CANADA GOOSE. 
181 
to sound his bugle note, our goose, in whom its new 
habits and enjoyments had not quite extinguished the 
love of liberty, remembering the well known sound, 
spread its wings, mounted into the air, joined the 
travellers, and soon disappeared. In the succeeding 
autumn, the wild geese, as was usual, returned from 
the northward in great numbers, to pass the winter in 
our bays and rivers. Mr Platt happened to be standing in 
his yard when a flock passed directly over his barn. At 
that instant, he observed three geese detach themselves 
from the rest, and, after wheeling round several times, 
alight in the middle of the yard. Imagine his surprise 
and pleasure, when, by certain well remembered signs, 
he recognized in one of the three his long. lost fugitive. 
It was she indeed ! She had travelled many hundred 
miles to the lakes ; had there hatched and reared her 
offspring ; and had now returned with her little family, 
to share with them the sweets of civilized life. 
“ The truth of the foregoing relation can be attested 
by many respectable people, to whom Mr Platt has 
related the circumstance as above detailed. The birds 
were all living, and in his possession, about a year ago, 
and had shewn no disposition whatever to leave him.” 
The length of this species is three feet ; extent, five 
feet two inches ; the bill is black ; irides, dark hazel ; 
upper half of the neck, black, marked on the chin and 
lower part of the head with a large patch of white, its 
distinguishing character ; lower part of the neck before, 
white ; back and wing-coverts, brown, each feather 
tipt with whitish ; rump and tail, black ; tail-coverts 
and vent, white ; primaries, black, reaching to the 
extremity of the tail ; sides, pale ashy brown ; legs and 
feet, blackish ash. 
The male and female are exactly alike in plumage. 
