Fronted Goose
Ad.-Forehead and region bordering the base of the bill white; upper parts and foreneck grayish brown, more or less margined on the back with lighter; longer and lateral upper tail-coverts white; breast somewhat lighter than the throat, more or less irregularly marked with black, and fading gradually into pure white on the lower belly; sides like the back. Im.-Similar, but no white at the base of the bill or black marks on the breast; nail of the bill black. "L., 27.00-30-00; W., 14-25-17-50; B., 1.80-2.35; depth of mandible at base, 90-1-20; width, 85-1·05; Tar., 2.60-3-20" (Ridgw.). Range.-" North America, breeding far northward; in winter south to Mexico and Cuba" (A. O. U.); rare on the Atlantic coast. Long Island, A. V.
Nest, on the ground, of grasses lined with down. Eggs, six to seven, dull greenish yellow with obscure darker tints, 3.10 x 2.07 (Davie). "These birds are rarely met with on the Atlantic coast, but are quite common in the Mississippi Valley and abundant on the Pacific slope. They prefer low, wet grounds in the vicinity of timber, or where the prairie is dotted here and there with bushes; and, while they occasionally forage off the wheat fields and other grains on the GEESE. bottom lands, they seldom visit the high, dry prairies like the Snow and Canada Geese" (Goss).
The EUROPEAN WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE (171. Anser albifrons) resembles its American representative in color, but averages smaller. It is American only as it occurs in Greenland, where gambeli is apparently unknown. 172. Branta canadensis (Linn.). CANADA GOOSE. Ad.-Throat and a large patch on the side of the head behind the eye white or whitish; chin and rest of the head and neck black; back and wings grayish brown, more or less edged with lighter; tail and shorter upper tail-coverts black, longer and lateral ones white; breast and belly grayish, fading to white on the lower belly; sides like the back. Im. - Similar, but throat and cheeks sometimes mixed with blackish. "L., 35.00-43-00; W., 15-60-21.00; Tar., 2·45-3-70; B., 1-55-2-70" (Ridgw.).