THE GRAY- LAG GOOSE. 
593 
black glossed with purple, but the throat, front of the breast, and abdomen are white. In size 
it rather exceeds the domestic Goose. 
We now arrive at the true Geese, our first representative being the Cape Barron Goose, 
or Cereopsis, so called from the cere which covers a large portion of the beak. This fine bird 
is a native of New Holland, and is found, as its name implies, at Cape Barron Island, in 
Bass’s Straits. It is of large size, fattens easily, its flesh is good, and it breeds without 
difficulty when in confinement, so that it possesses many of the qualifications for domestica- 
tion. It has, however, one drawback, for it is very quarrelsome, and its powerful beak and 
large dimensions make it a dreaded foe in the poultry-yard. It feeds on grass like the common ( 
Goose, and requires but little care on the part of the owner, and if it could only be induced to 
lay aside its quarrelsome habits would be quite an acquisition to our limited list of domestic 
poultry. 
For some time after its first discovery it was so fearless of man that it would suffer itself 
to be approached and knocked down with sticks, but it has now learned caution through 
bitter experience, and at the sight of a human being seeks safety in flight. Although one of 
the true Geese, it cares little for the water, and in this respect, as well as in others, resembles 
the wading birds. The eggs of the Cereopsis are cream-colored, and the voice of the bird is 
loud, hoarse, and has a decided trumpet-like tone that can be heard at a considerable 
distance. 
The general color of this bird is brownish-gray, mottled on the back with a lighter hue, 
and spotted with black on the wing-coverts and scapularies. On the head the gray fades 
nearly into white. The bill is short, sharp, and hard, and can be used with great force as an 
offensive weapon. Its color is black, and it is covered with a very large greenish-yellow cere. 
The legs are pinkish and the eyes bright red. 
The Gray-Lag Goose is found in many parts of the world, and in a wild state makes occa- 
sional visits to northern Europe, and it is probable that the Domestic Geese may derive some 
of their blood from the 
other species of the 
same genus. The white 
color of the adult Do- 
mestic Gander seems 
to be the result of care- 
ful breeding, probably 
because white feathers 
sell at a higher price 
than the dark and gray 
plumes. In a state 
of domestication the 
Goose lives to a great 
age, and when treated 
kindly becomes strong- . 
ly attached to its 
friends, and assumes 
quite an eccentric 
character. Of the 
breeding and manage- 
ment of the Goose 
nothing can be said in 
these pages, the reader 
being referred to the numerous extant works on domestic poultry. When wild its flavor is 
not so delicate as after it has been domesticated and properly fed, and when a wild Goose is 
shot in the northern climates the sportsman always buries it in the earth some hours before 
Vol. IL— 75, 
GRAY-LAG GOOSE .— Anser cinereus. 
