250 A PRACTICAL HANDBOOK OF BRITISH BIRDS. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Breeds in north Greenland and Ellesmere 

 Land, though full range unknown ; on passage and in winter in 

 eastern America, south to Louisiana, Florida and even Porto Rico. 

 Replaced by A. h. hyperboreus in western north America and arctic 

 east Asia. 



Genus BRANTA Scop. 



Branta Scopoli, Annus I Hist.- Nat., p. 67 (1769 — Type by subsequent 

 designation, of Allen, 1907, B. bernicla). 



In general much like Anser, but no teeth or serrations visible 

 on cutting edge of upper mandible. Four species (and a number of 

 subspecies) in Palsearctic and Nearctic (Holarctic) regions. 



Key to species of genus Branta. 



f Upper and under tail-coverts almost or quite reach- 



, J ing tip of tail B. bernicla, p. 255 



| Upper and under tail-coverts not nearly reaching 



tip of tail . 2 



Jugulum black B. leucopsis, p. 252 



Jugulum rufous B. ruficollis, p. 250 



*{ 



BRANTA RUFICOLLIS 



295. Branta ruficollis (Pall.)— THE RED-BREASTED GOOSE. 



Anser ruficollis Pallas, Spicilegia Zool., fasc. vi, p. 21, pi. iv (1769 — 



Lower Ob River in Siberia and S. Russia). 



Bernicla ruficollis (Pallas), Yarrell, iv, p. 281 ; Saunders, p. 407. 



Description. — Adult male and female. Winter. — Fore-head, crown 

 down to eye, cheeks below eye and nape black, black of nape 

 continued on to upper-mantle ; oval or roundish white patch 

 in front of eye extending to bill, irregular square russet patch on 

 sides of neck, outlined in white ; behind eye small white patch 

 which narrows into a white line merging with white line running 

 parallel with nape on to upper-mantle ; chin and throat black, 

 feathers tipped white, chin intermixed with white, black of throat 

 in some continued below white streak towards nape ; rest of neck 

 and upper-mantle, and upper-breast russet ; a white band bordered 

 above by a narrow black band encircles upper-mantle and breast, a 

 white bar in front of wing ; rest of mantle, scapulars, back and rump 

 black with dull greenish gloss, scapulars in some narrowly tipped 

 black-brown ; lower scapulars black-brown, tipped white ; sides 

 of back and rump, and upper tail-coverts white ; lower-breast 

 below white band black, feathers with white bases ; sides of belly 

 and flanks white, some feathers tipped black, flanks broadly so ; 

 thighs white, some feathers with black-brown tips ; belly, vent and 

 under tail-coverts white, white of belly joining black of breast in 

 an inverted V-shaped line ; axillaries dark sepia, under wing-coverts 

 black, under primary-coverts drab-grey ; tail-feathers black, 

 narrowly tipped white, outer ones with inner webs brown-black ; 

 primaries and their coverts, secondaries and bastard-wing black 



