THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
white. Total length about 27 inches; bill 2*0 inches; wing 15 5 inches; 
tail 4 8 inches; tarsus 2 ’9 inches. 
Adult female . — Similar to the male, but generally smaller, and with 
less black on the breast and belly. Wing about 14*5 inches. 
General distribution. — The white -fronted goose breeds in the most 
northerly tundra, and has been met with in limited numbers in Finland 
and, apparently, in Lapland, in the Kola Peninsula round Varanger Fjord, 
in Novaya Zemlia, Kolguev, the Obi basin, Yenesei, Taimyr Peninsula, 
and eastwards over the extreme north of Siberia and the islands along 
the whole shore of the Arctic Ocean. It also breeds in Iceland and Green- 
land. On migration it is met with throughout Europe, southwards to the 
Mediterranean basin, and vast numbers occur in winter in Egypt, the 
Black and Caspian Seas, North India, China, Corea and Japan. In Arctic 
North America a slightly different form with a rather larger bill, known 
as Anser gambeli^ is met with, and winters as far south as Mexico and 
Cuba. It seems doubtful if the American bird is really separable from 
A. albifrons : Mr Alpheraky does not consider it to be so. 
Distribution in the British Isles. — To the British Isles the white -fronted 
goose is a winter-visitor only. In Great Britain it is generally scarce on 
the east coast, except near the Moray Firth, but on the west and south, 
though local in its distribution, it is often numerous. It is often plentiful 
in the Shetlands, common in the Orkneys, sparingly met with in the 
Outer Hebrides, but common in Islay. In Ireland it is abundant and widely 
distributed, being much the commonest species of grey goose. 
Nest and eggs. — ^The nest is said to be placed as a rule on a grassy 
hillock in a depression on the summit, and has the usual thick lining of 
down after the eggs are laid. These are usually from five to seven in 
number, but smaller sets of four and probably also larger clutches 
are to be found. They are creamy-white, the average measurements 
being 3*2 by 2*1 inches. The eggs are laid in the latter part of May and 
in June. 
The weight of adult birds is about 5^ to 6| lbs. 
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