ANA TID^ — ANSERINE : GEESE. 



691. 



to the hind edge of the nostril more than thence to the end of the bill. Tail-feathers nonnally 

 20. Length under 5 feet ; extent G or 7 feet ; wing under 2 feet ; tail 7 or 8 inches. Bill about 

 4.00 along culnien ; 

 from eye to tip of bill un- 

 dor 5.00; tarsus 4.00; 

 middle toe and claw 

 5.50. Young smaller; 

 plumage ashy - gray, 

 with reddish - brown 

 wash on head and upper 

 neck ; bill iu part flesh - 

 colored, the lores pUi- 

 mulose; feet yellowish 

 flesh-color. N. Am. at 

 large, U. S. in winter 

 and during the migra- 

 tion ; the usual species 

 along the Atlantic coast, 

 and more numerous on 

 either coast than in in- 

 terior U. S. ; rare or 



1 , . Fig. 472. —Whistling Swan. (From Lewis. ) 



casual, however, in 



New England and eastward. Breeds only in the high north. Eggs 2-5, from 4.00 X 2.25 



to 4.50 X 2.50, with rough dull white shell, with more or less brownish discoloration. 



C. mu'sicus. (Gr. fiova-iKos, mousikos, Lat. musieus, musical.) Whooping Swan. Similar 



to C. columbianus, and having tlie same shape of the bill, but instead of a small yellow spot 



behind the nostiils there is a great yellow blotch, occupying one half or more of the bill and 



extending beyond the nostrils. Only N. Am. as occurring in Greenland: Reiuh., Ibis, 1861, 



p. 13 of the reprint; Freke, Zool., v, 1881, p. 372. 



[C. be'wicki. (To Thos. Bewick.) Bewick's Swan. A European species, incorrectly 



attributed to N. A. in the 2d ed. of the Check List, which see, p. 111. J 



66. Subfamily ANSERINE: Geese. 



Lores completely feathered ; tarsi entirely 

 reticulate; hind toe simple. Neck in length 

 between that of swans and of ducks ; cervical 

 vertebrfe about 16 ; body elevated and not so 

 much flattened as in the ducks ; legs relatively 

 longer ; tarsus generally exceeding, or at least 

 not shorter than, the middle toe; bill generally 

 rather short, high and compressed at base, and 

 tapering to tip, which is less widened and flat- 

 tened than is usual among ducks and almost 

 wholly occupied by the broad nail. The 

 species as a rule are more terrestrial, and walk 

 Fig. 473. — Common (a) and Black (6) Brant. better, than ducks ; they are generally herbiv- 



orous, although several maritime species (Philacte, and an allied South American group) are 

 animal-feeders, and their flesh is rank. Both sexes attend to the young. A notable trait, 

 shared by the swans, is their mode of resenting intrusion by liissing with outstretched neck. 



