134 
British Birds. 
unable to fly and have to hide themselves for protection, until their wings are 
grown again. The nest consists of a slight hollow, with a little moss and is plentifully 
lined with the grey down of the bird. The eggs are three or four in number, 
creamy-white, but becoming gradually stained with buff as incubation proceeds. 
The present species is rather smaller than A. fabalis, which 
THE PINK- 
FOOTED GOOSE. 
(Anser 
brachyrhynchus.) 
THE BERNACLE 
.GOOSE. 
(Braiitd leucopsis.) 
it resembles in its grey wings and rump, but it is easily 
distinguished by its pink feet and by the pink band on the bill. 
It arrives in Great Britain in the autumn and visits principally 
the east coast of Scotland and England : in the west of Scotland 
and the Hebrides it is more rare, and is almost unknown in Ireland. It is found 
in Iceland and Spitsbergen during the breeding-season, but very few details are 
known as to the nesting of the Pink-footed Goose. Numbers are to be seen near 
Holkham, in Norfolk, during the autumn and winter, where they are protected by the 
Earl of Leicester, and frequent the lake in large numbers, winging their way out to 
sea when the tide falls and the sand-banks become exposed. As with other Geese, 
the flight is performed in a £ V ’ formation. The nest is said to resemble that of the 
Bean-Goose, and the eggs are similar in colour and shape. 
The Brent Geese differ from the True Geese, the members 
of the fore-going genus Anser, in not having the serrations on 
the upper mandible visible from the outside of the bill. One of 
them, the Canada Goose ( Branta canadensis) has for a long time 
held a place in the British List, but is now, by universal consent, eliminated, as the 
only occurrences have been those of escaped birds. 
The Bernacle Goose is a handsome species, remarkable for its white-banded 
upper surface, and barred head and neck ; the forehead is white. It is a some- 
what rare visitor to Britain from the north of Europe, but very little is known of 
its breeding places, which are supposed to be in Iceland, Greenland and Spitsbergen. 
It occurs chiefly 
on the western 
coasts of Scot- 
land, and is seen 
sometimes in 
very large num- 
bers, as is the 
case also in the 
north of Ire- 
land. In winter 
it is found on 
many of the 
coasts of Europe, 
and even visits 
The Bernacle Goose. 
The Brent Goose. 
