when I observed them, though doubtless they partake of the pasture. No person being permitted to fire a
shot on Lurgan Green was probably the cause o f their tameness. They were captured in little pitfalls, dug
in the earth, without being in the least degree injured. Several placed in the aquatic menagerie at the Falls,
near Belfast, at once became tame, and proved to be o f a mild and gentle disposition. About the middle o f
October, in the years 1848 and 1849, flocks of about twenty in number were seen flying over the sea and
points of land in a southerly direction, off Analong, at the base o f the mountains of Moume. They flew in
a line, like wild gèese, about twenty yards above the sea or ground, and were headed by an old stager whose
adult plumage was strongly defined. In Belfast Bay the Bernicle is a rare visitant, chiefly in the early
part of winter ; but a single bird has been obtained there as late as the beginning o f August. The bird
has been met with in many other parts of the country ; but its only regular haunt is the locality above
mentioned—Lurgan Green.”
Mr. Selby states that “ upon the Lancashire coast, the Solway Frith, &c. it is very abundant, frequenting
the marshy grounds that are occasionally covered by the spring tides, and such sands as produce the sea-
grasses and plants upon which it feeds. Like the rest o f the genus it is a very wary bird, and can only be
approached by the most cautious manoeuvres. It is sometimes shot by moonlight when it comes on the
sands to feed, by persons crouched on the ground, or from behind any occasional shelter in such places as
the flocks are known to frequent. Its flesh is sweet and tender, and highly esteemed for the table. It is
a bird of handsome shape, and from the length o f its neck and tarsi stands high upon the ground. When
caught alive it soon becomes very tame, and thrives well upon grain &c. ; but no attempts have been hitherto
made to domesticate the breed.”
The history o f this species, brief as it is, would be still more so (and, moreover, incomplete) without at least an
allusion to the old legends connected with it. Its trivial name o f Bernicle [or Barnacle] is derived from an
oft-told tale, the absurdity o f which has scarcely, if ever, been surpassed. It is that the bird derives its origin
from the Barnacle shell, the Lepas anatifera o f Linnaeus. “ This curious fancy,” says Macgillivray, “ which no
doubt arose from the slight resemblance of the filaments o f that animal to the sprouting feathers o f a young
bird, is still entertained by many persons ; but, like the milking-propensity o f the Goatsucker and the
winter submersion of the Swallows, it might now, I think, be allowed to rest in its grave.” Those who
may wish to read the legend in part or in the whole, may refer to. Professor Max Miiller’s ‘ Lectures on
the. Science o f Language,' p. 540, or to the 12th volume of Shaw’s ‘ General Zoology,’ p. 50.
Mr. Selby states that no attempt has been made to domesticate this fine Goose. It is to be regretted
that this has not been done ; for pinioned birds readily breed in a semidomesticated state at
Havvkstone, the seat o f Viscount Hill, who kindly allowed me to shoot one for the purpose o f the present
work. I suspect, however, that it would be necessary to pinion the young birds so reared, to prevent their
obeying the impulse that would doubtless urge them to migrate to countries better suited to their existence
during summer—probably Lapland, Finland, northern Russia, and Siberia.
Mr. Newton, in his ‘ Notes on the Ornithology o f Iceland,’ informs us that, according to Faber, this species
arrives in Iceland about the middle o f April, and departs about the middle o f October. He found it most
abundant in the South-west, but does not believe that it breeds on the island.
There is no perceptible difference in the colouring of the sexes ; but the markings o f the male are stronger
and more beautifully arranged.
The Bernicle is a smaller and more elegant bird than the Bean Goose, and on the other hand is much
larger than its near ally the Brent, its weight being about seven pounds.
As it is impossible to represent so large a bird o f the natural size, my figures are necessarily much
reduced.