I was going to write back to the Dunakins, but others might be interested in some of this, too. This is mostly an Old World goose, with closest breeding on the far side of Greenland. Attractive and exotic, it is often kept in zoos and aviaries, which it sometimes escapes. At any given time, there are likely many more escaped captive birds than wild ones in North America. But wild ones do show up once in a while. The most interesting Ohio reports are at least plausible--up in the NW marshes and during winter or migration. The first well-known one was published; see complete text below. One wintered with Canadas in the same county 1956-7, seen by many. Free-flying birds were seen at Magee in the early '70s, sometimes suspiciously late in the spring. In 1973 in fact, one mated with "a small Canada" [hmmm...] there, producing one hybrid young. Some of these birds were thought to be escapes. A pair was shot in January 1971 there, one of which lies in a drawer at the OSU Museum. Another was shot by hunters in 1987 at Magee, and there have been a number of others taken by hunters or reported by birders. Barnacle goose is not on the official Ohio checklist. It'd be interesting to check stable isotopes, if possible, in the existing specimens to see if they'd come from the high Arctic. A few barnacle geese have been admitted to state and provincial lists in the east based in part on close association with flocks of other geese known to be wild. Some have even been found to wear bands from Greenland. Many captive geese are banded, too, and many captive waterfowl have clipped hind toes. Being reasonably sure about a live Ohio bird would require a lot of careful observation--and luck. Note behavior, association with other species, bands, toes, etc. Get photos. A feather or a dab of guano from the suspect might provide conclusive chemical clues; lots of luck getting this from a flock of geese! Bill Whan Columbus Barnacle Goose in Ohio.--On November 5, 1925, Mr. Chester K. Brooks of Cleveland, Ohio, shot a fine plumaged male Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis) on the marshes of the Winous Point Shooting Club near Port Clinton, Ohio, at the head of Sandusky Bay. This bird was presented to the Cleveland Museum of Natural History by Mr. Brooks, and is now preserved in the collection of that institution. While it is possible that this bird may have escaped from confinement, the condition of the plumage gives no hint of this and the record is probably in the same category as the other North American occurrences of the species outside of Greenland. However, an attempt has been made to discredit, as far as possible, the belief that this specimen had escaped from captivity. The writer has corresponded with the directors of the leading zoological parks of the north central states but no records of escaped Barnacle Geese were forthcoming. Furthermore, the fact that the Cleveland Museum specimen was accompanied by another of the same species at the time Mr. Brooks shot it makes the chances of its being an escaped bird much less. From the published records this Ohio bird seems to be the farthest west record for North America, which makes additionally desirable the publication of the occurrence.--JOHN W. ALDRICH, Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio. Auk 49(4):460 ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]