202 THE BERNACLE GOOSE. 



the unguis roundish, convex, striato-denticulate on the inner edge. Nasal 

 groove elliptical, commencing at the base and extending to the middle of the 

 bill, parallel to the ridge, filled by the soft membrane of the bill; nostrils 

 lateral, submedial, longitudinal, narrow-elliptical, open, pervious. Lower 

 mandible straight, with the angle very long, rather wide, and rounded, the 

 sides sloping rapidly upwards, the edges soft and obtuse, with about thirty- 

 eight distinct lamella? on an inflected plane. 



Head small, oblong, compressed. Neck rather long and slender. Body 

 full, slightly depressed. Feet short, stout, placed a little behind the centre 

 of the body; legs bare a little above the tibio-tarsal joint. Tarsus short, a 

 little compressed, covered all round with angular reticulated scales, which 

 are smaller behind. Hind toe extremely small, with a very narrow mem- 

 brane; third toe longest, fourth a little shorter, but longer than second; all 

 the toes reticulated above at the base, but with narrow transverse scutella 

 towards the end; the three anterior connected by a reticulated membrane, 

 the outer with a thick margin, the inner with the margin extended into a 

 two-lobed web. Claws small, arched, rather compressed, except that of the 

 middle toe, which is bent obliquely outwards, depressed, with a curved edge. 

 Wings of moderate length, with an obtuse protuberance at the flexure. 



Plumage close, rather short, compact above, blended on the head, neck, 

 and lower parts of the body. The feathers of the head and neck very 

 narrow, of the back very broad and abrupt, of the breast and belly broadly 

 rounded. Wings when closed extending about an inch and a quarter beyond 

 the tail, acute; primaries very strong, curved, the second longest; secondaries 

 long, broad, rounded. Tail very short, rounded, of sixteen stiff rounded and 

 acuminate feathers. 



Bill, feet, and claws black. Iris dark hazel. Anterior part of the head, 

 including a broad space above the eye, the sides of the head, and the throat, 

 white; the feathers margining the bill, and a line from the bill to the eye, 

 curving below the lower eyelid, and running along the upper, brownish- 

 black. Neck all round glossy black, of which colour are the anterior or 

 dorsal feathers, the scapulars, and the wing-coverts, towards their extremities, 

 while their bases are ash-grey, and their terminal margins white. The 

 shorter feathers on the middle of the back are similar; those on the rump 

 and the tail-feathers deep black. The quills are greyish-black, darker 

 towards the tips, the outer webs more or less tinged with ash-grey. The 

 breast, sides, and abdomen greyish-white, the upper feathers of the sides 

 with more grey; the upper and lower tail-coverts, and the sides of the rump, 

 pure white. 



Length 27 inches, extent of wings 4 feet S inches; bill along the ridge 1^, 

 in depth at the base |f, in breadth T 9 2; tarsus 2j§, middle toe and claw 2j§; 



