the bark of a dog, is continually uttered. This 
goose has been more or less completely acclimatised in England, where it may not 
unfrequently be seen on ornamental waters; and in confinement it has bred with 
several other members of the family,—among them the spur-winged goose. The 
flesh is superior in quality to that of the latter species. The windpipe of the 
male is peculiar in having a large bony capsule on the left side of its lower 
extremity. 










AMERICAN KNOB-WINGED GOOSE. 
So indissolubly was the attribute of whiteness connected among 
The Swans, : 5 : 5 
the ancients with the swans, that the idea of a black swan, as ex- 
