WILD-GOOSE AND BRANT 
281 
were caught and wing-clipped to prevent further 
wandering into danger. The seven are still 
there; but the two unclipped birds, after re- 
maining all winter, flew away north the follow- 
ing spring, and it is quite likely that their bad 
judgment has ere now cost them their lives. 
Apparently, all the North American geese 
are almost as easy to keep in captivity as do- 
mestic geese. Their favorite food is cracked 
corn and whole wheat, but they will eat almost 
any kind of grain. In winter they require 
low shelter coops, open toward the south; and 
a small portion of their pond must be kept open 
all winter, by frequently removing the ice, to 
keep their feet from freezing. Not all these 
birds, however, care to seek shelter in a humble 
coop. 
The Canada Goose is known by its large size, 
and its jet-black head and neck, with a con- 
spicuous white crescent encircling the throat. 
The black on the neck ends abruptly where the 
neck joins the body, and the general tone of the 
latter is gray-brown. Its neck is longer, and 
also more slender as a rule, than those of other 
birds. 
This fine bird winters in Texas, along the 
Gulf of Mexico, and in the sounds and bays of 
Virginia and the Carolinas, and goes north 
early in spring. Its nesting-grounds begin in 
our northern tier of states, and extend north- 
ward to Labrador, the Barren Grounds and 
Alaska. Throughout much of that vast area, 
the shot-guns and rifles are ever ready, and the 
number of geese that still survive are eloquent 
testimony to the wariness, the keeness of vision 
and the good judgment of this much-prized 
bird. A bird of equal desirability, but with a 
dull brain and poor vision, would have been 
exterminated long ago. 
One of the most interesting things about the 
Canada Goose is the energy and courage of the 
male in defending the female on her nest. 
Last spring two of our geese paired off, and 
built a nest on the south bank of the Mammals’ 
Pond, in a very exposed situation. From that 
time until the young were hatched, the gander 
never once wandered from his post. It was 
his rule never to go more than sixty feet from 
the nest, and whenever any one approached it, 
he immediately hastened to intercept the in- 
truder, hissing and threatening with his wings 
in a most truculent manner. Had any one 
persisted in disturbing the female, he would 
willingly, even cheerfully, have shed his blood 
in her defence. His unswerving devotion to 
his duty attracted the admiring attention of 
thousands of visitors, and the proudest day of 
his life was when the first live gosling was led 
to the water, and launched with appropriate 
ceremonies. 
There are three subspecies of the Canada 
Goose, all smaller, but otherwise very similar. 
The White-Cheeked Goose inhabits the Pa- 
cific coast, north to Sitka; and the Cackling 
Goose is found in the same region, and on up 
to the Yukon. Hutcliin’s Goose is merely a 
small edition of the Canada. 
The Black Brant 1 is a very distinct bird, 
noticeably smaller than the Canada goose, 
and readily recognized by its blackness and its 
small size. Its head, neck, and breast are en- 
tirely black, save for a white collar going two- 
thirds of the way around the upper neck. The 
black of the neck does not end abruptly at the 
shoulders, but spreads back over the back and 
under parts until the final effect is that of a bird 
which is two-thirds black. 
Although this bird is generally accounted 
rare on the Atlantic coast, the New York Zo- 
ological Society has secured a number of fine 
living specimens from Carrituck Sound, on the 
coast of North Carolina. Beyond doubt, how- 
ever, it is rare everywhere in the eastern United 
States. It is remarkable for the fact that it 
migrates northward not only to the desolate 
shores of the Arctic Ocean, but far beyond, and 
must nest and rear its young far out on the great 
polar ice-pack. 
The Brant Goose 2 is quite a different spe- 
cies from the preceding. The black of its neck 
ends abruptly at the shoulders, and the white 
collar is a mere broken patch, without decided 
character. The body is everywhere much 
lighter than the color of the black brant, with 
which this species is often confounded, because 
the two are often found together, though not 
on the Pacific coast. Once the Brant Goose 
was plentiful along the Atlantic side, but it is 
now rare, and fast disappearing. 
1 Bran'ta ni'gri-cans. Average length, about 24 
inches. 
2 Bran'ta ber'ni-cla. 
