The Snow-Goose. 73 



Mr. Harting, in "The Zoologist" for 1878, p. 419, records a small flock of 

 seven in tlie Barony of Erris, Co. Mayo, about the end of October, 1877; one 

 was shot, and a second, a gander, trapped. On August 22nd, 1884, an adult 

 was seen on the Cumbrian coast, near Allonby, by the Rev. H. A. Macpherson, 

 who identified four Snow- Geese, flying down the Eden valley, near Carlisle, on 

 January 22nd, 1891 ; being then in company with Mr. D. L. Thorpe, a member 

 of the B.O.U., who has a special knowledge of American wild-fowl.* 



Again, in "The Field," January 24th, 1891, Mr. Henry Sharpe, of Beverley, 

 a very competent observer, has recorded three, seen by him near that town ; these 

 flew past at the distance of about two hundred yards ; pure white, and with black 

 wings. This occurrence on the east coast is not remarkable, as the Snow- Goose 

 has occurred several times ofiF Heligoland. In 1844-45, nine quite white Geese, 

 with black flight-feathers, like Gannets, flying in a row past the eastern point of 

 the shore. The same phenomenon occurred on the 19th of December, in 1847. 

 Again in May 1880, two gunners, then lobster fishing, saw four white Geese, with 

 orange-coloured beaks and feet, flying close past them; and again on the 12th 

 three. Finally on December 25th, the same year, a perfectly white Goose, with 

 black wings, and orange beak and feet, alighted on the Oberland or upper plateau. 



Pennant, in his "Arctic Zoology," 1785, vol. ii, p. 546, speaks of the in- 

 numerable flocks of Bean Geese which, in the autumn, visit the wolds of Yorkshire; 

 " and amongst them are some white." This is very suggestive of Snow- Geese coming 

 down with the great flocks of northern Geese. 



The Snow-Goose is probably by far the most common of the American Geese. 

 Ornithologists distinguish two races, a larger Chen nivalis, (Forster), and Chen hyper- 

 boreus, (Pallas), the subject of this notice, both have very distinct geographical 

 ranges ; the first frequenting the Hudson's Bay territory, distinguished by its 

 size and larger bill. The occurrence in England and Ireland, so far as they 

 have been diagnosed, belong to the smaller race of Arctic north-west America. 

 The Snow-Goose is a circumpolar bird, probably both races breeding in Arctic 

 Siberia, as they occur together in Japan in winter, and no doubt in China. It 

 has occurred sporadically on migration in , various parts of Europe. The American 

 birds in the autumn go as far south as Texas and the West Indies. 



There is another North American Goose, Chen ccerulescens, the Blue- winged 

 Goose, with much the same size and proportions as the Snow-Goose, which has 



* Tliese by no mean.'i exhaust the list. The appearance of a whole flock of Chen albatus has been recorded 

 by Mr. George Bolam, from the Northumberland coast. Five were seen by Sir R. Payne Gallwej', in the severe 

 winter of 1S90-91, near Berwick-on-Tweed ; also three Geese in three successive years came with gaggles of the 

 White-fronted Goose to Berkeley, (" I^etters to Young Shooters," p. 8i) ; and again another occurrence is recorded 

 by Mr. H. A. Macpherson, in the "Fauna of Lakeland." 



Vol. IV. N 



