240 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Distribution. — British Isles. — Winter-visitor Oct. to March-May. 

 Regular Caithness but otherwise scarce east coast Great Britain, 

 sometimes plentiful south and most regular west, where, however, its 

 distribution is irregular. In Ireland regular and often abundant on 

 great bogs in all provinces. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Breeds from Lapland (according to 

 Gobel) and Novaya Zemlia, Kola, Kolguev, Kanin, and eastward 

 along arctic Siberia to country of Tchuktchi. Also Iceland, probably 

 Greenland, and arctic North America, but American authors dis- 

 tinguish another form under the name of A. albifrons gambeli, a 

 distinction which requires confirmation.* On migration all over 

 Europe to Mediterranean and north Africa, Caspian and Black Seas, 

 north India, Burmah (rare), Corea, Japan and China, in America to 

 Mexico and Cuba. 



ANSER ERYTHROPUSt 



290. Anser erythropus (L.)— THE LESSER WHITE-FRONTED 

 GOOSE. 



Anas erythropus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 123 (1758 — " Habitat 



in Europa septentrionali "). 



A. erythropus, Yarrell, iv, p. 263 (in text) ; Saunders, p. 400 (in text) ; 



id., Brit. B., 1, p. 14. 



Anser fmmarchicus Gunner, Hand -List (1912), p. 129. 



Description (Plate 5). — Adult male and female. Winter. — Like 

 A. a. albifrons, but white band on fore-head extends further back- 

 wards on to crown usually to above centre of eye, in some to beyond 

 posterior corner of eye ; in some only a white spot at tip of feather- 

 ing on lower mandible, in others this white as extensive as in A. a. 

 albifrons. Rest of plumage as in A. a. albifrons, but freshly moulted 

 specimens appear to have head and neck darker, feathers of upper- 

 mantle with richer brown edgings. Summer. — No moult apparent. 

 Coloration as winter. 



Nestling. — As A. a. albifrons, but fore-head and nape as 

 crown ; upper-parts appear darker, light patch below wing merely 

 indicated ; lores sepia ; sides of face yellow suffused sepia ; under- 

 pays yellow, fore-neck suffused dusky. (One specimen 3.7.01 

 East Finmark, in coll. N. F. Ticehurst compared with nestling 

 A. a. albifrons in Brit. Mus.) 



Juvenile. — Coloration as in A. a. albifrons but fore-head, crown 

 and centre of nape appear darker. No white on chin in few specimens 

 examined. Distinguished from adult by same characters which 

 distinguish juvenile A. a. albifrons from adults. 



* Some specimens of White -fronted Geese from Ireland have been 

 assigned by Mr. F. Coburn to Anser gambeli, but the validity of this supposed 

 race is doubtful. 



f Prof. E. Lonnberg gives evidence from Linnean MSS. to show that 

 the bird described by Linnaeus under this name was the White -fronted Goose 

 which breeds in northern Sweden, i.e. the Lesser White-fronted Goose (see 

 Ibis, 1913, pp. 400-402). 



