AND NEIGHBOURHOOD. 147 



with any certainty by Mr, H. Saunders, our latest 

 authority, in his ' Manual of British Birds.' I have 

 kept several of these birds at Lilford ; they are con- 

 stantly on the water, and keep together apart from 

 the other species of w^ater-fowl on our ponds. I 

 have kept no exact records of the colour of legs and 

 feet, but feel no hesitation in stating that I have 

 seen quite as many with orange-coloured as with 

 pink legs. The most constant and certain external 

 distinction between this species and the Bean-Goose 

 is the proportionate shortness of the bill of the 

 former: the Pink-footed also averages considerably 

 less in total length than the Bean-Goose ; but very 

 little value is, in my opinion, to be placed on the 

 relative size of very closely-allied species. I consider 

 that Pink-footed is a bad name for this species, and 

 would suggest ' Short-billed ' as a more appropriate 

 one. I do not remember to have met with this bird 

 anywhere except in England, but I have very recently 

 heard, on excellent authority, that it has lately been 

 obtained in Andalucia. I need hardly add that 

 during their stay in England all our four species of 

 grey Goose are very wary by day, but at night they 

 lose their natural caution, and many may be shot at 

 flighting-time by waiting about their feeding-places 

 without any concealment but what is afforded by the 

 dusky light. The flesh of all our grey Geese, with 

 the exception of the White-fronted, is in winter 

 coarse and indifferent, but no doubt a course of 

 stubble-feeding would, in the case of young birds, 

 make a very considerable difference in the edible 

 qualities of the other species. 



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