BIRDS OF PENNSYLVANIA 
49 
Winter resident found generally throughout the state. Arrives in 
October and remains until late in April; in summer, occasionally, strag¬ 
glers of this species are observed at Erie bay, but I am not aware that 
they ever breed there or in any other part of Pennsylvania. Although 
the Spine-tailed Ducks are found here in winter, they are much more 
numerous during the spring and fall migrations than in winter. The 
Ruddy Duck varies greatly in its plumage, but can easily be recognized 
by its long stiff tail which, when swimming, is carried high up. Like 
the Grebe, this duck is an expert diver. Its food consists chiefly of 
vegetable substances—seeds, roots and stems of grasses and other aquatic 
plants. 
Subfamily ANSERINE. Geese. 
THE GEESE. 
But one representative of this subfamily—the common Wild Goose ( B . canaden¬ 
sis )—is found as a regular and common migrant in our state. 
Genus CHEN Boie. 
Chen ceerulescens (Linn.). 
Blue Snow Goose. 
Description. 
“ Bill and feet flesh-pink, former with the recess between the mandibles black, 
the nails whitish ; iris dark brown ; claws dusky. Head and neck above white, the 
neck below, passing on to the back and breast, dusky-gray, then fading into whitish 
on the under parts, changing on the wings into fine bluish-gray, or silvery ash; 
rump and upper tail coverts whitish ; quills and tail feathers dusky, edged with 
whitish, primaries black. Size of the Snow Goose ( Chen hyperborea nivalis ), or 
rather less, and closely resembling the young of that species. Length about 25 i 
wing 16 ; bill 2.25 ; tarsus 3. 
Habitat .—North America at large” (but chiefly in the interior).— Coue's Key to 
N. A. Birds. 
The Blue Snow Goose, called also the Blue Goose, is placed in the 
“ Hypothetical List ” of the A. O. U. Check List, but Prof. Robert Ridg- 
way (. Manual of N. A. Birds) states that it is beyond question a good 
species. I have never seen the Blue Goose in Pennsylvania, but give it 
a place in this report on the authority of Dr. T. Z. Hazzard, residing at 
Allegheny City, Pa., who writes me that he saw one which was shot on 
the Ohio river, near Pittsburgh, in the fall of 1887. This bird was seen 
in company with other wild fowl. The Doctor further adds it is very 
rare here even as a migrant. 
Chen hyperborea nivalis (Forst.). 
Greater Snow Goose. 
Description. 
“ Bill carmine-red or pale purplish with a salmon tinge, the nails white, the recess 
between mandibles black. Eyes dark brown. Feet dull lake-red, the claws black- 
4 Birds. 
