EL'FIBRENTA RUFICOLLIS. 91 



the water and back in crowds, or more rarely in a transverse drawn-out 

 line, but very seldom in a single line or in a ' key/ that is, in a longitudinal 

 line or wedge, like swans, most geese, and cranes. 



" The flocks on arrival circled above the lake, and seeino* nothino- 

 suspicious, settled, although far from the shore ; they flew very high and 

 dropped vertically on to the water. The majority of the flocks consisted 

 of Aiisei' erythropns, but there were also many of A. rujicollis, slightly 

 distinguished by the deep black of the belly, the bright white streak on the 

 wings, and their squeaky, shriller-toned note compared with the white- 

 fronted species, as well as their notably inferior size. The last flocks, 

 seeing their fellows already sitting on the water, descended much lower as 

 they approached the lake.'" 



Dr. Radde says that their flesh is dry and tough, but this refers to birds 

 on migration ; and Lepekhin says that its flesh " is not disagreeable, and is 

 excessively fat.'' It is said to be easily tamed, and to become as familiar 

 and confiding when in a domestic state as it is wild and cautious when in 

 a state of nature. 



It breeds throughout the tundras of Western Siberia, and is also said 

 by Pearson to breed in Lapland ('Ibis,' 189G, p. 210). 



Middendorff got its eggs on the Boganida, slightly incubated, on the 

 25th June, Seebohm took its nest on the Yenesei in late Juno lb 7 7, and 

 Popham on the same river in 1895. In the latter case the four nests 

 found were taken at the foot of a cliff, also tenanted by a Peregrine Falcon. 

 The eggs are described as creamy white and much like those of the Bean- 

 Goose, but with a very fragile shell, through which the green tint of the 

 lining membrane shows. 



The eggs vary from 2*71 to 2*83 inches in length and from 1*73 to 1*77 

 in breadth, and there were seven, eight, or nine eggs in the full 

 clutch. 



