GEESE 
83 
175. Barnacle Goose, la bernache nonnette. Branta leucopsis. L, 26. A 
medium-sized goose with a black neck and breast sharply defined against a light grey 
underbody and flank, and white forehead as well as white cheek and throat patches. 
Distinctions. Neck and breast solidly black, sharply 
defined against lighter underbody like the White-bellied 
Brant. Head black with prominent white cheek 
patches joined across the throat like the Canada Goose, 
but with extensive white forehead, leaving only a narrow 
black line from base of bill through eye. 
Field Marks. Like a Brant, but with much white 
on face and forehead. 
Distribution. Old World to northeastern Greenland. 
Casual in the eastern Arctics and the American Atlantic 
coast. 
176. Emperor Goose, painted goose, l’oxe im- 
p£riale. Philade canagica. L, 26. A beautifully 
coloured goose of medium size. The head is white, 
with throat and foreneck of black fading into the 
breast. Whole body light slate grey, each feather of 
back, flanks, and breast with an edge of white and a 
subterminal band of black, giving a conspicuous effect of 
coarse scales or the appearance of a pale grey bird sharply 
Figure 118 barred all around with lines of black and white. The 
Barnacle Goose; scale, J. bill and f ee t are yellow. Juveniles and adults are similar. 
Distinctions. The white head and neck, black throat, 
and light grey body with black and white scale marks are 
absolutely distinctive. 
Field Marks. The general coloration should be dis- 
tinctive at long distances. 
Nestmg. On the ground, on flat, marshy islets border- 
ing the sea. 
Distribution. Breeds locally on Bering seacoasts of 
Alaska and Siberia. Winters in north Pacific south to 
Sitka. A few records for southern British Columbia. 
171. White-fronted Goose, speckled-belly, l'oie 
a front blanc. Anser albifrons. L, 27. Plate V B. A 
medium-sized goose, greyish brown, with a white patch 
at base of bill and speckled or irregularly black-spotted 
underparts. 
Distinctions. The greyish brown body, brown head 
and neck, white forehead and bill patch, irregularly pied 
underparts, and yellow legs and feet make very distinctive 
characters for the adult. The juvenile is similar only to 
the young of the much rarer Blue Goose, but has yellow 
instead of pink feet and lacks the broad grinning patch 
characteristic of that species and the Snow Goose (Figure 
120, compare with 121). The irregular blotching of black 
on the underparts may be almost or quite absent on 
young birds, but traces at least of the white face mark Emperor Goose; ^scale, J. 
appear in most autumn birds. * ’ * 
Field Marks. A dark goose. Neck evenly brown with the body; without the cheek 
marks of the Canada Goose, but with a white patch surrounding the base of the bill. Legs 
yellow or orange. These marks can be seen on the adult at long range. The young bird 
when the usual white face patch is inconspicuous may be confused only with the juvenile 
Blue Goose which, except in special localities, is too rare to be often considered. 
Nesting. On the ground of the tundra. 
Distribution. The northern hemisphere. In the New World, central and western 
North America; breeding on the Arctic coast and islands and migrating through the 
prairies and along the west coast. Rarer in the interior of British Columbia. There are 
casual records for the lower Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. 
