BEWICK'S SWAN. 1 7 



from tte throb of the flying Mute. It is, I believe, from this 

 and not its call that the bird gets its name, "Whistling Swan." 

 The ordinary name is derived from the note, a distinctive 

 character. The call is variously described as a " deep-toned 

 whistle," a trumpet, bugle, or bass trombone sound ; surely it 

 must vary. My own notes say — " a clanging wu-iick or luoo-iick, 

 the ending sharply rising." On its breeding ground in Iceland 

 Mr. Jourdain heard a nasal, goose-like cry of alarm, and "a 

 low but musical song of about seven distinct notes." 



All the swans are white when mature ; their bills vary as 

 described above. The legs are blackish, the irides brown. 

 The male is the larger bird. The young is pale brown, palest 

 beneath ; the bill is flesh-coloured ; the legs at first are fleshy, 

 but gradually darken. Length, 60 ins. Wing, 25 ins. Tarsus, 

 4'3 ins. 



Bewick's Swan. Cygnus hewicki Yarrell. 



Bewick's Swan (Plate 9) breeds further north in Arctic 

 Europe and Asia than the Whooper, and in winter, though it is 

 found in various parts of the two continents, its range is more 

 northerly. Tt is a winter visitor to our islands, most numerous 

 in Scotland and the north and west of Ireland. 



Although much smaller than the Whooper, the shape and 

 size of the yellow patch on the basal portion of the short bill of 

 Bewick's Swan is the best mark for identification. This patch 

 is somewhat rounded in front and does not extend so far as the 

 nostril. The colour of the patch is variously described as 

 yellow, deep yellow, lemon-yellow, and orange in both this 

 species and the Whooper, but in living examples that I have 

 seen, usually, at any rate, has been lemon-yellow. Possibly 

 these birds were young, for the shade certainly deepens with 

 age, but I suspect that in some cases the writers have been 

 misled by the dark colour of a dry skin. One distinction 

 between the two wild swans, not always clearly shown in 



Series II. C 



