224 



GAME BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA 



was first seen on December 2, 1885, November 24, 1890, and November 

 5, 1892 (Belding, MS). It is also among the first to leave for the 

 north. As early as February 22, 1887, Belding (MS) saw flocks of 

 Canada Geese going east over the snow-clad Sierras of Calaveras 

 County, and at Stockton he saw them going north on February 12, 

 1896. Beck (MS) reports seeing two flocks February 23, 1911, at 

 Los Barios, Merced County, but says that hunters maintained that 



Fig. 32. Canada Goose. 



22001 



Fig. 33. Hutchins Goose. 



most of the Canada Geese had already left. The latest spring record 

 is April 11, 1893, when five individuals were seen in a grain field at 

 Gridley, Butte County (Belding, MS). 



The Canada Goose is easily separated from geese belonging to other 

 groups by its abruptly black head and neck, white cheek patches, and 

 black bill and feet. The three subspecies or varieties of "white- 

 cheeked ' ' geese ( Canada, Hutchins and Cackling) intergrade with one 

 another, and individuals are occasionally found which cannot be satis- 

 factorily referred to one or the other of these races. As a rule, how- 

 ever, they can be separated on the basis of the length of the bill, which, 



