instance, says, Il y a aussi grand nombre d'oyseaulx, scauoir grues,
signes, _oltardes, oyes sauuages, blanches, & grises_. Others speak of
_outardes et oyes_. They do not generally describe it with
particularity. Champlain, however, in describing the turkey, _cocq
d'Inde_, on the coast of New England, says, _aussi gros qu'vne outarde,
qui est une espece d'oye_. Father Pierre Biard writes, _et au mesme
temps les outardes arriuent du midy, qui sont grosses cannes au double
des nostres_. From these statements it is obvious that the outarde was
a species of goose, but was so small that it could well be described as
a large duck. In New France there were at least four species of the
goose, which might have come under the observation of the early
navigators and explorers. We give them in the order of their size, as
described in Coues' Key to North American Birds.

1. Canada Goose, _Branta Canadensis_, SCOPOLI, 36 inches.
2. Snow Goose, _Anser hyperboreus_, LINNAEUS, 30 inches.
3. Am. White-fronted Goose, _Anser albifrons_, LINNAEUS, 27 inches.
4. Brant Goose, _Branta bernicla_, SCOPOLI, 24 inches.

Recurring to the statement of Cartier above cited, it will be observed
that he mentions, besides the outarde, wild geese white and gray. The
first and largest of the four species above mentioned, the Canada
goose, _Branta Canadensis_, is gray, and the two next, the Snow goose
and White-fronted, would be classified as white. This disposes of three
of the four mentioned. The outarde of Cartier would therefore be the
fourth species in the list, viz. the Brant goose. _Branta bernicla_.
This is the smallest species found on our northern coast, and might
naturally be described, as stated by Father Biard, as a large duck. It
is obvious that the good Father could not have described the Canada
goose, the largest of the four species, as a large duck, and the white