Canada Goose 273 



may wander near. Leaning forward, with neck stretched to its full length and 

 head swaying only an inch or two from the ground, the bird will make sudden 

 rushes all about the place. His mouth is open, he hisses furiously, the feathers 

 ■of his wings are ruffled, and altogether he is quite a fierce antagonist to face. 



The male keeps close, jealous watch over the nest and his brooding mate, 

 and if he thinks they are endangered he at once gives battle. If the nest is 

 approached he will not hesitate to attack a human intruder as the blue bruises 

 of my own body, on more than one occasion, could have borne testimony. 



The summer home of the Canada Goose is in our northwestern states and 

 over large portions of Canada. Five to eight white eggs are laid, usually in a 

 feather-lined nest on the ground in the immediate vicinity of water. I have 

 found the birds particularly partial to little islets for nesting-sites when these 

 are available. 



The molting season comes while the birds are in attendance on their young, 

 and there is a time in the history of every family of Wild Geese when neither 

 the parents nor the young can escape by flight. It is, however, no easy matter 

 to capture an adult Goose under such curcumstances. For the sake of experi- 

 ment the writer has upon occasion attempted the pursuit of old Geese when 

 found in company with the young. The utmost effort that could be put forth 

 by two men paddling a light canoe or rowboat was wholly insufficient to over- 

 come the rapid progress which the wild Goose made, first by swimming and 

 later by flapping along the surface of the water, in which movement both wings 

 and feet were used. There are printed records tending to show that Canadian 

 Indians sometimes succeed in driving the molting Geese out of a pond by 

 means of dogs, and thus bring the birds within range of their arrows. 



With thousands of men constantly seeking to kill the Canada Goose, it 

 seems strange that they have not long ago been exterminated. As a matter of 

 fact, it appears that of recent years their numbers have been increasing. 



The food of this species consists of a wide variety of objects gathered on 

 land as well as in the water. Small frogs, insects and other aquatic life are 

 taken in a small degree, but usually these birds are vegetarians. Corn gathered 

 from the ground in the autumn cornfields, grain picked up among the wheat 

 stubble and even acorns are eaten. Various kinds of water plants are consumed. 

 Near the country club house of the Camp-Fire Club of America there is a 

 pond of several acres where in 1921 nine Canada Geese were kept. During the 

 summer these birds destroyed nearly all vegetation growing in the shallow 

 water about the margins. 



Science recognizes four forms of this Goose, varying from each other but 

 slightly in size or marking of the plumage. These, known as Canada Goose, 

 Hutchins's Goose, White-cheeked Goose, and Cackling Goose are all inhab- 

 itants of North America. 



