THE SPECIES OF BEAN-GEESE. 601 



8. Anser oatesi, Rickett (Bill. fig. 8). 



When I first saw Mr. Riokett's description of this so-called distinct species, 

 I at once understood that something was wrong about it. " Similar in size 

 and plumage to A. brachyrhynchus, but with a much larger bill and white 

 chin" is a very vague way of describing a Goose of this difficult group. And 

 so it proved to be the case. 



At the time I was preparing my book I could not guess that another entire 

 skin of the bird had reached the British Museum, as Mr. Oates tells us the 

 fact only now, and that is why I placed the name as synonym to Melanonyx 

 neglectus with two " ?? ". Well, now that we know from Mr. Oates' paper 

 and from the drawing of the bill on his plate what this Goose surely is, we 

 shall simply change its position, transferring it to the synonyma of Mel. 

 segetum, leaving out the two now unnecessary " ?? ". The only thing that 

 could have saved Melanonyss oatesi, would bave been the fact of its really 

 having the plumage '' similar to that of brachyrhynchus" which would neces- 

 sitate ashy-grey upper wing-coverts, as this last species has them, and wbich are 

 its most important specific feature. Now Mr. Oates, who has examined this 

 entire skin of the supposed new species of Goose, does not say a word about 

 the colour of its upper wing-coverts, which would have at once settled the 

 question of the validity or not of Mel. oatesi. 



The bill on Mr. Oates' plate represents a typical, though somewhat heavy- 

 billed specimen of Mel. segetum which, at the same time is not, as Mr. Oates 

 supposes, about the same size as arvensis, but a much smaller bird. 



I have seen both species freshly killed, lying side by side, and could ajways 

 surely distinguish them by the difference in size at a distance, not even 

 having to look at the differently-formed bills. But what Mr. Oates seems to 

 have completely overlooked, is that brachyrhynchus had so very pale ashy-grey 

 wing-coverts, or he would not have found that Mr. Rickett's short description, 

 containing the " similarity " of plumage with brachyrhynchus was sufficient. 

 As, however, in scientific matter prudence is of the greatest importance, I 

 here declare that, in case this Goose {oatesi) has really the wing-coverts ashy, 

 grey (a highly improbable thing) it must belong to a separate species from 

 segetum, though with exactly the same bill as in this last. 



And now I come to ask the impartial reader to decide if I am as guilty, 

 as Mr. Oates will have it, of having " rendered the study of the Geese more 

 difficult in future " by my book on the " Geese of Europe anl Asia." Except- 

 ing the two facts : — that neglectus has been found by Seebohm on the Yenissei, 

 and that middendorffi, has been obtained in India, which were not known to 

 me, I fail to find a single statement in Mr. Oates' paper that has not found 

 its place in my work. 



POSTSCRIPT. 



Mr. Oates considers all the species of Geese he deals with in his paper, under 

 the heading " The Bean-Geese, " as a separate group of the sub-family 

 Anserina. This is quite obvious, and in this he is perfectly right. But why 



