100 NESTS AND EQG8 OF 



were placed on the high banks among high grass, or on piles of drift wood. By the 

 first of May the nests contained the full complement of eggs, generally five in 

 number. Dr. Merrill says: "When these geese nest among the branches of a tree 

 I do not think they ever construct the nest entirely themselves, but take possession 

 of a deserted nest of the Pish Hawk, and repair it with, twigs and a lining of down. 

 They have been seen to carry small sticks to the nest for this purpose." The color 

 of the eggs is a pale dull greenish, and their size is about 3.50x2.50. 



172a. HUTCHINS'S GOOSE. Branta canadensis hutcMusii (Sw. & Rich.) Geog. 

 Dist. — North America, breeding in the Arctic regions, migrating south in winter, 

 chiefly through the Western United States and Mississippi Valley; Eastern Asia, 



This bird, which is like canadensis in color, but of a smaller size, breeds in boreal 

 regions. Its length is about 24 to 34 inches. Its general habits are the same as those 

 of the common Canada Goose. Breeds abundantly along the Yukon River and on the 

 islands on the coast of Alaska. Nests have been found on the Islands of the 

 Anderson River and on the Arctic coast. In these regions eggs of this species have 

 been taken from Hawks' and Crows' nests built in trees. It nests usually on sand- 

 beaches, depositing from four to six eggs in hollows in which there are more or less 

 leaves, grasses, feathers and down. In his paper on "The Birds of the Western 

 Aleutian Islands," Mr. Dall states that it does not breed east of Amchita Island, 

 but some nest on Amchitka, Kyska and other islands there. Its nesting habits, 

 notes, and general mode of life are identical with those of the Cackling Goose. The 

 eggs are white, and measure 3.18x2.10. In the Arctic regions the eggs are laid in 

 June and July. Eggs of this uird taken at the mouth of the Yukon in June measure 

 3.02x2.10, 3.08x2.11, 3.04x2.00, 3.00x2.11, 2.90x2.07. There is a great variation in the 

 size of the eggs of this bird and those of minima. 



1726. WHITE-CHEEKED GOOSE. Branta canadensis occidentalis (Baird.) 

 Geog. Dist. — Pacific coast region, from Sitka south, in winter to California. 



A larger sub-species than Hutchins's Goose, length about 35 inches. Mr. Nelson 

 states that during his residence on the coast of Bering Sea this bird was not seen, as 

 hundreds of the two other related forms were examined both at St. Michael's and 

 at the Yukon mouth it appeared evident that either the White-cheeked Goose 

 proper never reached those localities; if at all, merely as a straggler. Mr. Dall records 

 specimens having been taken at Sitka during the Western Union Telegraph expedi- 

 tion. The nesting habits and the eggs are more than likely like those of the Canada 

 Goose. 



172c. CACKLING GOOSE. Branta canadensis minima Ridgw. Geog. Dist. — 

 Coast of Alaska, migrating southward into Western United States east to Wisconsin. 



The length of the Cackling Goose is about 24 inches. Nelson states thaf this is 

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

 coast of Bering Sea. From the sea shore its breeding ground extends along the 

 courses of the great rivers far into the interior. While descending the Yukon, Dall 

 found their eggs laid upon the bare sand banks, as were those of the White-fronted 

 species. The last week of May finds many of these birds already depositing their 

 eggs. Upon the grassy borders of ponds, in the midst of a bunch of grass, or on a\ 

 email knoll these birds find a spot where they make a slight depression and 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. 



