THE WILD GOOSE 313 



the fact that what are called "Hutchins" geese in 

 Nebraska are precisely like the Canadas, only smaller. 

 Incidentally, I believe that the variety referred to is rightly 

 named in Nebraska. I once thought to the contrary, 

 that the Hutchins geese were but the unmatured Cana- 

 das, but a subsequent study of the birds has altered the 

 early-formed opinion. In Dakota, many local sportsmen 

 call the Hutchins geese "Mexican" geese or "Texan" 

 geese. Everything else is a "brant," except the Cana- 

 das, which they call "old honkers," and the snow- 

 geese. The white-fronted geese they term "speckled 

 brant." 



The following semi-ornithological descriptions and the 

 local names of the respective varieties of the goose family 

 wiU perhaps give the average sportsman as nearly a per- 

 fect idea of the appearance of the birds as will be found. 

 For the ornithological descriptions I am indebted to 

 Gordon Trumbull's late work, "Names and Portraits of 

 Birds." 



Brant {Branta bernicla) — (brent-goose — brent — brand- 

 goose — common brant — black brant). Head and bill, 

 with neck all around, and extreme fore part of body, 

 black; on either side of neck a group of white scratches. 

 The back, with front wings, brown; the feathers paler at 

 the ends; remainder of wings, black, or nearly so, as is 

 the tail, the latter, however, being almost concealed by a 

 covering of white feathers, technically called " coverts." 

 Under parts of plumage, grayish brown, the ends of the 

 feathers touched with white, this producing transverse 

 bars; legs, blackish; length, about twenty-four inches; 

 extent, forty-six to forty-eight inches; weight, about iive 

 pounds. 



Of the breeding-habits of the black brant but little is 

 known. They rear their young far into the frozen North, 

 and their domestic life may forever remain a mystery. 



