The sun., 1900-11-19
WILD GEESE IN BRONXPARK
NTNB TAKE Up IHEIR aBoDh Nv
ONE or The IIITLB LfhiS'
TN.v so,,eed a Flock Of Their Tame Fellows
Feeding aud swocped Down s' 4"
The. Captured and Their "inss 'ipped'
81 an. Tbre. Others SIN stay On.

A HnCk OF nine Nllu kr'o'' 4''oN''~
on the surface Of an artificial pohu' unuiF-
turbed by the sight OF human oe.hss on ,H
shorssL u the novel sight to be observed by
y1stor. To the Geological Gardens In Bronx
p.rk thsss days and It IL sight the ike of
,hioh s.v thoss yersed In the ways OF Wild
MA. could not b. found elsewhere In tho
vord Il u q sight which has brought IN
number. those who delight In natural history
an the edge Of the little pond 10 gaze at IN"
.nactacls with unooncealed surprise and their
.rolamations Of astollshrnent are ss nothing
TO those Of sportsmen who hsve gunned Tor
vfld geese and know to what extent their skiIl
has been required to get within a hundred
Yards Of these shy birds. Not two weeks
aro the Wild geese which now swim About
The utus pond unmindful Of the sounds Of
human Industry with which that part OF
Bronx Park now resounds we're flying over
the frozen fields and marshes Of Labrador.
starting At the slightest sound and alightins
only In places not reached by civilization.
That these birds In the course Of their annual
mixration to warmer latitudes south should
see ft to drop quietly down In . geological
rarcan Of ali places. and there remain with
perfect souanimity. l. sonnet hing that has COM
plstely uysttned those who have made long
study Of their habits. Many sportsmen have
absolutely refused to believe the geese wers
Wild until told Of all the circumstances OF their
arrival and what has happened since. Six
OF the geese are now in captivity, which means
that they have had their winss clipped thus
cutting them of from all chance OF soaring with
their fellows. The other three. which include the
gan,ier that for some reason was rash enough
u lead his hock astray, could not be lured into
captivity by the articles Of the keepers and
still fost about the pond. impatient TO proceed
I,,t ar nrpa M f.
comprehend the inability OF the six others 10
make the start with them. That they remain
4. due. the ornitholocists say. TO the strange
affection which the members OF flock hold
for each other.
Bronx Park has always had q fock of geese
and they are what are termed wild geese, for
the reason that although many removes from
their ancestors who roaped fancy free. yet
they etill retain many q tho characteristics
which distinguish wild geese from the common
domestic ones Heretofore u has been con-
.id.red almost impossible to obtain any num-
ber Of Wild geese in the first generation Those
seen in Zoos all over the world are sometimes
bred from the eggs of robbed nests or from
birds captured while wounded, but in most
cas.s they are several generations removed
from their Wild ancestors Twenty-Five geese
OF This kind comprised the collection .t the
Wild geese made their appearance.
Nllt gc,~,e pass the winter in the south,
and these days focks Of them can often lie
seen diving in that direction It fa' been oh
served that the bird, whose home. strictly
spea king. l. III the tent crate 7oi" 81 hifoa.
g. a far south a Honda, but those Who me
IN the ArCtic- -eldom 80 80 isr south. u -
the oI iuiou 'hat thr Cock now In Bronx PARK
came from iaGrodH and va, yTfI %Ir,samcn,' .
near the end ui it. lolTut'. wiz s'e'"
}irl ~ half n mile and II1kR
on an average of 20 wile> das IN"
wild gee nov n Ne a,h arrN.d
he went to feed ia" '""ulN ave irN S',He
tha, instead of that number there ""r' ,mri
four on the pond W. ne I'M In,ptrri tI,ai ,n,,
birds. The latter didn't hnow "h",h.; t. nIucl"
II or MOI Mr. B""no Ia. pc"H ,t.tlhf hrH.
been STUDYING wild geese. hut he has tfied 10
shoot them with lttle or u" succ"... CohSc-
Quentr when told that a Aoc&, had chosen 9
20 accept IL until he had seen for himself. ON |
the pond. however ho found the newcomers
This Gandcr has he"r m" wonder of all who |
have seen him. From ttp To " us WihS-
land he stands giant am"us tllr ,the!s, over
topping by n good deal IN" canf"r mat hns
heretofore been ,he undispu,edi i.yer' , ifn .t
been In the park. the new"onlers have bach #
a rreylsh brown, With white bellies and thr, a,
s%s.S spa SGeHs Saes whsh sfT first ns's aS in "9
morning the Wild geese led by u" gaud'r
which almost resembles n swan, were having /
very little to do with the other geese wnDh /
had probably been the cause of their
selecting the POND as resting I!au" |
whom thev saw u from abuN" win
ia population peacsfullv feeding. When they
made this discovery IL was nj an hour when
no Keepers or visitors were visible and h"rts !
N has been rea S.,ued out that tueN Wcr" moved |
In alieht MIR Rcahe and the keepers eN- |
pected that al any moment the Visiture would 7
rise and resume their Journey, hut they were /
wong Instead the candnr led lilo flock hthsr !
and thither. occasionally going up 70 the regu- |
lar inhabtan,e of the little pond and then |
moving away again with AN air Of superiority.
Xii Tho tim. tie wild geese kept uttcTi!- their /
,ac,liior Cr,- md now and then ndpI ing ihciT /
wings and rising n little Wav from the water. !
very tine th,v did this those who watched /
tto-n c,r.,,ad ,hny were about to disappear. |
huf tbny 9INay. returned
vb,n II one H.. 8 tor t. ot' or ree-c 10 ho |
,ed po the .urrri,. If all tie riId see " under
'Le lad ~ ihe hIr gandor after an!tinc f.r |
While aud looking 'areTnl, over n sIr,I,d ,
decidnd 10 -hnre in tho n cal prd tl.n fpr tro |
6rst time the t.y1 rock- mingled But MI |
was NOT Tor long for when the " lid gccsc Ind had
their mi their leader led them uN again hi. |
li,,is dol t,linUiuc him IN Vcrrcot order !
MIR Bo,Ie vol astnuishcd Al ,he We, hs Took
mad been incres Eut hi, a.iori.hrcri !
was greater when ,he d,v wore on ard tie /
nsuai vi.itrra ~,r . To- tho ,tnre- ~ vut'5 /