SNOW GOOSE. 217 



Length to end of tail 31f inches, to end of claws 33^, to end of wings 31§, 

 to carpus 14; extent of wings 62; wing from flexure 19 J; tail 6i; bill along 

 the ridge 2§ , along the edge of lower mandible 3i; bare part of tibia f ; tarsus 

 3f; hind toe ^, its claw ^|; middle toe 3, its claw T %. Weight 6| lbs. 



Young female, in first winter. 



The colours of the 3-oung bird, in its first plumage, are unknown; but in 

 its second plumage, in autumn and winter, it presents the appearance 

 exhibited in the plate. The bill is pale flesh colour, its edges black, and 

 the unguis bluish-white; the feet flesh-colour, the claws dusky. The head 

 and upper part of the neck are white, tinged above with grey, the lower 

 part of the neck all round, the fore part of the back, the scapulars, the fore 

 part of the breast, and the sides, blackish-grey; paler beneath. The hind 

 part of the back and the upper tail-coverts are ash-grey; as are the wing- 

 coverts; but the secondary coverts are greyish-black in the middle; and all 

 the quills are of that colour, the secondaries margined with greyish-white; 

 the tail-feathers dusky-grey, broadly margined with greyish-white. The 

 dark colour of the fore part of the breast gradually fades into greyish-white, 

 which is the colour of the other inferior parts; excepting the axillar feathers, 

 and some of the lower wing-coverts, which are white. 



Length of an individual in this plumage, kept four years — to end of tail 26 

 inches, to end of claws 25; extent of wings 55; bill along the ridge 2i, from 

 frontal angle 2\; tarsus 2\\; hind toe j%, its claw ff ; middle toe 2\, its claw 

 yj. Weight 2 lbs. 13 oz. The bird very poor. 



In an adult male preserved in spirits, the roof of the mouth is moderately 

 concave, with five series of strong conical papillae directed backwards. The 

 posterior aperture of the nares is linear, margined with two series of 

 extremely slender papillae. The marginal lamellae of the upper mandible 

 are 25, of the lower about 45. The tongue is 2 inches 5 twelfths long, 

 nearly cylindrical, with strong pointed papillae at the base, and on each side 

 a series of flattened, sharp lamellae, directed backwards, together with very 

 numerous bristle-like filaments. It is fleshy, has a soft prominent pad at the 

 base above, and towards the end has a median groove, the point rounded, 

 thin, and horny. The oesophagus, which is 17 inches long, has a diameter 

 of 9 twelfths at the upper part, and at the lower part of the neck is dilated 

 to 1 inch. The proventricular glands are cylindrical, simple, and arranged 

 in a belt nearly 1 inch in breadth. The other parts were removed. 



The reddish tint on the head affords no indication of the age of the bird, 

 some individuals of all ages having that part pure white, while others have 

 it rusty. The same remark applies to our two Swans. 



Vol. VI. 30 



