450 



LAMELLrROSTRAL SWIMMERS — ANSERES. 



<» 



W,/-M^?li'W 



admixture of a few pale cinereous feathers. In No. 4517, Washington, D. C, the whitish gray of 

 the lower parts is strongly tinged with ochraceous-rufous — without doubt merely an accidental 

 stain from ferruginous clay. There is also a slight range of variation in the shade of the brownish 

 tints of the body, some specimens inclining to cinereous and others approaching dark umber. The 

 smallest specimen (see measurements above) is No. 10463, Frontera, Texas ; the largest is No. 

 16788, WashinCTton, D. C. In No. 20138, Fort Resolution, the white of the forehead is more 



extended than in an}- others, reaching as far as the mid- 

 dle of the eye, and sending back a stripe over the eye to 

 its posterior angle, and another on each side the throat. 



The variations of plumage in this species are thus 

 discussed by Mr. E. W. Nelson, in the " Bulletin of the 

 Essex Institute," Vol. Vlll. (1876), pp. 136, 137 : — 



" The individual variation in this species is very 

 great. A lai-ge majority have the ordinary white frontal 

 band and the under parts plentifully mottled with black. 

 In others the l)lack gradually decreases, until some speci- 

 mens do not show the least trace of dark on the abdo- 

 men ; in such instances the frontal white band is usually 

 present. The young exhibit a dark brown frontal band 

 ill place of white, but with more or less dark spots on 

 the abdomen. In very high plumage the abdomen be- 

 comes almost entirely black, only a few rusty-colored 

 feathers being interspersed througli the black. The 

 white nail on the bill is generally crossed by one or 

 more longitudinal stripes of dark horn-color. In spring, 

 as the breeding-season approaches, the bill becomes a 

 clear waxy yellow. There is also much variation in 

 size among adults of this species. I have examined a 

 number of specimens, which by correct comparison were 

 at least one fourtJi smaller than the average." 

 A hybrid between Anscr Gamheli and Bcniida occichntalis, from San Francisco (No. 41704, 

 Oct. 25, 1862 ; F. Gruber), shows an e(pial combination of the characters of tlie two species. The 

 head has the white front of ^. Gamheli and the white cheek-patch of B. canadensis ; the Ijlack of 

 the neck lightens gradually into the grayish brown of the juguluni ; tlie greater coverts are silvery- 

 slate, as in A. Gamheli, and the tail is wholly black, as in B canadensis ; while the upper tail-coverts 

 are spotted white and l)lack. The anal region and erissum are white, but the longer feathers nf 

 the latter are clouded with black. The bill and feet are pale-colored (reddish in life ?), as in 

 A. Gamheli. 



It is very doubtful whether the White-fronted Goose of Greenland belongs to 

 the European species or to the larger American form. Professor Newton appears 

 rather inclined to assign it to the latter; but as the true albifrons is a regular 

 visitant to Iceland, the examples taken on the east coast of Greenland may perhaps 

 belong to the Old "World form ; but it does not follow that those of the west coast 

 are of the same kind. The White-fronted Goose is pretty generally distributed over 

 the entire Pahvai-ctic Region, breeding near the coast-line of the Arctic Ocean, in 

 both Europe and Asia, and also on tlie larger rivers, bays, and inlets. In its migra- 

 tions it is variously and unequally distributed, but is more abundant in Eastern 

 Europe than in West, extending its migrations into Central Africa almost as far as 

 the Equator. It is usually found in Great Britain and Ireland, and is a tolerably 

 regular visitant, although more common in the severest winters. 



This bird is abundant in Northeastern Africa during the cold season, and at that 

 time is the most common Goose in Egypt, where it may be met with in flocks. It 

 leaves that region in March. It is also a winter visitant to India, and is also quite 



A, albij'rniis erylhropns. 



