THE AMERICAN WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 



{Anser albifrons gavibeli. ) 



The American White-fronted Goose 

 has an extensive range which includes 

 North America, though it is rare on the 

 Atlantic coast. In the interior and on 

 the Pacific slope it is common, excepting 

 during the nesting season, for it breeds 

 only in the Far North. This species 

 winters in the United States, southward 

 to Mexico and Cuba. As a winter resi- 

 dent it is much more abundant on the 

 Great Plains and westward to the Pa- 

 cific coast. In the Mississippi Valley 

 and eastward, it is more common as a 

 migrant, and in most localities of this 

 region it is rare in winter. In Illinois 

 it appears in its fall migrations during 

 October or early in November, and in 

 the spring it returns during March and 

 April. In those localities where it only 

 appears as a migrant, its peculiar and 

 rapidly repeated notes Wah, wah, wah, 

 wah, wah, may well remind one of the 

 words of Celia Thaxter in her poem 

 "Wild Geese" : 



Hark, what a clamor goes winging through 



the sky! 

 Look, children ! Listen to the sound so wild 



and high ! 

 Like a peal of broken bells, — Kling, kling, 



kling, — 

 Far and high the wild geese cry, "Spring! it 



is spring!" 



The loud, harsh and quite trumpet- 

 like notes of this Goose have given to it 

 the name Laughing Goose. But it also 

 bears many other names. As it shows 

 a special liking for low prairies, it is fre- 

 quently called the Prairie Brant or 

 Goose. Because of the coloration of its 

 plumage it is often called Gray Brant, 

 Speckled Brant or Goose and Yellow- 

 legged Goose. It bears several other 

 popular names, but the ones already 

 mentioned are those more commonly 

 used. During their migrations, they 

 often fly so high that they appear as 

 mere dots agains the clouds or sky. 

 They, however, spend most of their time 

 upon the land, for it is there that they 



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obtain their food. When flying in large 

 flocks this interesting species, like the 

 Canada goose and the snow goose, with 

 which it is frequently associated, flies in 

 a wedge-shaped company led by one 

 whose ringing call notes are constantly 

 uttered. The flight of these birds is 

 beautiful, but appears to be much less 

 rapid than it really is because of their 

 large size and the height at which they 

 are moving. The flesh of the White- 

 fronted Goose is very highly esteemed, 

 and by many epicures it is considered 

 much more delicious than the flesh of 

 any of the other geese. 



The geese are vegetarians and much 

 more terrestrial than are the ducks, for 

 they frequent the land in order to feed 

 upon tender herbage. The White-front- 

 ed Goose during its migrations and in 

 its winter home, frequents prairies and 

 fields where it feeds upon the tender 

 blades of grass and to some extent, at 

 least, upon the green blades of winter 

 wheat. It will also glean the scattered 

 grains of corn in corn-fields. In Cali- 

 fornia, where it is very abundant in win- 

 ter, it is said to be very destructive to 

 the growing wheat crop and that, in 

 some localities, the farmers employ men 

 to kill them or drive them from the 

 fields. When obtainable, berries of vari- 

 ous kinds and buds of shrubs are staple 

 articles of food. When these Geese ar- 

 rive upon their breeding grounds in the 

 early spring, the lakes are still frozen 

 and the ground is more or less covered 

 with snow. At this time the heath ber- 

 ries of the preceding year form their 

 principle food. 



Mr. E. W. Nelson has given an excel- 

 lect account of their breeding habits in 

 Alaska where they nest very abundant- 

 ly. There, the White-fronted Geese be- 

 gin to arrive the latter part of April if 

 the season is early, but usually early in 

 May. "As the season advances they be- 

 come more numerous and noisy. Their 

 loud call notes and the cries of the males 

 are heard everywhere." He found, how- 



