DOMESTIC LIFE OF THE BIRDS 



The conduct of these decoys indicates that the 

 losing of a mate is a much more serious matter among 

 them than with the Bluebird and others of our small 

 feathered friends. When a gander has chosen his 

 goose and she has accepted his advances, the pair 

 remain constantly together, summer and winter, as 

 long as they live. If one is killed, many years may 

 elapse before the survivor selects another companion. 



In Currituck County, North Carolina, there was 

 not long ago a gander that local tradition said was 

 sixty-two years of age. The first thirty years of his 

 life he remained unmated and for the last thirty-two 

 he has been the proud possessor of a mate from whose 

 side he has never strayed. 



These Geese do not mate readily, and a man who 

 has a company of thirty or forty may well be satisfied 

 if six or eight pairs of them are mated. The truth of 

 this statement is proved by the fact that on the local 

 market a single Goose is worth about one dollar, 

 while a pair of mated Geese will readily bring five 

 dollars. 



[53] 



