The Egyptian Goose. 



367 



beautiful bird, and is often seen at shows wherever a class for " any other variety " of geese gives it 

 an opening. It is perhaps the most ornamental of all the geese, its tall and somewhat slender 

 form giving it an elegance of appearance no other variety can boast of; and it has the merit, not 

 very common in ornamental water-fowl, of breeding pretty freely in confinement. Notwithstanding 

 these advantages, it has one great drawback ; the truth must be told, that the male at least is a 

 most quarrelsome bird. With other males of the same species he will fight to the death,and is generally 

 a dreadful tyrant and persecutor even to other inmates of the pond. Some individuals, however, 

 manifest somewhat better morals, and it is possible that more perfect domestication might modify 

 this inconvenient disposition. 



EGYPTIAN OR NILE GOOSE. 



The general colour of the Egyptian Goose is grey and black upon the upper parts of the body, 

 and pale buff or yellow, beautifully pencilled with black lines underneath ; a patch round the eye 

 and another on the centre of the breast being of a chestnut colour ; the shoulders of the wings 

 white, with a narrow black stripe or bar of beautiful metallic lustre ; and the wing-quills and tail- 

 feathers glossy black. The eye is orange-colour, the bill purple or bluish red ; the feet and legs 

 reddish yellow. The wings of this goose, like those of the Gambian or Spur-winged Goose, have 

 on the bend of the wing or wrist-joint a strong white horny spur about five-eighths of an inch long, 

 instead of the hard knob which belongs to most of the goose tribe. The female closely resembles 

 the male, but is somewhat smaller. The number of eggs varies from six to twelve, more than six 

 being rarely obtained in captivity, though ten or twelve is believed to be the usual number laid by 

 the wild bird. 



The Egyptian Goose, like the other principal tribes, has a wide range. It is known to extend 

 from Alexandria to the Cape of Good Hope, and has been frequently shot in England. In some 



