ZOOLOGY. 
Tue Snow Goose. — On the 6th of October, 1873, I shot at Mt. 
Carmel, Illinois, a fine adult male Anser hyperboreus, which had 
been living with a flock of tame geese for nearly a year. The 
bird had been crippled in the wing the preceding fall, but the 
wound, which was merely in the muscles, soon healed, and it 
escaped by flight. It flew about half a mile, and, observing 4 
flock of tame geese upon the grassy ‘‘commons” between the 
town and the river, alighted among them. It continued to stay 
with them, going home with the flock regularly every evening, to 
be fed and enclosed in the barn-yard. 
My attention was attracted to this bird by its owner, Mr. 
Thomas Hoskinson, from whom I got the above facts; and who 
kindly told me that if I would shoot the bird he was willing to 
have it sacrificed to science. Accordingly, I repaired to the 
‘‘commons” and found the flock at a locality designated. Anter 
some little search the “white brant” was discovered, being dis- 
tinguished by its black quill-feathers, rather smaller size, shorter 
neck, black instead of bluish eyes, and the black space along the 
commissures of the bill. When unmolested this bird was as Un- 
mindful of a person as the tame geese, and it required chase - 
make it endeavor to escape, which it always did by rising easily 
from the ground, and flying to the river — sometimes half a mile 
distant. 
The specimen was in fine plumage and excellent condition, 
made a very clean, perfect specimen when prepared. It mea 
as follows: — Length, 27 inches; extent, 57; wing, 17; culm eg 
2-25; tarsus, 2; middle toe, 1-75. Its weight was 5} lbs. Bill 
deep flesh-color, the upper mandible with a salmon-colored ting® 
and the lower with a rosy pink flush; the terminal ungui nearly 
white; the commissures enclose an elongate oval space of R 
lack; iris very dark brown; eyelids greenish-white; tars! an 
toes purple-lake, the soles of the feet dingy Naples-yellow. 
A remarkable feature of this specimen is that one or two of ont 
primaries are entirely pure white, while most of the ree 
ones have longitudinal spaces, of greater or less extent, 0n “ 
inner webs. The question arises, whether this is merely 2 pss 
(636) 
and 
