246 VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF LAKELAND 



the year. He expected to ' rake ' the birds, but his gun missed 

 fire. Brent Geese occasionally visit the salt marshes of the 

 upper Solway — stragglers have been shot at Eockliffe — as well 

 as the estuaries of Eavenglass, where Dr. Parker has obtained 

 examples, and of Morecambe Bay, but their favourite algce are 

 either absent, or too scarce to induce them to stay more than a 

 day or two on passage. Otherwise, they are compelled to graze 

 on the common grass of the marshes, as was the case in 1886, 

 when I dissected a fine old gander which had glutted itself with 

 fine wiry grass, mixed in its stomach with a quantity of fine 

 sand. This bird had been killed on the Solway near Glasson, 

 and weighed 3 lbs. 1 oz., the weather being severe. The Brent 

 Goose rarely occurs in the interior of Lakeland. Mr. Hutchin- 

 son recently showed me a fine specimen obtained inland near 

 Kendal, a light-breasted bird. It had probably strayed up the 

 Kent from Morecambe Bay. 



BARNACLE GOOSE. 



Bernida kucopsis (Bechst.). 



The Barnacle Goose has long been recognised as a winter 

 visitant to the north-west coast of England. John Ray observes 

 of this species 'Maritima Lancastriae frequentat.' 1 Dr. Leigh 

 describes the bird as very common on the Lancashire coast. 



Gerard quotes the myth of the development of this Goose 

 from a shellfish, and states that the bird fetched threepence in the 

 market, and was called a ' tree Goose ' by the Lancashire folk 

 in his day. 2 Dr. Heysham writes that Barnacle Geese ' are very 

 frequent upon our coasts in the winter/ referring, no doubt, to 

 his experiences of Rockliffe salt marsh. 



T. C. Heysham remarks, in a draft letter to the late Mr. 

 Gurney, of July 22, 1833 : 'The Barnacle is one of the most 

 regular winter visitors to this district, seldom varying more than 

 10 or 12 days either in its arrival or departure,' another allu- 

 sion to Rockliffe marsh. "Whatever may have been the case 

 before the marsh lands in the neighbourhood of Morecambe Bay 



i Syn. Meth. Av., p. 137. 2 Herball, pp. 1391, 1392. 



