4 
GREY-LAG GOOSE. 
from forty to fifty grazing on the short grass on the lawn of a shooting-lodge in a lonely strath in 
Caithness. The ground was perfectly uninclosed towards the moors, and the non-hreeding birds (possibly 
fhe young of the previous year) usually put in an appearance on this their favourite feeding-place in 
the gloaming. In East Lothian this species, in company with Bean-Geese, some years ago became so 
destructive to the young crops that it was necessary to employ herds with a gun to scare away the 
large flocks that alighted on the fields. The l)irds rested in immense bodies, either on the sands of the 
Eirth or out on the water, usually breaking up into smaller parties when coming inland to feed ; constant 
persecution by day having at length put them on the alert, they remained afloat till after dusk, and 
only attempted to make for their feeding-grounds when the herds had withdrawn. In Norfolk a few of 
these Geese are occasionally shot on Breydon flats in cold weather, and I have now and then observed 
them frequenting the hills adjoining some of the larger broads; they are not, however, so numerous in 
this part of the county as several other species. While steaming through Yarmouth roads in Eebruary 
1882, an immense string, extending at least a quarter of a mile in length, were noticed making their way 
in a southerly direction; their line of flight was held at some elevation, hut the conspicuous grey patch 
on the shoulder of their wings left no doubt as to their identity. Large flocks also pass along at sea 
a short distance off the Sussex coast, though few, unless in exceedingly severe weather, penetrate into the 
marshes. During the winters from 1858 to 1869 I frequently shot over Pevensey Level, but not more 
than three or four individuals of this species were obtained. Y^oung birds occasionally reach the south 
of England as early as October ; in 1882 one was shot in Shoreham harbour during the second week in 
the month. The soft parts were as follows : — Iris hazel, with a yellow ring round eye. Beak a livid 
yellow with a tinge of flesh-colour ; nail dirty white. Legs and feet a livid flesh-tinge. 
After shooting two or three Grey-lags or Pink-footed Geese* on the fens near the Cam one wintry 
day early in December 1861, I was informed by the marsh man t who accompanied me that in the 
recollection of either his father or grandfather Wild Geese had bred in the neighbourhood. If any nested 
in the locality in a wild state they belonged to this species ; the low swampy islands with stunted coverts 
of alder, elder, and willow, on which I have occasionally seen their nests in tlie Highlands, correspond 
with certain parts of the unreclaimed slades and wastes that existed even in my own time in the fens 
about Waterbeach and Wicken. 
On two or three occasions I have met with broods, reared from eggs taken in the district, feeding 
round farm-huildings in the Northern Highlands, and in one instance remarked the eagerness with whicli 
they responded to the call of the lassie who attended to their wants. Possibly their natural wildness 
would show itself in time, as statements have appeared in print to the effect that birds bred in confine- 
ment, if possessed of the full use of their wings, would not permit a near approach, though returning 
occasionally to the quarters in which they were reared. 
* I am unable to lay my hands on the journal referring to this incident. 
t A well-known character in the district, who rented a small extent of fen-land and was never without a trusty setter. Old John, with whom 
I enjoyed many a good day’s sport, remembered well the time when the fens were free and unreclaimed ; and though he still knew where the Snipes 
or fowl would drop when a flight arrived, was often unmindful of the changes that had taken place in the ownership of the land. 
