48 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XV 11. 



characters, which show how distinct this large goose really is, are 

 omitted and their place taken by asterisks. What is left of my original 

 description, as presented by Mr. Alpheraky to his readers, is mere 

 commonplace and of no interest whatever, and yet this omitted 

 matter, a few words only, would not have occupied more than a line of 

 type in Mr. Alpheraky's ample pages. 



7. Anser serrirostris, Swinhoe (fig. 7). 

 The Large Chinese Bean-Goose. 



Nearly all that we know of this Goose is derived from Swinhoe's 

 writings in the " Ibis" and in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society 

 of London from 1860 to 1871. It is obvious from what Swinhoe states 

 that he was acquainted with only one Bean-Goose, the present species. 

 He met with it between Takao and Peking, at Foo-chow and at Amoy 

 and Canton. 



He gives the following account of an old gander : — " Length 31*5 

 in., wing 18*5 in., measured with the curve, 17*6 in. from carpus across 

 to tip. When closed, the wing extends to over 5 in. beyond the tail which 

 is of fourteen feathers and about 7 in. long. Bill black with a pinkish 

 red ring behind thedertrum, "5 in. broad on the upper and *25 in. on the 

 lower mandible. Legs very bright orange with black claws. Bill from 

 vertex of frontal angle 2*8 in., from rictus 2*6 in., depth at base 1*5 in. 

 Tarse 3*4 in., middle toe and claw 3"2 in." 



A specimen in the British Museum, obtained by Swinhoe at Ningpo, 

 has the wing 18'2 inches in length, and the measurement of the bill is 

 2*45 inches. 



Another specimen obtained by Mr. Styan at Chinkiang has the wing 

 18*6 inches in length and the bill measures 2'5 inches. 



Both these specimens have the pale part of the bill confined to a band 

 in front of the nostril ; and in both, this part is now of a dull yellow 

 colour. 



Mr. F. W. Styan (Ibis, 1891, p. 495) remarks of this species : — 

 " The commonest goose at the mouth of the Yangtse and (except A. 

 erythropus) on the upper reaches too. The size and shape of the bill 

 vary much and I do not think species can be founded on it." It is 

 probable, however, that Mr. Styan shot both the present species and 

 the next, but did not discriminate them as Mr. Rickett has since done. 



The Large Chinese Goose may be recognised by the great depth of 

 the lower mandible when compared with the length of the bill. 



