THE TRUE GEESE. 
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having no white outer tail-feathers ; the flanks greyer and not 
so marked with brown ; the grey of the wings, as well as of the 
lower back and rump, rather lighter than in A. fabalis. It is, 
however, easily distinguished from that species by its pink feet 
and by the pink band on the bill. Total length, aC'o inches ; 
culinen, fS; wing, i6’S ; tail, 5'4; tarsus, 3’o. 
Adult Female. — Similar to the male, but smallerl Total length, 
2 5'o inches; wing, i6'2. 
Range in Great Britain.' — In autumn and winter considerable 
flocks of this Goose are observed on the east coast of Scotland 
and England, and at Holkham in Norfolk, where protection is 
afforded by the Earl of Leicester to the wild-fowl, numbers 
of these Geese may be seen in the autumn. The species is 
not often recorded from the south or the west of England, but 
it visits the west of Scotland and the Outer Hebrides, and has 
only once been recorded from Ireland. 
Range outside the British Islands, — The Pink-footed Goose is 
known to breed in Iceland and in Spitsbergen, and is probably 
the species noticed by Mr. Leigh Smith on Franz-Josef Land, 
but on Novaya Zemlya only the Bean-Goose was observed by 
Admiral Markham. It has not been proved to breed in Scan- 
dinavia, and its distribution in winter in Northern Europe is 
also not thoroughly understood, though it has been procured 
in Holland, in Belgium, and in France. 
Hahits. — This species appears to be exceedingly shy, wherever 
it occurs, whether during the breeding-season or during the 
winter, but very little has been recorded of the nesting-habits 
of the Pink-footed Goose. In Spitsbergen it is said to nest 
mostly on the low rocks near the coast, and Mr. Chapman 
found young birds and moulted feathers in such situations, but 
the species is also believed to nest in the high cliffs a mile or 
two from the sea, according to Messrs. Evans and Sturge. 
In its summer home the Pink-footed Goose has much 
the same habits as its close relation the Bean-Goose. In 
winter, when it visits us in England, it is found feeding in the 
stubble-fields, but as the tide falls the birds betake themselves 
to their favourite sand-banks and rest well away from danger. 
This is certainly the case with the Geese at Holkham, for. 
