ORNAMENTAL WATERFOWL, 79 
slowly diminished, so that even when a week old the delicate glory of it had 
largely disappeared. 
‘* The gosling of Chen Rossz¢ differs from that of Chen hyperboreus 
chiefly in having a shorter and comparatively higher bill, and in the want of 
a blackish stripe over the head, which is present in Chen hyperboreus. The 
gosling of Chen hyperboreus is also darker, especially on the back, and of a 
more olive-green colour, while the down is less dense.” 
In the “Ibis” for January, 1904, Mr. F. E. Blaauw writes 
as follows :— 
“*T bred Ross’s Snow Goose (Chen Rosszi) in 1902, as already 
described in the 7ézs (1903, p. 245) but lost the goslings after about a fort- 
night. In 1903 the female laid eggs again, but they were unfortunately 
destroyed by vermin, so that I am not yet able to describe the first plumage.” 
Male.—Snowy-white, with black wing feathers ; bill dull 
reddish, with a white tip; feet and legs brick colour. 
Female.—Similar. 
Young.—Greyish-white ; bill and feet dusky-brown. 
GENUS AMSER. 
The Genus <Amser comprises a number of different 
species, the greater part of which breed in the cold latitudes. 
The Geese are the largest swimming birds with the exception 
of the Swans. Professor Macgillivray says of the Geese that 
the body is nearly equal in width and height, the neck slender, 
leg longer than that of the Swan, the head small and arched ; 
the feathers of the neck disposed in ridges. The bill is stout 
and short, much higher at the base than at the tip. The upper 
mandible has a series of ridges or plates at the edge; the 
throat is long and narrow: the stomach is furnished with an 
extremely powerful gizzard; the windpipe is uniform, without 
the enlargement observable in the swans; the eyes and ears 
are small: the legs are placed forward ; the feet have four toes, 
