The Spur-winged Geese, of which there are two species, are African birds, and derive their name from the long spur seated on the wing.
A still more remarkable form is the Half-webbed Goose, so called from the fact that its feet are only partially webbed. It has a black-and-white plumage, a hooked beak, and a large warty prominence on the front of the head. It spends most of its time perched on the branches of the Australian tea-trees, and rarely enters the water. The windpipe is peculiar, being coiled in several folds between the skin and the breast-muscles.
From these peculiar forms we pass to the true geese. The largest living species is the Chinese or Guinea-goose of Eastern Siberia, regarded as the stock from which the domesticated geese of Eastern countries have been derived.
European domesticated geese have been derived from the Grey or Grey-lag Goose, a species at one time exceedingly common in England, breeding in considerable numbers in the fen districts, where the young were frequently taken and reared with the large flock of domesticated geese commonly kept at that time for the sake of their feathers. The grey-lag goose, however, has long ceased to breed in England, though a few still nest in Scotland. The most important breeds derived from the grey-lag are the Toulouse and Emden. Other British species are the Bean-goose, Pink-footed and White-fronted Geese, and the "Black" Brent and Barnacle-geese, in all of which the sexes are precisely similar in coloration and subdued in tone.
Photo by W. P. Dando, F.Z.S.] [Regent's Park.
BLACK-NECKED SWAN.
The fleshy knob at the base of the bill is of a bright red colour.
In the New World some very beautiful white geese are found, which are still more interesting in that the females have a different coloration. These are the Kelp- and Upland-geese of Patagonia and the Falklands. The female of the kelp-goose is brownish black above and black barred with white below, whilst the female of the upland-goose is rufous and black in colour. The latter may be seen in London parks.
Lastly, we have a few species known from their small size as Pygmy Geese of Australia, India, and Africa. Perhaps the best known is the Indian species, called the Cotton-teal. They are tiny birds, resembling small ducks rather than geese, and dive admirably, a feat which the larger species do not perform.