528 
FOREST AND STREAM 
October, 1919 
White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) 
Lesser Snow Goose (Chen hyperboreus) 
A MANUAL OF WILD FOWL SHOOTING 
PART TWO OF A SERIES OF ARTICLES DESCRIBING THE TRAITS, CHARACTERISTICS 
AND METHODS OF HUNTING OUR WATER-FOWL— THE WILD GEESE AND THE BRANT 
Black Brant (Branta nigrans) 
By FREDERICK A. WILLITS 
T he Hutchins goose, length about 
thirty inches, the cackling goose, 
length about twenty-five inches, and 
the white-cheeked goose, length about 
thirty-four inches, are all practically 
identical in plumage with the Canada 
goose, of which they are sub-species, and 
distinguishable from the latter bird only 
by their smaller sizes. They are often 
termed lesser Canada geese. All three 
birds are found in the western portions 
of the United States, the Mississippi 
Valley to the Pacific Coast. They are 
hunted in the same manner as the Can- 
ada geese, with which bird they are often 
found associating. 
The Emperor goose is of little import- 
ance to the sportsman, as it is extremely 
rare. I believe they are seen more often 
on the islands and coast of Alaska than 
elsewhere. They are very handsome 
birds. Back of neck and head white; 
dai'k brown on forepart of neck and 
throat; back and underparts bluish-gray, 
feathers tipped with narrow white and 
dark-brown bars; bill pale purple; legs 
and feet orange. Length about twenty- 
six inches. 
The blue goose, another handsome bird 
is also rare and but little is known about 
it. It is sometimes seen in the Missis- 
sippi Valley and ranges from the far 
north to the Gulf of Mexico. Head and 
neck white; back, breast and wings 
brown ; wing coverts and rump bluish 
gray; under parts white; tail brown, 
feathers edged with gray; bill pale pink 
or yellow; legs and feet red. Length 
about twenty-seven inches. Few pres- 
ent-day sportsmen have been fortunate 
enough to bag the blue goose or the 
Emperor goose. I have never shot either 
one, in fact have never seen them near 
enough to recognize them. 
The white-fronted goose is rare on the 
Atlantic Coast, but abundant on the 
Pacific slope and in sections of the in- 
M R. WILLITS described the 
swans and the Canada geese 
in the September number of Forest 
AND Stream. The other wild geese, 
of more or less importance to the 
sportsman, and the brant are con- 
sidered in this article and the No- 
vember number will contain a de- 
scription of sea duck shooting . — 
[Editors.] 
terior west of the Mississippi River. It 
is often called speckle-belly, gray brant, 
and has other local names. Head and 
neck brown, except forepart of head at 
bill which is white; back, wings and tail 
grayish brown; rump grayish white; 
breast light brown; underparts grayish 
white marked with black blotches; bill, 
legs and feet orange. Length about 
twenty-eight inches. 
The white-fronted geese are shot over 
the stubble fields of the West. There, 
when feeding on grass and grain, their 
flesh is delicious; far better, as with 
other water-fowl, than when they are 
found on the salt marshes about the 
coast. The manner of hunting the Can- 
ada goose, described in a previous art- 
icle, applies equally well to the speckle- 
bellies. They are shot over decoys, or 
from ambush as they fly from one feed- 
ing ground to another. Like the other 
geese, they will when not too much shot 
at follow the same line of flight, and 
the observing sportsman will have no 
great difficulty in getting under them. 
He must, however, be perfectly concealed 
and remain motionless until the fowl are 
within range. All the geese have ex- 
ceedingly keen sight, and an approaching 
flock will at once detect the smallest un- 
familiar object on their feeding ground 
or the slightest movement in the brown 
stubble beneath as they gaze downward. 
A ll the geese are very swift of flight, 
although, because of their large 
size, they do not appear to be mov- 
ing rapidly. The aim, therefore, should 
be well in front of a bird passing. Geese 
coming into the decoys will often at 
the report of the first shots spring 
straight up in the air, going to a con- 
siderable height before swinging off. The 
second barrel is often missed because 
the shooter does not aim far enough 
above the swiftly rising fowl. I do not 
think there is a bird whose flight is more 
deceptive than that of the wild goose. 
They are always flying much more rap- 
idly than they appear to be. The same 
guns and loads used in shooting the 
Canada geese are used on the speckle- 
bellies. 
The greater snow goose, length about 
thirty-three inches, and the lesser snow 
goose, length about twenty-four inches, 
are, as their names indicate, birds of 
snow white plumage, with the exception 
of the primaries (long end feathers of 
the wings) which are black. The bill, 
legs and feet are dark pink or red. 
Young birds have head, neck and upper 
parts grayish white. The two birds are 
distinguishable from each other only by 
their size. 
The greater snow goose ranges 
throughout North America at large, al- 
though it is far more abundant in the 
interior and on the Pacific Coast than 
on the Atlantic. They are rare on the 
Atlantic Coast north of the Chesapeake. 
The lesser snow goose is more distinctly 
a western bird, and is found from the 
Mississippi Valley to the Pacific Coast, 
and from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf 
of Mexico. 
The snow geese are very beautiful 
birds, and a great flock of them stream- 
ing across the blue of the fall sky, like 
drifting, fleecy white clouds, is a sight 
long to be remembered. The abundance- 
