Heralded  by  a  mellow  honk,  honk,  from  the  leader  of  a  flying
wedge,  on  come  the  long-necked  wild  geese  from  their  northern
nesting  grounds,  and  stream  across  the  sky  so  far  above  us  that


Geese

their  large  bodies  appear  like  two  lines  of  dark  dots  describing
the  letter  V.  In  spite  of  their  height,  which  never  seems  as  great
as  it  actually  is  because  of  the  goose's  large  size,  one  can  distinctly
hear  the  honk  of  the  temporary  captain — some  heavy  veteran —
answered  in  clearer,  deeper  tones,  as  the  birds  pass  above,  by  the
rear  guardsmen  in  the  long  array  that  moves  with  impressive  uni-
son across  the  clouds.  Often  the  fanning  of  their  wings  is  distinctly
audible  too.  The  migration  of  all  birds  can  but  excite  wonder
and  stir  the  imagination ;  but  that  of  the  wild  goose  embarked  on
a  pilgrimage  of  several  thousand  miles,  made  often  at  night,  but
chiefly  by  broad  daylight,  attracts  perhaps  the  most  attention.
Sometimes  the  two  diverging  lines  come  together  into  one,  and
a  serpent  seems  to  crawl  with  snake-like  undulations  across  the
sky;  or,  again,  the  flock  in  Indian  file  shoots  straight  as  an  arrow.
It  is  as  a  bird  of  passage  that  one  thinks  of  the  goose,  however
well  one  knows  that  it  remains  resident  in  many  places  at  least
a  part  of  the  winter.
