272 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



He then mentions his five examples of A. segetum, shot in Holland out 

 of a flock of six. Note the number of the laminae in four of them, 

 given in Mr. Frohawk's article in 'The Zoologist': — 1. Ad. <?. 

 Laminaa each side, 21. Bill, 2§ in. 2. $. Laminae each side, 24. 

 Bill, 2 T 5 F in. 3. ? . LaminaB each side, 21. Bill, 2| in. 4. ? . 

 Laininaa 22 left and 21 right. Bill, lif in. There is some variation 

 here in the so-called A. segetum alone, which shows that in the Bean, 

 as well as in the Pink-footed Goose, the number of laminas, as well as 

 the length of the bill, varies a good deal. To identify the Bean-Goose 

 at a glance, I always look for three things, viz. the yellow legs, the 

 black nail, and the orange band on the bill. Mr. Frohawk now tells us 

 that this orange band is only found in segetum, the rare species, and 

 that the upper mandible in the beak of the common species, arvensis, 

 is almost wholly orange-coloured. 



A statement by Mr. J. H. Gurney, mentioned in Mr. Coburn's 

 article (ante, p. 46), shows the current tendency to create new species. 

 It is as follows: — "And as long as the slightest difference in 

 colour — even to the colour of an eyelid — can be found, combined 

 (as it is in this case) with some difference of habitat, surely such 

 birds ought to be kept asunder." This statement, I think, is inde- 

 fensible. We might breed hundreds of new species of birds every year. 

 If every variety of a bird is to be called a new species, the science of 

 ornithology is limitless. All the fancy varieties of the Pigeon are far 

 worthier of classification as distinct species than these little differences, 

 say, between A. brachyrhynchus and A. neglectus, or A. segetum and A. 

 arvensis. I might say that all my observations on these Geese have 

 been taken not from museum specimens, but from freshly shot birds, 

 and I have several times kept winged birds of the Pink-footed, White- 

 fronted, and Bernicle Geese alive for short periods, in order to study 

 them. I may be wrong, but Mr. Frohawk's remarks on these Geese 

 seem to show that he has studied museum specimens, and got his 

 other information secondhand from fowlers in different parts of Europe. 

 It would be very interesting to have Mr. J. G. Millais' opinion on Grey 

 Geese. 



My acquaintance with the Grey Lag- Goose is almost nil, but I hope to 

 know it better this winter. Mr. Coburn mentions the late Mr. Ernest 

 C. Tye's opinion on his Bed-billed Grey Lag-Goose. Although Mr. Tye 

 may have been a very keen wildfowler, I think, from his articles, that 

 his experience may have been limited to about three days' shooting in 

 the year, viz. on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year's Day ; so, 

 as far as practical experience goes, if such was the case, his opinion 



