The Emperor Goose 



having been recorded from Colusa, Solano, and Stanislaus counties, and 

 once as far south as Ingomar, in Merced. 1 



While undoubtedly a handsome bird, there is nothing imperial about 

 either the appearance or the behavior of this "Emperor" Goose. Indeed, 

 the name is said to have arisen from an ignorant confusion of the Russian 

 designation Sa sar'ka (meaning a Guinea Hen, which the Goose does 

 resemble, superficially, by reason of its scaled appearance) and tsarskie, 

 Tsardike, or "imperial." A fitter designation is Beach Goose, by which, 

 in the appropriate vernacular, the bird is known both to the Aleuts and 

 to the natives of Norton Sound. 



Although many recent expeditions have brought back skins and eggs 

 of this Bering Sea Beach Goose, our chief source of information regarding 

 it is still the classical account of Nelson, published in 1 887.2 According 

 to this author, the birds begin to venture back to the Yukon Delta region 

 from their winter quarters in the Aleutians late in May, while the river is 

 still under ice, and only exposed mudflats are available. The early comers 

 are wary, but extensive additions to their numbers soon quicken their 

 confidence. 



"While passing from one feeding ground to another they commonly 

 utter a deep, rather hoarse, and strident eld' -ha, eld' -ha, eld' -ha, which is very 

 different from the note of any other goose with which I am familiar. At 

 times, though rarely, a flock may be brought within gunshot by imitating 

 this note. 



"Soon after their arrival they begin to pair, and are seen flying 

 about in couples, keeping close to the ground, rarely flying over 20 or 30 

 yards high, and often barely keeping clear of the surface. The males are 

 extremely jealous and pugnacious, never allowing one of their kind to 

 approach within a number of yards without making an onslaught on the 

 intruder. The same belligerent spirit is shown to the other species of 

 geese should one of them chance to draw too near. 



"While a pair is feeding the male keeps moving restlessly about, with 

 eyes constantly on the alert, and at the first alarm they draw near together, 

 and just before they take wing both utter a deep ringing u-lugh, tl-lugh. 

 As in the case of the call-note, this has a peculiar, deep hoarseness, 

 impossible to describe. 



"The first of June they began depositing their eggs on the flat, marshy 

 islands bordering the sea. At low tide the broad mud-flats on the shore 

 were thronged with them, and after feeding until satisfied they congre- 

 gated on bars until the incoming water forced them to disperse. They 

 nested most abundantly on the salt marshes adjacent to these feeding 



1 H. C Bryant in Condor, Vol. XVI., 1914, p. 92. 



2 Report upon Natural History Collections made in Alaska between the years 1877 and 1881, by Edward W. 

 Nelson, Washington, 1887, pp. 89-91. 



1873 



