BIRDS HUNTED FOR FOOD OR SPORT. 181 



deciding where to go next. When Geese go south across the 

 country they seem to use some hill or mountain near the shore 

 for a landmark which they round, and then turn off and follow 

 the coast. I believe they rarely if ever intentionally travel 

 out of sight of land. Certain sea birds and shore birds can 

 cross the sea even in fog without any landmark to guide them, 

 but this seems to be beyond the power of Geese. 



The autumnal migratory movements of this Goose seem to 

 have less of a southeasterly trend than those of many Ducks. 

 This species breeds throughout the northern parts of the 

 continent to the tree limit, and even beyond in Labrador, 

 where it nests on the arctic tundra. The flocks rush south 

 in autumn until they reach unfrozen waters. In the spring 

 they appear to follow the same route on their return. 



The Canada Goose formerly nested in Massachusetts. 

 The earlier explorers state that they found Geese nesting on 

 islands along the coast. Samuels states that Wild Geese have 

 bred several times on Martha's Vineyard and also near Lex- 

 ington; Mass. They normally breed in this latitude, but only 

 after they have attained the third year. The male does not 

 incubate, but stays by the female and with her defends the 

 nest against all assailants. The young are strong enough to 

 eat, walk and swim as soon as they have hatched, and dried 

 their plumage. 



So much has been written about the habits of this bird 

 that more would be superfluous. They feed largely on vege- 

 table matter, the roots of rushes, weeds, grasses, etc., grass 

 and many seeds and berries, and swallow quantities of sand 

 as an aid to digestion. Geese feed either on shore, where they 

 pluck up grass and other vegetation, or they bring up food 

 from the bottom in shoal water by thrusting their heads and 

 necks down as they float on the surface. Like the Brant, they 

 feed on eelgrass {Zoster a marina), which grows on the flats in 

 salt or brackish water, in tidal streams and marshy ponds. 

 Sometimes they are destructive to young grass and grain. 



