AMESICAN WHITE-FSONTED GOOSE 221 



Coming from afar in a big white cloud, the snow geese before reaching 

 the edge of the pond mass suddenly up in a long column inclined some forty 

 degrees from the vertical. Every black-tipped wing is thrown outward and 

 downward and rigidly set, with the axis of the body about corresponding to 

 the axis of the whole column. Anything like sailing is thus impossible and 

 the whole descent is a slow settling or drifting downward, almost as gently 

 as the fall of a gossamer skein on the still air of Indian summer. . . . The 

 White-fronted Goose swings over it high in air as if he enjoyed the play. He 

 is reasonably silent about it as he floats a thousand feet or more above the 

 water, where he lines up for the great plunge. Then the edge of the line 

 breaks, and as if struck suddenly by the thunderbolt, yet with every throat 

 tuned to concert pitch, the birds dive, tumble, and gyrate sidewise, upside 

 down, rolling over in the air in every imaginable way, a cataract of whirling 

 life, down to within a few feet of the water. There the grand go-as-you-please 

 march suddenly ends, the wild clamor of every throat is stilled, each goose 

 rights itself in a twinkling, drifts into an orderly line, and floats a few yards 

 along the surface of the water, then drops its feet, raisfes its neck and head, 

 and throwing back its wings slides into the water as gently as the reflection of 

 the fleecy clouds above it. Canada geese descend in long curling lines, as if 

 the birds were descending an invisible flight of winding stairs with every 

 wing stiffly set and every white-collared throat silent as the grave. 



This species of goose is said to be more exclusive than other species, 

 staying more largely in separate or unmixed flocks. They usually 

 frequent low marshy ground when loafing, but during hours of feed- 

 ing may be seen. in stubble fields or on the open plains far from water. 



"White-fronted Geese usually loaf on or near some body of water 

 during the middle of the day, doing their feeding early in the morn- 

 ing, in the evening, or during the night. Nordhoff (1902, p. 213) 

 found that, at Elsinore Lake, Riverside County, they made four 

 regular fiights daily to the grain fields, ten miles away, never varying 

 the time of arrival and departure more than fifteen minutes. "Dur- 

 ing periods of stormy weather they often fly over in large flocks, 

 apparently with no definite object in view other than a change of 

 feeding grounds. Their cry is often heard at night, especially during 

 moonlight evenings" (Tyler, 19136, p. 18). 



The food of the "White-fronted Goose consists almost entirely of 

 grass. Heermann (1859, p. 68) says that this goose is considered the 

 most delicate for the table, as it feeds almost exclusively on the young 

 herbage growing on the highlands and about the fresh water ponds. 

 In years past this species, along with other geese, has been responsible 

 for considerable damage to grain. 



The "White-fronted Goose is one of the commonest geese on the 

 market. "Gray geese" (under which term this species and perhaps 

 also the Hutchins Goose is included) to the number of 19,419 were sold 

 in the markets of San Francisco and Los Angeles in the season of 

 1895-96. The total amount paid hunters for these birds was $4,042.30, 



