50 THE CHICAGO ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



A common migrant. It arrives from the north in October 

 and returns again in March, when small flocks may be observed 

 on the prairies or in stubble fields. Mr. Nelson says :* "The 

 individual variation in this species is very great. A large major- 

 ity have the ordinary white frontal band and the under parts 

 plentifully mottled with black. In others the black gradually 

 decreases until some specimens do not show the least trace of 

 dark on the abdomen ; in such instances the frontal white band 

 is usually present. The young exhibit a dark brown frontal 

 band in place of white, but with more or less dark spots on the 

 abdomen. In very high plumage the abdomen becomes almost 

 entirely black, only a few rusty colored feathers being inter- 

 spersed through the black. The white nail on the bill is gen- 

 erally crossed by one or more longitudinal stripes of dark horn- 

 color. In spring, as the breeding season approaches, the bill 

 becomes a clear waxy yellow. There is also much variation in 

 size among adults of this species. I have examined a number 

 of specimens which by correct comparison were at least one- 

 fourth smaller than the average." 



This goose breeds in the far north, and its range includes 

 the whole of North America. 



Genus BRANTA Scopoli, 1769. 



Branta canadensis (Linnaeus). Canada Goose. 



Anas canadensis LiNN^trs, S. N., ed. 10, I, 1758, 123. 



Anser canadensis Vieillot, Enc. Meth., 1823, 114. 



Bernicla canadensis BoiE, Isis, 1826, 921. 



Branta canadensis Bannistee, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 



1870, 131, 

 Branta canadensis var. canadensis "Linn^tjs," in Nelson's Birds of 



Northeastern Illinois. Bull, of the Essex Institute, Vol. VIII, 



1876, 138. 

 Popular synonyms: Common Wild Goose. Bat Goose. Cbavat 



Goose. Honkeb. Big Wild Goose. 



The Canada Goose is the largest and best known of our 

 wild geese. At one time it was a resident within our limits, but 

 now it probably appears here only as a migrant which is quite 

 common. The Calumet marshes formed the old breeding site 

 of these birds in this region. Mr. B. T. Gault, of Glen Ellyn, 

 Illinois, says that on June 23, 1877, he observed a pair of these 

 birds with young on Calumet Lake. There were from four to 



•Birds of Northeastern IHinols. Bull, of the Essex Institute, Vol. VIII, 1876, 136. 



