188 THE CANADA GOOSE. 



feeding in the fields or meadows, they nip the blades of grass sidewise, in 

 the manner of the domestic Goose, and after rainy weather, they are fre- 

 quently seen rapidly patting the earth with both feet, as if to force the earth- 

 worms from their burrows. If the}^ dabble at times with their bills in 

 muddy water, in search of food, this action is by no means so common with 

 them as it is with Ducks, the Mallard for example. They are extremely 

 fond of alighting in corn-fields covered with tender blades, where they often 

 remain through the night and commit great havoc. Wherever you find 

 them, and however remote from the haunts of man the place may be, they 

 are at all times so vigilant and suspicious, that it is extremely rare to surprise 

 them. In keenness of sight and acuteness of hearing, they are perhaps 

 surpassed by no bird whatever. They act as sentinels towards each other, 

 and during the hours at which the flock reposes, one or more ganders stand 

 on the watch. At the sight of cattle, horses, or animals of the deer kind, 

 they are seldom alarmed, but a bear or a cougar is instantly announced, and 

 if on such occasions the flock is on the ground near water, the birds imme- 

 diately betake themselves in silence to the latter, swim to the middle of the 

 pond or river, and there remain until danger is over. Should their enemies 

 pursue them in the water, the males utter loud cries, and the birds arrange 

 themselves in close ranks, rise simultaneously in a few seconds, and fly off 

 in a compact body, seldom at such times forming lines or angles, it being in 

 fact only when the distance they have to travel is great that they dispose 

 themselves in those forms. So acute is their sense of hearing, that they are 

 able to distinguish the different sounds or footsteps of their foes with 

 astonishing accuracy. Thus the breaking of a dry stick by a deer is at once 

 distinguished from the same accident occasioned by a man. If a dozen of 

 large turtles drop into the water, making a great noise in their fall, or if the 

 same effect is produced by an alligator, the Wild Goose pays no regard to it; 

 but however faint and distant may be the sound of an Indian's paddle, that 

 may by accident have struck the side of his canoe, it is at once marked, 

 every individual raises its head and looks intently towards the place from 

 which the noise has proceeded, and in silence all watch the movements of 

 their enemy. 



These birds are extremely cunning also, and should they conceive them- 

 selves unseen, they silently move into the tall grasses by the margin of the 

 water, lower their heads, and lie perfectly quiet until the boat has passed by. 

 1 have seen them walk off from a large frozen pond into the woods, to elude 

 the sight of the hunter, and return as soon as he had crossed the pond. But 

 should there be snow on the ice or in the woods, they prefer watching the 

 intruder, and take to wing long before he is within shooting distance, as if 



