Brent Goose.
Anas bermela, Linn. Faun. Suec., p. 40.
Anser bermela, 111. Prod. Syst. Mamin, et Av., p. 277
torquattis, Frisch, Yog. Deutschl., tom. ii. p. 156.
— brenta, Leach, Syst. Cat. of Indig. Mamm. and Birds in Brit. Mus., p
Bermela torquata, Boie, Isis, 1822, p. 363.
melanopsis, Macgill. Man. of Nat. Hist., Ora., vol. ii. p. 151
----------brenta, Steph. Cont. of Shaw’s Gen. Zool., vol. rii. p. 46.
To see this species in a state o f nature, the ornitMogifct onto* go daring November an»?
three following months, to the embouchure o f the Tteffiei. v»»t i:-. waters of Southampton, tl
low salt marshes o f the coasts o f Sussex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, or n»v focatity'oi a similar char»rt»r
in other parts o f England, in Scotland, and in Ireland. Compwurw of forty, fifty, or sixty mamma*
will there attract bis attention as they wing their way from owe part of the flat shallow estuary to
another; or he may have an opportunity of seeing, flights o f hundreds or, speaking within bounds, of
thousands; yet the London excursionist ,to Herne Bay, Margate, or Ramsgate will never see one, foe
the simple reason that, at the period o f the year when those places are resorted to, the bird is far
away, performing the duties o f incubation in countries so distant that, with few exceptions, the hardiest
o f our mariners and the most enthusiastic o f egg-collectors have foiled to reach its breeding-home—
a long distance within the Arctic circle being, doubtless, the principal cradle o f this common winter-
bird with us. In the eastert»|parts o f America it is as numerous in winter as in our islands, and
equally scarce at other times, but, according to Dr. Baird, of Washington, has not yet been found
on the Pacific side o f that continent.
During the summer months, the Brent Goose is to be met with at the Faroe Islands, and in
Iceland, where, according to Fabter, it arrives about the middle o f April, hut seems to be rare. as
it is only met with occasionally .here and there throughout the island. Dr. Richardson state* tbat it
breeds in numbers on the coasts and islands of Hudson’s Bay and the Arctic Sea, but is rarely seen
in the interior. Captain James C. Ross says that it did not remain near Felix Harbour, Booth», to
breed, but went stall further north, and that it is to be met with in summer in the higbetf northern
latitudes that have been visited. It was found breeding on Parry s Islands, in 1st. 74* ?<
Expedition, on the. 16th of June, a nest with two eggs was brought cm board Irwm Re«* Islet,
lat. 80° 4 8 N., perhaps the most ¿northern land ever visited by man. It was same
in large flocks about Walden and Little Table Islands. Mr. Newton informs that it « m
round Spitsbergen, except perhaps on the east side, and that “ Dr. Malmgrea found it breedmg on
the Depot Holm and also on th * shores o f the mainland, in Treurenberg Bay; Messrs. Evans and
Sturge found it breeding on the South-Cape Islands; and one o f our party killed a young bird,
hardly able to fly, on Round Island.” That the bird is confined to the northern regions there can
be no donbt; and it . would seem that the Mediterranean is the limit o f its occurrence in a southern
direction, since Loche states that it only occasionally appears in Algeria.
Let us return to own islands. “ Upon the Northumbrian coast,” says Mr. Selby, “ a very large number
o f these birds annually resort to the expensive muddy and sandy flats that lie between the mainland and
Holy Island, and which are covered by every flow o f the tide. In this locality, tolerable-sized flocks
usually make their appearance in the early part o f October, which are increased by the repeated arrival
of others till the beginning o f November, at which time the equatorial movement o f the species in this
latitude seems to be completed. This part o f the coast-appears to have been a favourite resort of these
birds from time immemorial, where they have always received the name of fFare Geese, given to them,
without doubt, in consequence o f their food consisting entirely o f marine vegetables. This I have
frequently verified by dissection, finding the gizzard filled with the leaves and stems of a species of
grass that grows abundantly in-the shallow pools left by the tide, and with the remains o f the fronds
of the different algae, particularly o f one, which seems to be the Laver (U h a latissima). These were
mixed with a considerable quantity o f sharp sand, but without any portion of animal or shelly matter,
although Wilson states they feed occasionally upon small univalve and bivalve mollnsca. In this hnuir
they remain until the end o f February, when they migrate in successive flocks as the
happen to be influenced by the season; and before April the whole have disappeared. \
depart, the flock about to migrate rises high into the air by an extensive spiral course,