White-fronted Goose 



47 



The following measurements were made at my request by Dr. Sushkin from 

 specimens obtained from the Turgai district and the Ryazan Government :— 



? ad. 



$ s. ad. 



9 senior 



ct ad. 



d ad. 



6 ad 

 6 

 9 



42 mm. ( 



;=i. 



43 „ ( 



[ = 1. 



44 ,; ( 



' = l - 



48 „ ( 



{ = 1. 



47 „ ( 



[ = 1. 



45 „ ( 



' = 1. 



50 „ ( 



{= 1. 



44 » ( 



[ = 1. 



65 in.) Turgai District (Sushkin) 



69 „ ) 



П ,,) 



88 „) 



85 „) 



77 „ ) 



96 „) 



73 „ ) Ryazan Government „ 



Dr. Sushkin has also sent me bill-measurements of young birds from the Turgai 

 Territory, viz. : — 



6 JUV. 



40 



mm. 



C= 1.57 in.) 



4 „ 



41 



)} 



(= 1.61 „ ) 



6 » . 



47 



') 



(=1.85 „) 



? ■ „ • 



42 



}) 



(= 1.65 „ ) 



? „ • 



38 



;j 



(= 1.49 » ) 



Sex ? „ . 



40 



>) 



(=1.57 „ ) 



Summing up these measurements, we obtain the result that white-fronted geese from 

 Novaia Zemlia, 1 Livonia, the Kharkov, Ryazan, and Orenburg Governments, and the Kirgiz 

 steppe (including young birds), have the culmen measuring 



From Verkhne-Kolymsk 



„ Kamchatka .... 



„ Sakhalin, Yezo, and Japan 



„ Chukchi Peninsula and Anadyr 



43-49 mm. (= 1 

 42-50 „ (=1 

 44-52 „ (=1 



44-5 3 „ (=1 

 46-56 „ (=1 



.69-1.92 in.) 

 .65-1.96 ,, ) 

 .81-2.04 „ ) 

 .75-2.08 „ ) 

 .81-2.20 „ ) 



Consequently, adult birds occurring in Russia have culmen-length 43 to 56 mm. 

 (=1.69-2.20 in.), the maximum length being 56 mm. ( = 2.20 in.) recorded only in one 

 specimen which came from the most easterly portion of Asiatic Russia, thus being entirely 

 in accord with the general increase of bills in geese as we proceed eastwards. We see, 

 however, that the other Anadyr specimen and all those from Chukchiland collected by 

 Baron Maidel have considerably shorter bills, one of these, viz. 41 mm. (=1.86 in.), even 

 yielding to some European examples in size. We have no specimens of Greenland 

 white-fronted geese, but apparently they are rather less than the European form, and cannot 

 be referred to A. gambeli. 



In North America it is, however, well known that the white-fronted goose some- 

 times exceeds in the dimensions of the bill even the specimen we have cited above from 

 Anadyr, at times attaining the great length of 60 mm. ( = 2.36 in.); but it must be 

 remembered that there also the length of bill of this goose varies from 40 to 60 mm. (== 1.57- 

 2.36 in.) — that is to say, there also often occur individuals not excelling European specimens. 

 Nevertheless, taken all together, it must be admitted that American white-fronted geese are 

 somewhat larger than ours ; but in view of the fact that the colouring of the whole bird, 

 and, in particular, of the soft-parts, does not differ from that of ours, I do not know by what 

 characters to distinguish the American specimens which do not exceed the typical geese of 



1 Unfortunately, of the white-fronted geese collected by him in Novaia Zemlia, Mr. Pearson only gives the total length of the birds 

 but not the bills. They were 25-28 in. ( = 635-710 mm.) long, i.e. dimensions far from either of the limits. 



