96 CHEN ALBATUS. 



towards the sun and approach so near that it singes its forehead against his 

 orb." 



Looking at Audubon's plate of his adult male, the ferruginous head has 

 just the appearance indicated by the Indians. He says : — " I am unable to 

 inform you at what age the Snow-Goose attains its pure white plumage, as 

 I have found that a judgment formed from individuals kept in confinement is 

 not to be depended upon. In one instance, at least, a friend of mine, who 

 had kept a bird of this species four years, wrote to me that he was despairing 

 of ever seeing it become pure white. Two years after, he sent me much the 

 same message ; but at the commencement of the next spring the Goose was 

 a Snow-Goose, and the change had taken place in less than a month. The 

 Snow-Goose feeds on rushes, insects, and (in autumn) on berries, particularly 

 those of the Empetrum nigrum. It is said that the young do not attain the 

 full plumage before their fourth year ; and until that period they appear to 

 keep in separate Jlochs, The young birds of this species begin to acquire 

 their whiteness about the head and neck after the first year ; but the upper 

 parts remain of a dark bluish colour until the bird suddenly becomes white 

 all over ; at least, this is the case with such as are kept in captivity." 



Again : — " There can be little doubt that this species breeds in its grey 

 plumage, when it is generally known by the name of Blue-winged Goose, as 

 is the case with the young of Grus americana, formerly considered a distinct 

 species and named Grus canadensis/' 



The ferruginous tinge on the head of the Snow-Goose (^Chen hyperhoreus) 

 is also observable in the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor^ and Bewick's Swan (^Cygnus 

 minor). 



Is, then, the notion of the Indians, as mentioned by Edwards, only an 

 exaggeration of the fact that exposure to the sun has tinged the head of the 

 bird with brown ? or does the stain arise from aquatic plants or sand ? 



Mr. H. Stevenson (Ibis, April 1876, 3rd ser. vol. vi. p. 276) gives us a 

 most capital letter on this very thing. It should be read. The result 



