78 



species became common at Kichmond, Kans., November 12, and at Bon- 

 bam, Tex., November 15. 



Dr. Agersborg, writing of the Canada Goose in southeastern Dakota, 

 states : 



Like the Snow Goose, it is becoming less common every year. In spring it arrives 

 a week ahead of var. luttcliinsi, and ten or twelve days earlier than the Snow Goose. 

 The same order of migration is also noticed sometimes in the fall. It breeds here oc- 

 casionally. The young have been hatched nnder hens and become very tame. I 

 have several times been shown nests in trees, claimed by settlers to be the nests of 

 Geese ; but the ' ' Geese" have invariably been found to be Cormorants (Phalacrocorax 

 dilophus). Of the few nests of the Canada Goose found, the majority have been far 

 away from any water, out on the prairies ; but one nest was bnilt among some large 

 bowlders, 2 feet from the water's edge, on Lake Minnetonka, Minnesota. May not 

 many, if not all, of the nests seen in trees by other observers have belonged to the 

 Shag ? (The Auk, Vol. II, 1885, pp. 287-288.) 



172a. Branta canadensis hutchinsii (Sw. & Rich.). [594a.] Rutchins's Goose. 



Has much the same winter range as the Canada Goose {Branta cana- 

 densis), but is more common in the Gulf States, and breeds only in the 

 far North. It was reported as sometimes common at Ellis, Kans. Col- 

 onel Goss says of it in Kansas : " Migratory ; abundant. A few linger 

 into winter." In 1884 the bulk came to Vermillion, Dak., March 28. 

 In the spring of 1885 one was shot at Gainesville, Tex., April 2. 



172c Branta canadensis minima (Eidg way.) [594 b.] Cadcliny Goose. 



The Cackling Goose breeds in Alaska, chiefly along the shores of 

 Norton Sound and the lower Yukon. In winter it migrates south and 

 southeast, sometimes reaching the Mississippi Valley. It has been 

 killed as far east as Wisconsin. 



173. Branta bernicla (Linn.)- [595.] Brant. 



Breeds within the Arctic Circle, coming south in the winter to the 

 Mississippi Valley. During the winter of 1883- ? 84 this species was 

 represented from Illinois southward by a few rare visitants. In the 

 spring it was rare south of Minnesota, but by the time it reached that 

 State its numbers had been increased by recruits from the southeast, 

 and it became almost common. 



There is much uncertainty in using the records concerning this spe- 

 cies, because it is so commonly confonnded with the Snow Goose, which 

 is locally known as Brant all through the West. From the few records 

 that can be depended on it would seem to have migrated at about the 

 same time as Branta canadensis. At Oak Point, Manitoba, there was a 

 large flight of Geese, given as " Brant," from May 16, to May 20, 1881. 



174. Branta nigricans (Lawr.). [596.] Blade Brant. 



A bird of western Arctic America, sometimes straggling into the 

 Mississippi Valley in winter. Mr. Lloyd states that it was shot in Tom 

 Green county, Tex., in the winter of 1881. 



177. Dendrocygna autumnalis (Linn.). [599.] Blade-bellied Tree-duck. 



A southern Duck whose northern limit is along our southern border. 

 On the South Concho, in Texas, it is rare in fall (Lloyd). Both Dr. 



