are constantly uttered. The flight of these birds is beautiful, but appears to be 

 much less rapid than it really is because of their large size and the height at 

 which they were moving. The flesh of the White-fronted Goose is very highly 

 esteemed, and by many epicures it is considered much more delicious than the 

 flesh of any of the other geese. 



The geese are vegetarians and much more terrestrial than are the ducks, for 

 they frequent the land in order to feed upon tender herbage. The White-fronted 

 Goose during its migrations and in its winter home, frequents prairies and fields 

 where it feeds upon the tender blades of grass and to some extent, at least, upon 

 the green blades of winter wheat. It will also glean the scattered grains of corn 

 in corn fields. In California, where it is very abundant in winter, it is said to be 

 very destructive to the growing wheat crop and that, in some localities, the 

 farmers employ men to kill them or drive them from the fields. When obtainable, 

 berries of various kinds and buds of shrubs are staple articles of food. When 

 these geese arrive upon their breeding grounds in the early spring, the lakes are 

 still frozen and the ground is more or less covered with snow. At this time the 

 heath berries of the preceding year form their principal food. 



^Ir. E. W. Nelson has given an excellent account of their breeding habits 

 in Alaska, where they nest very abundantly. There, the White-fronted Geese 

 begin to arrive the latter part of April if the season is early, but usually early 

 in May. ''As the season advances they become more numerous and noisy. Their 

 loud call notes and the cries of the males are heard everywhere." Along the Yukon 

 Dall found them breeding gregariously, depositing their eggs in a hollow scooped 

 out in the sand. At the Yukon mouth and Saint Michaels they were found breed- 

 ing in scattered pairs over the flat country. Every one of the nests examined by me 

 in these places had a slight lining of grass or moss, gathered by the parent, and 

 upon this the first egg was laid ; as the complement of eggs is approached the 

 female always plucks down and feathers from her breast until the eggs rest 

 in a soft, warm bed, when incubation commences." Regarding the care of the 

 young, I\Ir. Nelson says : "During my visits to the haunts of these birds the 

 parents were seen leading their young away through the grass, all crouching and 

 trying to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible." He also states that all 

 through the month of September both the old and young gather in larger flocks, 

 and "as the sharp frosts toward the end of September warn them of approaching 

 winter, commence moving south. The marshes resound with their cries, and after 

 some days of chattering, flying back and forth, and a general bustle, they suddenly 

 start off in considerable flocks." Very soon thereafter we begin to hear their 

 cries, and see them in the United States. 



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