SCREAMERS, DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS 71 
The GEESE include birds of somewhat con- DLTE STE aE ETT a Ee 
spicuous coloration, besides a considerable number 
of more subdued aspect. The sexes are distin- 
guished by different names, the female being 
known as the Goose, the male as the Gander, 
whilst the young is the Gosling. As we have 
already mentioned, there is no hard-and-fast line 
to be drawn between the three sections of this 
group. The Ducks are connected by the Shel- 
drakes with the Geese, through the Spur-winged 
Goose, the Egyptian and Orinoco Geese, and 
certain other species which cannot be alluded to 
on this occasion. 
The SPUR-WINGED GEESE, of which there are 
two species, are African birds, and derive their 
name from the long spur seated on the wing. 
A still more remarkable form is the HALF- 
WEBBED GOOSE, so called from the fact that its AUSTRALIAN PYGMY GOOSE 
feet are only partially webbed. It has a black- 
and-white plumage, a hooked beak, and a large 
warty prominence on the front of the head. It spends most of its time perched on the branches 
of the Australian tea-trees, and rarely enters the water. The windpipe is peculiar, being coiled 
in several folds between the skin and the breast-muscles. 
From these peculiar forms we pass to the true geese. The largest living species is the 
CHINESE or GUINEA-GOOSE of Eastern Siberia, regarded as the stock from which the domesticated 
geese of Eastern countries have been derived. 
European domesticated geese have been derived from the GREY or GREY-LAG GOOSE, a 
species at one time exceedingly common in England, breeding in considerable numbers in 
the fen districts, where the young were frequently taken and reared with the large flock of 
domesticated geese commonly kept at that time for the sake of their feathers. The grey-lag 
goose, however, has long ceased to breed in England, though a few still nest in Scotland. 
The most important breeds derived from 
the grey-lag are the TOULOUSE and EMDEN. 
Other British species are the BEAN-GOOSE, 
PINK-FOOTED and WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, 
and the “ BLACK” BRENT and BARNACLE- 
GEESE, in all of which the sexes are precisely 
similar in coloration and subdued in tone. 
In the New World some very beautiful 
white geese are found, which are still more 
interesting in that the females have a different 
coloration. These are the KELP- and UPLAND- 
GEESE of Patagonia and the Falklands. The 
female of the kelp-goose is brownish black 
above and black barred with white below, 
whilst the female of the upland-goose is 
rufous and black in colour. The latter may 
be seen in London parks. 
Lastly, we have a few species known from 
their small size as PYGMY GEESE of Australia, 
BLACK-NECKED SWAN India, and Africa. Perhaps the best known 
The fleshy knob at the base of the bill is of a bright red colour is the Indian species, called the COTTON-TEAL. 
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Photo hy H”, Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.] (Milford-on-Sea 
The pygmy geese are expert divers 
Photo by W, P, Dando, F.Z.S.] [Regent's Park 
