WHOOPING SWAN. 665 



inches only, never into its hind part, the bird may always be 

 distinguished. 



Length to end of tail 52 inches ; extent of wings 85 ; wing 

 from flexure 23£ ; tail 1\ ; bill along the ridge, including 

 the bare space on the forehead 4j, from its tip to the joint 3-^, 

 to the eye 4-L§- ; its height at the joint of upper mandible 1-^, 

 breadth toward the end 1^ ; bare part of tibia 1^ ; tarsus 4 ; 

 hind toe -^-, its claw -^ ; second toe 3-fe, its claw ±± ; 

 third toe 4\^, its claw \^ ; fourth toe 4f , its claw ^-. 



Variations. — Adult individuals vary in size, and in 

 having the head white or tinged with dull orange-red. The 

 size of the stomach, and the length of the digestive organs, as 

 well as the diameter of the trachea, and the extent to which 

 it enters the crest of the sternum, also vary. 



Habits. — As this species was not until recently distin- 

 guished from two others, the one belonging to Europe, the 

 other to North America, its habits and distribution as given 

 by authors cannot be considered as satisfactorily known. 

 Formerly it was considered certain that it regularly visited 

 the Orkney Islands, and some of the outer Hebrides, on 

 which it remained during the winter ; but until it be ascer- 

 tained that this species, and not Bewick's Swan, is the one 

 which frequents these Islands, we can only say that they are 

 visited by wild Swans, probably of both species. I have seen, 

 in Harris, a flock come in from the Atlantic after a gale, and 

 listened with delight to their loud and clear trumpet-like cries, 

 as they sped their way in lengthened files ; but whether they 

 were of this species or not I cannot affirm. In South Uist a 

 vast number remain from October to May on some of the 

 lakes, and in Lewis and Harris they are frequently seen in 

 winter ; but these are certainly not the birds that in severe 

 weather are found dispersed over Scotland and England. In 

 England, when the winter is mild, few, or perhaps none, may 

 be met with, whereas in boisterous weather they appear in 

 flocks, dispersed here and there, chiefly on the estuaries and 

 rivers. It is the same in Scotland, where in some seasons 

 great numbers are killed, and they may be procured even in 



