Swan-Goose 1 8 1 



most frequently met with is the swan-goose, whose broods I came upon from the beginning 

 of June. There are usually from 4 to 6 goslings. The two parents always keep with 

 them, and sometimes two or three broods will unite, when the number of pairs of old 

 birds is equal to that of the combined broods. 



" If surprised on an open spot, for example a river or lake, the old birds as a 

 rule fly off, while the young ones try to save themselves by diving. If, however, the 

 brood succeeds in time in getting into cover, they effect their retreat on foot, while if 

 pursued by a dog, the old birds, which take to wing only in extremity, like ducks sham 

 being wounded and unable to fly, so as to draw the attention of the enemy to themselves. 

 The young birds meanwhile hide in convenient nooks, where they lie so close that 

 usually they do not allow themselves to be taken either by the dog or the sportsman, 

 even when the latter has noticed their place of concealment." 



Again, in his Mongoliya i strana Tangutov, ii. p. 151, we find the same traveller 

 observing: " Met with these geese in small numbers in the beginning of April on Dalai- 

 Nor"; while still later he writes that u on Lake Khanka A user cygnoides appears in 

 great numbers on spring migration, which is always rapid in the first third of April. 

 Ordinarily these geese keep in flocks of from 20 to 40 individuals. On the wing they 

 often form a wedge, within which ducks of various kinds frequently find room." 



In the beginning of June Colonel Przewalski found the young birds not larger than 

 mallards. Of the curiosity of the swan-goose this traveller writes as follows : " On the 

 whole, this species is not very cautious, but extremely curious. Having noticed a dog or 

 fowler crouching in the grass, a passing pair (but not a flock) will almost always fly to the 

 spot and get under fire." 



Messrs. Dybowski and Godlewski found these geese nesting in great numbers 

 in Dauria along the Argun, where they made their nests on the steppe among grass, 

 first making a slight hollow in the ground, and then lining them with down. The female 

 sits very tight on her eggs, and leaves them unwillingly. As soon as the goslings go out on 

 a river, they join those of other broods ; the gander is always with his family, while the 

 young ones are growing up, till they are fledged. In moulting, the adult males lose 

 all their flight-feathers at once. 1 A flock in case of danger rushes to the river, where all 

 its members swim at first, but having gained a certain distance, immerse themselves in the 

 water, leaving only their heads above, and then strive to return to the shore, diving below 

 the surface in the more dangerous places. 



According to Godlewski, the migration season is the same as for other geese. At 

 this time all the geese keep to open sandy shores, and never allow any one to approach. 

 The natives take them in pits sunk in the ground, which are wide enough for the birds to 

 fall into, and deep enough to be completely concealed. They are slightly covered with 

 straw. The geese, when wandering about in such spots and getting on to the pits, 

 usually raise their wings, but not finding any support for their feet, fall through, and 

 are then unable to escape. 



Here it may be remarked that I cannot in the least understand why Brandt, who 

 established the genus Cygnopsis for this species, included therein the Canadian goose 

 (Leucoblepharon canadensis) ; there being no reason for bringing these widely different 



1 Of course ; as also the females, like all other geese, swans, ducks, and flamingoes. 



