The ycmng ones are easily tamed, and afe. caught in great
numbers by the Laps,. with the oldones in a 'moulting? state
and unable to fly, in July. In Sweden, "Professor Nilsson
says, this GooseJslsieen from spring to autümn, becOmlig
garious in September .and October, in the marshes near the
sea*. Acerbi, in-flfc Travels’ through, Finland and. Lapland,
mentions having shot some White-fronted Geesé near Kau-
tokeino in Lapland, and it is/recorded as visiting "the ■ Faröé
Islands and Ic.elaiid* ' The White-jronted, ’on. Laughing
Goose, described long ago, as well as. .figured by Edwards,r
plate 158, was from a specimen, brought from Hudson’s Bay,
Where, howeyer, It |||nQ t commons. Of its^habit-s in Isporth.
America, H t ’ .Richardson bbserfes, that/S‘ the Laughing
Goose travels^in great flocks/through the fur-countries^ eight,
or ten days later than the Canada Göosev and breeds on the
coasts and islands of the Arctic Sea,"north n f thh*?67th pa*
rallela^f Ètótudéi The autumn migration/Southwards -conn
mehoes early in Septeinber; and/its return at that season to
the fur districts^ is often the fififa iu-dteation of-winter havi^ft
begun within thj^ Arctic Circle, : The-Indians: imitate the
Call of • "this, Goose by patting' the mouth with- their hand
while they repeat the syllable leak. ;jrifeEê’^mblahce:o£lMs
no.te.-to the laugh of a man has given one• oft the* trivial names
to this_ species.. It passes on toWarcLthe Enited States,- irt
advancejpf the Canada Goose; and Mr. Au.dubon, says that it
arrives’before the lattér iii Kentucky* where many of ftjiéuspe-
cies winter ; but; many-also, he is^convinced, go’’Entirely to
the southward of the United States’ boundary*. The same
gentlenian informs that this Species leaves its winter guar-1
tere a fortnight sooner than .-th.e-Canada Gpose, which is' different
from the order of their appéarance, on the banks ’of thè
Saskatchewan. Its flesh Is/superior to that of the Canada
GdOSe. •; IC frequents- grassy - p o n d s I>•
East of our own country the. White-fronted Goosè. .visits
Holland, Germany, and France, and is included by M. Savi
amongf'MiP Birdsiéf Italy. M. Menetries, the Russian naturalist,
mentions that in autumn this species makes its appear-
ance^in »éènsiderable flocks near the Caspian Sea, particularly
Bakou, and' the lakes in that vicinity, where they pass
thé^mntfeë Towards#the*lënd of February they commence
their emigration. .M. Temmirich .says' this species is found
•iïï" Japan.
The bill is ^ a ; repisli flesh colour, the nail white; at the
bisè^óft-the upper mandible; Rnd' on the forehead, the fèithers
are'-whitêlf' the iridesjvery* dark brown; head, neck, back,
rump, and wings, brownish ash colour’; wing-coverts grey,
edged with white.; tertials margined with dull white; wing-
primaries; and secondaries bluish black; upper tail-coYérts
whiter ^|f-feathers dark grey tipped, with white ; breast and
belly pale brownish-white, both sexes with patches and broad
fears of felach; sides and flanks ash-brown, edged with dull
wlmté^lgpit and under isSteoverts^whife; 'legs^rfcöes-, and
membraces orange ; claws whitish hÖÏÈ colour.
The whole length of an adult male twenty-seven inches.
From the carpal joint to thé %nd of the- wing - Seventeen
inches ; thêsSecbnd quill-feather thé longest in the wing,
« ^ li^ y o u n g birds of .thè/year, bred p The* garden of fbe
Zoological Society;'are .now, in the<middk of August,- as large
as t i e p aren ts.-T h e plumage is more uniform É® colour and
rather darker, the‘feathers' Titthe base of, the upper mandible
are of a darker brown than those of thé other parts of the
head; the nail, and point of the beak light'brown. The pale
"brown feathers on the breast are uniform in colour without
any dark patches or bars.