( io ) 



ORD. III. GENUS X. GOOSE. 



Bill, fhort, arched above, flat beneath, very thick at the bafe, floping down 

 to a roundifh point, finifhing with a hooked nail, and ferrated on the 

 edges of both mandibles. 



Nostrils, oval, fituate at a diftance from the bafe of the bill. 



Tongue, broad, indented at the edges, and flefhy. 



Toes, three before, united by a web ; hind toe frnall. 



SPECIES I. WILD GOOSE. 



PI. 239. 



Anas Anfer. Lin. Syjl. I. p. 197. 

 L'Oie fauvage. Brif. Orn. VI. p. 265. 



The wild goofe, or grey lag, weighs about eight pounds. The bill is of a 

 pale orange : eye, grey, with a yellowifh eyelid : the feathers of the back 

 and fhoulders of the wing are of a brown grey colour, with white ends 

 to each feather:, wing coverts, darker, edged with white : quills, dull black : 

 bread, and under parts, whitifh, mixed with grey feathers : vent, and rump, 

 white: middle tail feathers, dull black, tipped with white j outer ones nearly 

 all white : legs, pale orange colour ; webs, darker; nails, black. 



The head, neck, and bill of the female are fomewhat more flender than 

 thofe of the male, and the plumage on the under parts lighter. 



Some of thefe birds refide in the fens the whole year, and breed there. 

 They lay about twelve eggs, early in the fpring, and fit twenty-eight days. 

 The young are frequently taken before they get the quill feathers, and are 

 readily made tame. From this fpecies our domeftic geefe have originated. 

 In the autumn they coliecl together in flocks, and their numbers are greatly 

 increafed in the winter feafon, by thofe that emigrate from the more northern 

 regions, particularly if the weather be fevere. Geefe live to a great age : 

 Mr. Willughby fays upwards of eighty years. For the egg fee PI. LIIL 



