86 KATUEAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS IN ALASKA. 



Branta canadensis minima Eiilgw. Cackling Goose (Esk. Ltil-hluk-hhl-fflnW). 



This is the most common and generally distributed goose found breeding along the Alaskan 

 coast of Bering Sea. From tlie sea-sLore its breeding ground extends along the courses of the 

 great rivers far into the interior. During the summer of 1881 they were found iu abundance about 

 the head of Kotzebue Sound, and were seen at various points along the Arctic coast to the vicinity 

 of Point Barrow : so there is no doubt that its breeding ground reaches thus far. 



In Dall and Bannister's paper the notes upon leucopareia and Jiutchinsii are to be united under 

 the above heading, since they unquestionably refer solely to the present bird. While descending 

 the Yukon, Dall found their eggs laid n]jon the bare sandbaid^s, as were those of the White- 

 fronted species. 



It is recorded by Elliott as an occasional visitant to the Fur Seal Islands during the migra- 

 tions, but is not known to bi-eed. In the vicinity of Saint Michaels and the Y^ukou mouth these 

 are the first geese to arrive in spring; the first come from the 25th to the 30th of April, but 

 the main body do not arrive until from Way 5 to 20, according to the season. The first goose 

 of the season is hailed with deligiit by both natives and white residents, who set at work repair- 

 ing their guns and making ready for the welcome change from a diet of fish eaten all through the 

 winter to geese, which soon becomes the staple. 



As May advances and one by one the ponds open, and the earth looks out here and there from 

 under its winter covering, the loud notes of the various wild fowl are heard, becoming daily more 

 numerous. Their harsh and varied cries make sweet music to the ears of all who have just passed 

 the winter's silence and dull monotony, and iu spite of the lowering skies and occasional snow- 

 squalls every one makes ready and is off to the marshes. 



The flocks come cleaving their way from afar, and as they draw near their summer homes raise 

 a chorus of loud notes in a high-pitched tone like the syllable " luk," rapidly repeated, and a reply 

 rises upon all sides, until the whole niarsh re-echoes with the din, and the ne^vcomers circle slowly 

 up to the edge of a pond amid a perfect chorus raised by the geese all about, as if iu congratula- 

 tion. 



Even upon first arrival many of the birds appear to be mated, as I have frequently shot one 

 from a flock and seen a single bird leave its companions at once and come circling about, uttering 

 loud call-notes. If the fallen bird is only wouuded its mate will almost invariably join it, and 

 frequently allow itself to be approached and shot without attempting to escape. In some instances 

 I have known a bird thus bereaved of its partner to remain in the vicinity for two to three days, 

 calling and circling about. Although many are mated, others are not, and the less fortunate 

 males fight hard and long for possession of females. I frequently amused myself, while at the 

 Yukon mouth, by watching flocks of geese ou the muddy banks of the river, which was a favorite 

 resort. The females kept to one side and dozed, or dabbled their bills in the mud ; the males were 

 scattered about, and kept moving uneasily from side to side, making a great outcry. This would 

 last but a few minutes, when two of the warriors would cross each other's path, and then began 

 the battle. They would seize one another by the bill, and then turn and twist each other about, 

 their wings hanging loosely by their sides meanwhile. Suddenly tliey would close ui> and each 

 would belabor his rival with the bend of the wing, until the sound could be hearil two or three 

 hundred yards. The wing-strokes were always warded oti' by the other bird's wing, so but little 

 damage was done, but it usually eided in the weaker bird breaking loose and runiiiug away. 

 Just before the males seize each other they usually utter a series of peculiar low growling or 

 grunting notes. 



The last week of May finds maiiy of these birds already depositing their eggs. Upon the grassy 

 borders of ponds, in the midst of a bunch of grass, or on a small knoll these birds find a spot where 

 they make a slight depression and perhaps line it with a scanty layer of grasses, after which the 

 eggs are laid, numbering from five to eight. These eggs, like the birds, average smaller than those 

 of the other geese. The following series of measuremeuts, taken from a large series of eggs, shows 

 about the average sizes: 3 by 1.85, 2.90 by 1.00, 2.80 by 2, 2.75 by 2, 2.70 by 1.92. 



As the eggs are deposited the female gradually lines the nest with feathers plucked from her 

 breast until they rest in a bed of down. When first laid the eggs are white, but by the time 



