92 ORNAMENTAL WATERFOWL. 
time upon grain and vegetables, in order to remedy the dis- 
agreeable flavour imparted to their flesh by the shell-fish, 
which form their usual diet. Being ornamental, and easily 
domesticated, these Bernicles are well adapted for our lakes 
and ponds, and may usually be purchased during February and 
March at 208. to 30s. a couple. I have kept in my own small 
collection a pair of these birds, but one died from an in- 
sufficiency of grass. All geese require a large amount of grass, 
and cabbage leaves do not appear to constitute a satisfactory 
substitute, particularly to newly-captured birds, nor is it easy to 
supply this want during hard winters. Some geese will eat hay, 
but not all; it might be worth while to try ensilage. 
Male.—Head, neck, and breast with the quills and tail 
black ; back, lower breast, and upper belly dark grey, edged 
with lighter; wings grey; a white crescent-shaped band each 
side of the upper throat ; eye dark brown; bill and legs black. 
Female.—Somewhat smaller; black parts slightly rusty. 
Young.—In down, dark grey, ‘‘shading into white on 
the centre of the belly and sides of the head below the eye” 
(Seebohm). In first plumage the black parts are brown, and 
neck crescent absent. 
Egg.—Creamy white; four to five in number. June. 
Incubation, thirty to thirty-three days. 
RED-NECKED OR RED-BREASTED GOOSE, 
(Branta ruficollis. Bernicla ruficollis), 
This rare Arctic Goose is not often procurable, Mr. 
Jamrach stating that its market value is about £30 a pair, 
skins alone fetching £5 to £6. Specimens have occasionally 
been shot in Britain, the first example, which is now in the 
Newcastle Museum, having been secured during the severe 
