220 GAME BIRDS OF CALIFOBNIA 



Mackenzie ; also to some extent on the Asiatic coast bordering Bering 

 Sea. Nelson (1887, p. 83) found eggs near the mouth of the Yukon 

 Kiver as early as May 27 (1879). Prom this time on until the middle 

 of June, fresh eggs were to be found; but very soon after the latter 

 date, downy young began to appear. These geese choose for a nest- 

 ing site the grassy border of a lakelet, a knoll grown over with moss 

 and grass, or even a flat, sparingly covered with grass. Along the 

 Yukon, Dall found them breeding in colonies, the eggs being deposited 

 in hollows scooped out in the sand. At the Yukon mouth and around 

 St. 'Michaels they were found breeding in scattered pairs over the 

 flat country. 



Every one of the nests examined by me in these places had a slight lining 

 of grass or moss, gathered by the parent, and upon this the first egg was laid; 

 as the complement of eggs is approached the female always plucks down and 

 feathers from her breast until the eggs rest in a soft warm bed, when incuba- 

 tion commences. The eggs vary considerably in shape and size. ... In color 

 they are of a dull white, but ordinarily present a dirty brown appearance from 

 being stained in the nest (Nelson, loc. cit.). 



The maximum number of eggs in a set appears to be seven. Seven 

 eggs at hand from western Alaska are dull white, discolored somewhat 

 to a yellowish tone, and measure in inches from 2.83 to 3.06 by 1.86 to 

 1.98, averaging 2.94 by 1.93. 



Grinnell (1900, pp. 17-18) says that in northern Alaska flocks 

 of from six to twenty are found in the fall up to September 12 on the 

 grassy margins of lakes and on wind swept sand-bars along rivers. 

 When they first arrive, about May 10, they are very quiet but later 

 they become noisy. 



The following also concerns the habits of the White-fronted Goose 

 in Alaska, whence probably come our winter visitants : 



All through September, old and young, which have been on the wing since 

 August, gather in larger flocks, and as the sharp frosts toward the end of 

 September warn them of approaching winter, commence moving south. The 

 marshes [in the vicinity of St. Michaels] resound with their cries, and after 

 some days of chattering, flying back and forth, and a general bustle, they 

 suddenly start off in considerable flocks, and the few laggards which remain 

 get away by the 7th or 8th of October (Nelson, 1887, p. 84). 



Indians imitate the call of this goose by patting the mouth with 

 the hand while pronouncing the syllable wah (Baird, Brewer and 

 Ridgway, 1884, 1, p. 452) . The notes of this goose are said to resemble 

 the laugh of a man, and the species has been called, locally, the 

 "laughing goose" on this account. 



Van Dyke (1904, p. 670) describes the manner in which the differ- 

 ent species of geese come into a pond as follows : 



