GEESE 211 
KEY TO THE SPECIES 
I. bite head or forehead white. 
. Bill yellowish. 
oe Forehead and feathers at the base of bill white. 
171a. Wuitr-rRonTtep Goose (Ad.). 
b. Head and neck white or grayish, sometimes tinged with rusty. 
bt. Primaries black, rest of plumage white. 
169. Lesser Snow Goosr. 169a. Greater SNow Goose. 
b?. Back grayish brown, rump and belly whitish, wing-coverts and 
tertials widely margined with white . . 169. Lesser Snow 
GoossE (Im.). 169a. Greater SNow Goose (Im.). 
63, Back grayish brown, rump, belly and wing-coverts gray, the 
latter not conspicuously margined with white. 
169.1. Buus Goosn(Ad.). 
B. Bill black, throat and sides of the head white, lores black. 
175. BARNACLE GoossE. 
II. Head or forehead not white. 
Head and neck brown, bill yellow or yellowish. 
A. Nail of bill black, rump fuscous. 
Ces WHITE-FRONTED GoosE (Im.). 
B. Nail of bill yellow, rump gray ..... 169.1. Buur Goose (Im.). 
2. Head black or brownish black, bill black. 
A. Throat white . . 172. Canapa Goose. 172a. Hurcurns’s Gooss. 
B. Throat black or ‘brownish black, neck speckled with white. 
eee WHE 6 oe ec ee Se KR SR eS 173. Brant. 
6. Belly brownish gray .......... .... 174. Buackx Branr 
169. Chen hyperboreus hyperboreus (Paill.). Lesser Snow Goosr. 
Ads.—Entire plumage, except primaries with their coverts, white; pri- 
maries black, their bases and coverts ashy. Im.—‘‘Head, neck and upperparts 
pale grayish, the feathers of the latter with whitish edges and (especially 
wing-coverts and tertials) striped medially with darker; rump, upper tail- 
coverts, tail and lower parts plain white. L., 23°00-28°00; W., 14°50-17°00; 
B., 1°95-2°30; Tar., 2°80-3°25” (Ridgw.). 
Range.—N. A. Breeds from mouth of the Mackenzie e. probably to 
Coronation Gulf and Melville Island; occurs on the Arctic coast of ne. Asia, 
but not known to breed there; winters from s. B. C., s. Colo., and s. Ills. s. 
to n. L. Calif., cen Mex. (Jalisco), Tex., and La., and on the Asiatic coast 
s. to Japan; generally rare ine. U.S. 
. Minn., 
Eggs, uniform dirty, chalky He, 3°40 x 2°20 (B., B., and R.). Date, 
Pt. Barrow, Alaska, June 18. 
169a. C. h. nivalis (Forst.). Greater Snow, Goosz. Resembles the 
preceding in color, but is larger. L., 30°00-38°00; W., 17°35-17°50; B., 2°55— 
2°70; Tar., 3°15—3° pe (Ridgw.). 
Range. "_f,N. Am. Has been found breeding at Whale Sound, n. Green- 
land, and Ellesmere Land; full breeding range not known; winters from s. 
Ills.,. Chesapeake Bay, and Mass. (rarely) s. to La., Fla., and West Indies to 
Porto Rico; in migration rarely w. to Colo., and e. to New Pogland and N. F. 
Long Island, rare T. V., in fall, Oct.8-Jan. 30. Ossining, A. V., Apl. 
Nesting date, Admiralty Bay, ‘Alaska, June 17, 1898 (Norris); Mackenzie 
Bay, June 15 (Thayer Coll.). 
The Snow Goose does not appear to be a common bird on any part 
of the Atlantic coast. It migrates both by night and day, and when 
on the wing its white plumage and black-tipped primaries render it 
easily identifiable. It is a noisier bird than the Canada Goose, and its 
voice is higher and more cackling. 
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