OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 347 



night. In addition to the food already mentioned, Feilden 

 records that at their breeding grounds Brent Geese feed on the 

 buds of a saxifrage, a substance which is only taken whilst the 

 birds are ashore rearing their young. Grass and possibly animal 

 food may also be eaten then. The flight of this bird is rather 

 laboured but regular. Its note is a loud and oft-repeated hank, 

 or honh, which is uttered not only on the ground, but when the 

 birds are flying. 



Nidification. — The breeding habits of the Brent Goose have 

 been carefully observed by Captain Feilden during the Nares Arctic 

 expedition. He noticed its arrival at the breeding grounds near 

 Knot Harbour in lat. 823^ on the 9th of June, and eggs were 

 laid by the 21st of that month. Shortly after its arrival the male 

 and female were observed rising in spiral flight to a great eleva- 

 tion, toying and playing with each other meanwhile. Some of the 

 nests were made on the hillsides between the snow-line and the 

 sea, others were placed on an island, beyond the line of open 

 water, and separated from the mainland by rough hummocks 

 of snow and ice. The nests were made in hollows in the 

 ground, and were composed of grass, moss, and saxifrages, and 

 warmly lined with down. The eggs are four or five in number, 

 creamy white in colour, and rather smooth and glossy. They 

 measure on an average 275 inches in length by i"85 inch in 

 breadth. As with other species, the male keeps watch near the 

 nest whilst the female is incubating, ready to warn her or assist in 

 defending the eggs. Only one brood is reared in the year, and 

 by the end of July most of the Brent Geese were,moulting their 

 quills so rapidly as to be incapable of flight. When alarmed, 

 however, they run quickly to the nearest water for safety. 



Diagnostic Characters. — Bemida, with the head and neck 

 black, and a small white patch on the sides of the latter. Length, 

 22 to 24 inches. 



