CHAPTER XIX 



THE FASTEST FLYERS, SWIMMERS, AND 



DIVERS 



Canada Goose — ^Wild Ducks — Herring Gxill — Loon 



Canada Goose 



Length — From 1 yard to 43 inches. 



Male and Female — ^Head and neck black, a broad white 

 band running from eye to eye under the head; mantle 

 over back and wings grayish brown, the edges of feathers 

 lightest; breast gray, fading to soiled white underneath. 

 Female paler; tail, bill, and feet black. 



Range — ^North America at large; nests in northern parts of 

 the United States and in the British possessions; winters 

 southward to Mexico. 



Season — Chiefly a spring and autumn migrant, north of 

 Washington; although a few remain so late (December) 

 and return so early (March) they may almost be said to 

 be winter residents North as well as South. The most 

 abundant and widely distributed of aU our wild geese. 



Heralded by a mellow honk, honk, from the leader of a 

 flying wedge, on come the long-necked wild geese from 

 their northern nesting groimds, and stream across the 

 autumn sky so far above us that their large bodies appear 



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