158 
Capt. C. C. Abbott on the Birds 
are sat upon or not. Owing to the gander generally stationing 
himself about one hundred yards from where the female is sit¬ 
ting, I used to think it was easy to find the nest; but I have 
sometimes walked about for nearly an hour before 1 could come 
upon the female, who never moves until she is almost trodden 
upon. A curious peculiarity of this bird is that, when they leave 
their nest, after laying, they cover it up with straw, and when 
they leave it after the eggs are sat upon, they cover it up with 
down. No doubt, in the latter case, this is done to keep the 
warmth in the eggs, and in the former to prevent their destruc¬ 
tion by birds of prey. This peculiarity of covering up the eggs 
seems to be common to all the geese and ducks of the Falkland 
Islands. 
The Upland Goose lays generally in the first week in October. 
Sometimes I have found seven, sometimes eight eggs in a nest, 
the latter number being, I think, the maximum. The young- 
birds nearly acquire their adult plumage the first year, and are 
only distinguishable by the mottled colour of their feet and 
their plumage being less bright. In the second year the young 
birds moult their wing-feathers, and are then found together in 
large flocks near the sea-coast, where, on being disturbed, they 
immediately run down to the salt water, being unable to fly in 
this condition. 
30. Chloephaga rubidiceps, Sclater. (Brent Goose.) 
This bird, which is called in East Falkland the “ Brent Goose,” 
is not so common as the other varieties, except in some places in 
the North Camp, where I have seen very large numbers, pro¬ 
bably a hundred, but always in pairs. The male is easily di¬ 
stinguished from the female by his larger size. The usual nest¬ 
ing-place of this bird is among dry bushes,—the male bird, while 
the female is sitting, usually being found on the edge of the 
nearest water (generally salt), which, however, is frequently not 
in sight of the nest. The eggs are generally five (sometimes, 
but rarely, six) in number. The young birds of the first year 
assimilate in plumage to the adults, except that the speculum of 
the wing is of a dull black instead of a glossy green. The time 
of laying of this Goose is the first week in October. 
