CHAPTER XIX 



THE FASTEST FLYERS, SWIMMERS, AND 



DIVERS 



Canada Goose — ^Wild Ducks — Herring GtrtL — Loon 



Canada Goose 



Length — ^From 1 yard to 43 inches. 



Male and Female — Head and neck black, a broad white 

 band running from eye to eye under the head; mantle 

 over back and wings grayish brown, the edges of feathers 

 lightest; breast gray, fading to soiled white underneath. 

 Female paler; tail, bill, and feet black. 



Range — ^North America at large; nests in northern parts of 

 the United States and in the British possessions; winters 

 southward to Mexico. 



Season — Chiefly a spring and autumn migrant, north of 

 Washington; although a few remain so late (December) 

 and retiu-n so early (March) they may almost be said to 

 be winter residents North as well as South. The most 

 abundant and widely distributed of all our wild geese. 



Heralded by a mellow honJe, honk, from the leader of a 

 flying wedge, on come the long-necked wild geese from 

 their northern nesting grounds, and stream across the 

 autumn sky so far above us that their large bodies appear 



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