Bendire.] 



144 [March 21, 



154. Cygnus americanus (Sharp.). American Swan. 



Very common on the borders of Malheur Lake during the migra- 

 tions. A few remain as long as April 24, and in the upper Sy Ivies 

 valley, in the Blue Mountains, I heard what I took to be the trumpet- 

 ing of this species on May 29, 1876. It is possible that a number of 

 cripples remaining during the summer on the lakes gave rise to 

 the idea that they breed here. The meat of the young birds is, in 

 my opinion, excellent eating, far superior to that of any of the geese 

 found about here. "While here they feed on the small bulbous roots 

 of a water plant growing near the shores of the lake. The stomach 

 of a specimen shot Nov. 11, 1874, contained some twenty small sea 

 shells. 



155. Cygnus buccinator (Rich.). 



A single specimen was taken at Malheur Lake March 24, 1877. 



156. Anser albifrons var. Gambeli (Hartt). Speckled- 

 bellied goose. 



Very common during the migrations, and generally the first to 

 arrive from the north. 



157. Anser hyperboreus (Pall). Snow goose. 1 

 Also very common during the migrations. 



158. Anser Rossii (Baird). Ross' Goose. 



A single specimen obtained on Silvies River, Oregon, April 12, 

 1876. It appears to be a rare species, was shot out of a -flock of 

 twelve by Sergt. Kennedy of my company, and is now in the collec- 

 tion of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Mass. The 

 bird weighed two and three-fourths pounds, and measured as follows: 

 ?, length to tip of tail, 22.75; to end of middle claw, 24.25; wing 

 13.75; tail, 4.75. Iris light blue. Feet and tarsi purple. Bill pale 

 horn color, nail black. Its notes are said to differ from those of the 

 snow goose. 



159. Branta canadensis (Linn.). Canada Goose. 



Only partly migratory; a number remain to breed. I took 

 several nests of this species on the islands in Malheur Lake in 

 April, 1875, all of these were placed on the ground or on drifts 

 of tule in the water. The largest number of eggs I found in a 

 nest was six. In the spring of 1876, when I visited the lake again, I 

 did not find a single nest on the ground ; the few which I did see were 

 all placed in willow trees, and not accessible on account of high wa- 

 ter. Measurements of eggs out of different nests are as follows: 3.57 

 X 2.25, 3.49 X 2.26, 3.40 X 2.32, and 3.33 X 2.36. 

 iThe variety Hutchinsii does not breed here. 



