THE BRENT GOOSE. 255 



migrant (not wintering) Shetlands. In Ireland regular winter- 

 visitor to coasts and islands Connaught and co. Donegal, and in 

 small numbers to Dundalk Bay (Louth), very rare southern half. 



Distribution. — Abroad. — Breeds Spitsbergen and north-east Green- 

 land, Novaya Zemlia, and north-west Siberia. On migration and 

 in winter from Iceland to shores of Baltic and North Sea, occasion- 

 ally inland (Germany, Switzerland, Austria), exceptionally south 

 to Italy, Spain, Marocco, Azores, casually in North America. 



BRANTA BERNICLA 



297. Branta bernicla bernicla (L.)— THE BRENT GOOSE. 



Anas Bernicla Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 124 (1758 — "Habitat 



in Europa boreali ; migrat supra Sveciam "). 



Bernicla glaucogaster* Brehm, Handb. Naturg. V6g. Deutschl., p. 849 ; 



Hand-List, 1912, p. 133. 



Bernicla brenta (Pallas), Yarrell, iv, p. 290 ; Saunders, p. 411. 



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

 and neck all round, upper-mantle and upper-breast sooty-black ; 

 on side of neck an irregular patch of black feathers banded sub- 

 terminally or tipped white ; sometimes these patches almost meet 

 on front of neck, sometimes feathers of nape in this area have con- 

 cealed white subterminal bars ; rest of mantle, scapulars, back 

 and rump hair-brown, feathers of mantle and scapulars more or less 

 with grey bloom and lighter brown tips ; short central upper tail- 

 coverts black-brown ; sides of rump and rest of upper tail-coverts 

 white ; sides of body and flanks brown-grey, feathers broadly tipped 

 whitish ; rest of breast and belly brown-grey ; vent and under 

 tail-coverts white ; axillaries and under wing-coverts brown-grey ; 

 tail-feathers sooty-black ; primaries and secondaries black, inner 

 webs more or less black-brown or sepia ; primary-coverts and 

 bastard-wing hair-brown ; rest of wing-coverts as mantle, but 

 narrowly edged light brown. This plumage is acquired by a com- 

 plete moult. N.B. — Above description applies to dark form, pale 

 form differs in having feathers of mantle and scapulars more broadly 

 edged brownish-white, and upper-parts appear browner, not so grey ; 

 lower-breast, belly, sides of body and flanks pale ash-brown rather 

 than brown-grey. Between these two forms there is every inter- 

 gradation. Summer. — Two or three April birds examined were 

 moulting some feathers of head, neck and body, but whether this is 

 due to a spring moult or a delayed winter moult, more material is 

 required to decide. Coloration as in winter. 



* The distinction of the white -bellied form seems to be impossible ; 

 though American authors have supposed that it alone breeds in N. America , 

 in any case in Spitsbergen and Kolguev both white- and grey-bellied examples 

 breed. In no case can the name " glaucogaster " be used for the white -bellied 

 form, as it was given by Brehm to grey-bellied specimens shot on the coast of 

 Germany. — E. H. 



