Grey-Lag Goose 33 



winter there in such masses that Mr. A. Chapman states, in one of his most charming books, 

 that he saw in Spain in one day probably more of these geese than arrive in England during 

 scores of years. The grey-lag also winters on the larger Mediterranean islands, where 

 it may occasionally nest. In Tangiers and Algeria this bird is met with in winter, but, as 

 we have already said, it does not occur on the north-eastern coast of Africa. It has also 

 been stated to be unknown in Asia Minor, but this I very much doubt, seeing that, although 

 there are no direct indications of its wintering on the southern shores of the Black Sea, 

 I am firmly convinced the grey-lag must winter here, and that too in large numbers. Other- 

 wise there is no explanation of the destination of the large flocks which leave their winter 

 quarters on the coasts of the Crimea and Sivash in severe and snowy winters. As we 

 have already said, a large number winter in Persia, and in the central part of the country are 

 found nesting in the depression of Seistan (Zarndny). The species not unfrequently 

 winters in Afghanistan. In Eastern Turkestan it breeds and is locally resident, as likewise 

 in Kashgar ; and in the Himalaya, Nepal, Kulu, and Kashmir the grey-lag is met with in 

 winter up to an altitude of 6000 feet. In India itself the numbers wintering are enormous, 

 but I do not know of any authentic case of its breeding there. 



This is what Przewalski г says of the grey-lag: " It is found breeding in South- 

 eastern Mongolia and in the valley of the Yellow River. Here, in the reeds of Tsaidamin- 

 Nor, we found at the end of July, besides young birds nearly ready to fly, old ganders 

 moulted to such an extent that they were quite incapable of flight, and only escaped from 

 our dog's pursuit by running ; in doing so these ganders had recourse to various ruses, as, 

 for example, doubling back or making abrupt turns on one side, in order to conceal their 

 track, and, in the last resource, crouching down among the tussocks. 



" In the spring the species described appeared in South-eastern Mongolia in the 

 middle of March, perhaps even earlier; in Tsaidam the first arrivals were noticed on 

 February 18. 



"On Koko-N or gumenni^i 2 were not rare in the last third of March; in the middle 

 of October we also still saw here a few pairs on migration. In the valley of the Khuan-khe 

 the autumn flight began from the end of August. In the mountainous region of Gan-su 

 this species was not found. In general, even during their migration, we noted here as 

 occasional visitors only six species of waterfowl, of which only one (Anser indicus) breeds 

 on the upper waters of. the river Tetung." 



The same traveller further states that " in the basin of Lake Khanka, gumenniki 

 arrive in the middle of March, and breed in small numbers among the lakes. In autumn also 

 there are but few of this species compared with the great masses of other geese, especially 

 A user minutus" 3 



These data exhaust all that is known regarding the geographical distribution of the 

 grey-lag. 



Passing on to the description of the habits of this species, it may be mentioned that, 

 as in the case of the mallard, if all that has been written on the subject were brought 

 together, it would exceed in volume all our information on the other geese taken together. 

 On this account I shall confine myself to noting only the most essential points in regard to its 



1 Mongoliya i strana tangutov, ii. p. 149 (1876). 

 2 Our italics. Przewalski always calls the grey-lag gumennik, by which name it is known almost everywhere in Siberia. 



3 Anser finmarchicus of the present work. 



