This goose very closely resembles the bean-goose in habits, colour, and general appearance; the only difference of any importance between the two species consists in the smaller beak of the pink-foot, from which it takes its name of brachyrhynchus (short-billed), and in its legs being pink instead of yellow. It was first described as a distinct species about fifty years ago, but is still regarded by some authorities as only an ‘island form’ of the bean-goose. The pink colour of the bill and feet is found not to be constant, and Seebohm says, ‘It looks very much as if the pink-footed geese had been long enough in the arctic climate of Spitzbergen to change the colour of their feet, but not long enough to make the new colour permanent, and that when bred in the warmer climate of this country they had a tendency to hark back to their ancestors.’
White-fronted Goose.
Anser albifrons.
White on the forehead and at the base of the lower mandible; upper parts brownish ash; breast and belly brownish white broadly barred with black; bill orange-yellow, with a white nail at the tip; legs and feet orange. Length, twenty-seven inches.
The white-fronted goose is the fourth and last on our list of grey geese—four forms of one species, as some hold—and, like the others, it comes to us from the north in winter, but is more common in Ireland than in Great Britain. It is like the bean-goose in size, but differs from it in its white front, and from the grey lag goose in having the under parts more speckled with black feathers. Its voice is most like that of the grey lag, but is more trumpet-like in sound, and the rapidly repeated notes give its cry a laughter-like character; laughing goose is one of its common names. It breeds farther north than the bean-goose, and its nest is described as a hollow in the ground lined with dead grass. It lays five to seven creamy white eggs.
Brent Goose.
Bernicla brenta.
Bill, head, throat, and neck black, except a small white patch on each side of the latter; mantle brownish black with rufous-brown edges; wing-feathers, rump, and tail black; coverts white; upper breast black; lower breast and belly slate-grey; legs black. Length, twenty-three inches.
