WILD-GOOSE AND BRANT 



281 



were caught and wing-clipped to prevent further 

 wandering into danger. The seven are still 

 there; but the two undipped birds, after re- 

 maining all winter, flew away north the follow- 

 ing spring, and it is quite likely that their bad 

 judgment has ere now cost them their lives. 



Apparently, all the North American geese 

 are almost as easy to keep in captivity as do- 

 mestic geese. Their favorite food is cracked 

 corn and whole wheat, but they will eat almost 

 any kind of grain. In winter they require 

 low shelter coops, open toward the south; and 

 a small portion of their pond must be kept open 

 all winter, by frequently removing the ice, to 

 keep their feet from freezing. Not all these 

 birds, however, care to seek shelter in a humble 

 coop. 



The Canada Goose is known by its large size, 

 and its jet-black head and neck, with a con- 

 spicuous white crescent encircling the throat. 

 The black on the neck ends abruptly where the 

 neck joins the body, and the general tone of the 

 latter is gray-brown. Its neck is longer, and 

 also more slender as a rule, than those of other 

 birds. 



This fine bird winters in Texas, along the 

 Gulf of Mexico, and in the sounds and bays of 

 Virginia and the Carolinas, and goes north 

 early in spring. Its nesting-grounds begin in 

 our northern tier of states, and extend north- 

 ward to Labrador, the Barren Grounds and 

 Alaska. Throughout much of that vast area, 

 the shot-guns and rifles are ever ready, and the 

 number of geese that still survive are eloquent 

 testimony to the wariness, the keeness of vision 

 and the good judgment of this much-prized 

 bird. A bird of equal desirability, but with a 

 dull brain and poor vision, would have been 

 exterminated long ago. 



One of the most interesting things about the 

 Canada Goose is the energy and courage of the 

 male in defending the female on her nest. 

 Last spring two of our geese paired off, and 

 built a nest on the south bank of the Mammals' 

 Pond, in a very exposed situation. From that 

 time until the young were hatched, the gander 

 never once wandered from his post. It was 

 his rule never to go more than sixty feet from 

 the nest, and whenever any one approached it, 

 he immediately hastened to intercept the in- 

 truder, hissing and threatening with his wings 



in a most truculent manner. Had any one 

 persisted in disturbing the female, he would 

 willingly, even cheerfully, have shed his blood 

 in her defence. His unswerving devotion to 

 his duty attracted the admiring attention of 

 thousands of visitors, and the proudest day of 

 his life was when the first live gosling was led 

 to the water, and launched with appropriate 

 ceremonies. 



There are three subspecies of the Canada 

 Goose, all smaller, but otherwise very similar. 

 The White-Cheeked Goose inhabits the Pa- 

 cific coast, north to Sitka; and the Cackling 

 Goose is found in the same region, and on up 

 to the Yukon. Hutchin's Goose is merely a 

 small edition of the Canada. 



The Black Brant 1 is a very distinct bird, 

 noticeably smaller than the Canada goose, 

 and readily recognized by its blackness and its 

 small size. Its head, neck, and breast are en- 

 tirely black, save for a white collar going two- 

 thirds of the way around the upper neck. The 

 black of the neck does not end abruptly at the 

 shoulders, but spreads back over the back and 

 under parts until the final effect is that of a bird 

 which is two-thirds black. 



Although this bird is generally accounted 

 rare on the Atlantic coast, the New York Zo- 

 ological Society has secured a number of fine 

 living specimens from Carrituck Sound, on the 

 coast of North Carolina. Beyond doubt, how- 

 ever, it is rare everywhere in the eastern United 

 States. It is remarkable for the fact that it 

 migrates northward not only to the desolate 

 shores of the Arctic Ocean, but far beyond, and 

 must nest and rear its young far out on the great 

 polar ice-pack. 



The Brant Goose 2 is quite a different spe- 

 cies from the preceding. The black of its neck 

 ends abruptly at the shoulders, and the white 

 collar is a mere broken patch, without decided 

 character. The body is everywhere much 

 lighter than the color of the black brant, with 

 which this species is often confounded, because 

 the two are often found together, though not 

 on the Pacific coast. Once the Brant Goose 

 was plentiful along the Atlantic side, but it is 

 now rare, and fast disappearing. 



1 Bran'ta ni'gri-cans. Average length, about 24 

 inches. 



2 Bran'ta ber'ni-cla. 



