ANATID.E — THE SWANS — OLOR. 431 



lowish brown, tinged with olive ; the claws brownish black, the webs blackish l)rown. The upper 

 part of the head and the cheeks are light reddish brown, each leather having toward its extremity 

 a small oblong wbitish spot, narrowly margined with dusky ; the throat nearly white, as well as 

 the edge of the lower eyelid. The general color of the other parts is grayish white, slightly 

 tinged with yellow ; the upper part of the neck marked with spots similar to those on the head" 

 (Audubon). 



Total length, about 58.50 to 68.00 inches ; extent, about 8.00 to nearly 10.00 feet ; wing, 21.00- 

 27.25 inches ; culmen (from frontal feathers) 4.34-4.70 ; tarsus, 4.54-4.92 ; middle toe, G.00-6.50. 



The arrangement of the trachea in this species is very different from that in 0. columhianus, in 

 having, besides the horizontal bend, a vertical flexure, occupying a prominent protuberance on tbe 

 anterior portion of the dorsal aspect of the sternum. 



The Trumpeter Swan is almost exclusively found in the interior during the breed- 

 ing-season, is common in all the valley of the Mississippi, and is found from Southern 

 California in the winter to the highest Arctic regions in the summer. It breeds in 

 the interior as far north at least as the 70th parallel, and as far south as latitude 

 42°. A few of this species breed in Central and Northern Iowa, and thence north- 

 w^ard. 



On the Pacific coast, according to Dr. Cooper, this is the prevailing species, as it also 

 is throughout the interior of the continent, being found in Minnesota and Nebraska 

 in Jvine, July, and August, where some undoubtedly breed. It is present in Califor- 

 nia in the middle of the winter only in small numbers, frequenting, as usual, the 

 inland fresh-waters. Its habits are said to be much the same as those of the 

 Whooper, but its cry is very different, resembling the notes of a French horn, and being 

 very sonorous. These peculiar tones are dependent on the form of the windpipe, 

 which is very long, and bent in various S-shaped turns through hollows of the breast- 

 bone — the differences corresponding to the different cries, as well as other distinc- 

 tions of the species. A flock of what Dr. Cooper supposed to be this species wintered 

 at Fort Mojave, in latitude 35°, Colorado Valley; but Dr. Cooper saw none near the 

 southern coast of California. 



According to Sir John Eichardson, the Trumpeter Swan arrives in the spring in 

 the Arctic Regions several days in advance of the Goose, and remains later in the 

 season. He found it breeding in the interior from the 60th to the 68th parallel. It 

 frequents only the fresh water, swdms Avith great rapidity and elegance, aiding itself 

 by raising its wdngs when going before the wind. If attacked when swimming, it can 

 strike severely with its wings. This Sw^an flies very high, and usually alights in the 

 water. It is the Common Swan of the interior of the Fur Countries, and was found 

 breeding as far south as latitude 61° N. With the exception of the Eagles, it is the 

 earliest of all the migratory birds. 



Hearne states that at his time this species visited Hudson's Bay in large numbers 

 in the summer months, and bred on the islands in the fresh-water ponds and lakes. 

 The eggs he speaks of as so large that one of them would be a suflicient meal for a 

 moderate man, without bread or any other additions. In the interior parts of the 

 country this species precedes every other kind of waterf owd, and in some years arrives 

 as early as the month of March, and long before the ice of the rivers is broken up. 

 At those times these birds always frequent the open w^aters of falls and rapids, where 

 they are shot by the Indians in considerable numbers. This Swan is said frequently 

 to weigh as much as thirty pounds. Its flesh is regarded as excellent eating, and 

 when roasted equals in flavor the beef of a young heifer. The Cygnets are also very 

 delicate. Hearne states that notwithstanding its size this Swan is so swift on the 

 wing that it is, in his opinion, more difficult to shoot than any other bird. Indeed, 



