488 ANSERID.^^:. 



BEWICK'S SWAN. 



CYGNUS BEWICKII. 



Whole plumage pure white ; bill black, orange-yellow at the base ; irides dark ; 

 feet black ; tail of eighteen feathers. Young birds greyish brown ; immature 

 specimens tinged on the head and belly with rust-red. Length three feet nine 

 inches ; breadth six feet one inch. Eggs dull white, tinged with brown. 



Bewick's Swan is distinguished from the Hooper, not onlj' 

 by the characters given above, but by strongly marked 

 anatomical features, which were first pointed out by Mr. 

 Yarrell, who, with the modesty and generosity for which 

 he was noted, gave it its present name ; " Thus devoting 

 it to the memory of one whose beautiful and animated 

 delineations of subjects in natural history entitle him to 

 this tribute." 



Of the numerous wild Swans seen in the British 

 Isles, so small a proportion fall into the hands of persons 

 competent to identify them, that it is hard to give 

 any opinion on the relative abundance of this species. 

 Many specimens, however, have been procured, and flocks 

 have been observed comprising, in one instance, twenty- 

 nine, in another seventy-three individuals. In the case 

 of distant flocks the only criterion is size ; and as this 

 species is one-third less than the Hooper, there is little 

 probability of an experienced observer being mistaken in 

 the identity. 



In their habits they closely resemble their congeners, 

 but are less graceful in their movements on the water, 

 and spend a larger portion of their time on land. 



