White-fronted or Laughing Geese are found in considerable numbers on the
prairies of the Mississippi Valley. They are called Prairie Brant by
market-men and gunners. Though not abundant on the Atlantic seaboard,
vast flocks may be seen in the autumn months on the Pacific Slope. In
Oregon and northern California some remain all winter, though the
greater number go farther south. They appear to prefer the grassy
patches along streams flowing into the ocean, or the tide-water flats so
abundant in Oregon and Washington, where the Speckle-bellies, as they
are called, feed in company with the Snow Geese. The nesting place of
this favorite species is in the wooded districts of Alaska and along the
Yukon river. No nest is formed, from seven to ten eggs being laid in a
depression in the sand.
It is said that notwithstanding all references to their ungainly
movement and doltish intellect, the Wild Goose, of which the
White-fronted is one of the most interesting, is held in high estimation
by the sportsman, and even he, if keen of observation, will learn from
it many things that will entitle the species to advancement in the
mental grade, and prove the truth of a very old adage, that you cannot
judge of things by outward appearance. A goose, waddling around the
barnyard, may not present a very graceful appearance, nor seem endowed
with much intelligence, yet the ungainly creature, when in its natural
state, has an ease of motion in flight which will compare with that of
any of the feathered tribe, and shows a knowledge of the means of
defense, and of escaping the attacks of its enemies, that few possess.
There is probably no bird more cautious, vigilant, and fearful at danger
than this. Should their suspicion be aroused, they rise upward slowly in
a dense cloud of white, and sound their alarm notes, but they may not go
over fifty yards before they alight again, so that the amusement of
watching them may be continued without much toil or inconvenience.
The White-fronted Goose visits Illinois only during its migrations,
coming some time in October or early in November, and returning in March
or April. During its sojourn there it frequents chiefly open prairies,
or wheat fields, where it nibbles the young and tender blades, and
cornfields, where it feeds upon the scattered grains. In California,
Ridgway says, it is so numerous in winter as to be very destructive of
the growing wheat crop, and it is said that in the Sacramento and San
Joaquin valleys, farmers often find it necessary to employ men by the
month to hunt and drive them from the fields. This is most successfully
accomplished by means of brush hiding places, or "blinds," or by
approaching the flocks on horseback by the side of an ox which has been
trained for the purpose.
The White-fronted Goose is greatly esteemed for the excellent quality of
its flesh, which, by those who have learned to appreciate it, is
generally considered superior to that of any other species. While the
cruel pursuit of the bird, merely for purpose of sport ought not to be
continued, appreciation of its value as food may well be encouraged.