896 



SYSTEMA TIC SYNOPSIS. — LAMELLIROSTRES — ANSERES. 



under 5.00; tarsus 4.00-4.35; middle toe and claw 5.50-6.00. 9 smaller than $. Young 

 smaller than adults ; plumage ashy-gray, with reddish-brown wash on head and upper neck ; 

 bill in i)art Hesh-colored, the lores plumulose ; feet yellowish llesh-color. The yellow spot on 

 the bill, when present, instantly distinguishes this species from the foregoing; in its absence, 

 distinctive characters are the lesser size, shorter and diflerently shaped bill with nostrils in 

 different relative position, fewer tail-feathers, and lack of the extra vertical fold of the windpipe 

 in the breast-bone. North America at large, U. S. in winter and during migration ; the usual 

 species along the Atlantic coast, and more numerous on either coast, Atlantic or Pacific, than 

 in interior U. S. ; rare or casual in New England and eastward; Kamtschatka; accidental in 

 Europe. Breeds in the high North. Eggs 2-7, 4.00 X 2.25-4.50 X 2.50, rough, dull white, 

 with more or less brownish discoloration. (? C. /eras Bartr. 1791 (wee auct.). Whistling 

 Swan Lewis and Clark, wheuce Anas columbianus Ord. 1815. C miisieus Bp. 1826. 

 C. amerieanus Sharpl. 1830. C columbianus Coues, 1876. Olor columbianus A. 0. U. 

 Lists, No. 180.) 



C. cyg'nus. European Wild or Whistling Sv^an. Whooping Sw^an. Whooper. 

 Hooper. Elk. Similar to columbianus, and having same shape of bill, but instead of a 

 small yellow spot behind nostrils there is a great yellow blotch, occupying one half or more of 

 bill and extending beyond nostrils. Only North American as occurring casually in Greenland : 

 Reinh. Ibis, 1861, p. 13 of the reprint; Freke, Zool. v, Sept. 1881, p. 372. (Anas cygnus 

 Linn. 1758. C. ferns Briss. 1760, and of authors. C- musicus Bechst. 1809, and of most 

 authors, as of 2d-4t,h eds. of the Key. C. cygnus Less. 1828. Olor musicus Wagl. 1832. 

 Olor cygnus Gray, 1855; A. 0. U. Lists, No. [179].) 



Obs. — Bewick's Swan, C. hnvicki, is a European species, incorrectly attributed to North America in Sw. and 

 Rich. Fn. Boi .-Am. ii, 1831, p. 4C5 ; Nctt. Man. ii, 1834, p. 372. Tliis old record, which simply means C. columbianus, 

 was revived by Ridgw. Pr. U. S. Nat. Mas. iii, 1880, p. 222, who gives the bird as Olor minor there and in his Cat. j'ftirf, 

 p. 202, No. [587] : see Newton, Man. Nat. Hist. Greenl. 1875, p. 113 ; Frekb, Zool. Sept. l&Sl, p. 30G ; Coues, Check-List,, 

 2d ed. 1882, p. Ill, No. C91, and Key, 2d ed. 1884, p. G83. 



Subfamily ANSERIN/E: Geese. 



Lores completely feathered; tarsi entirely reticulate; hind toe simple. Neck in length 

 between that of Swans and of Ducks ; cervical vertebrae proper about 16, with 2 cervico- 



dorsals. Body elevated and not so much flat- 

 tened as in Ducks ; legs relatively longer ; tar- 

 sus generally exceeding, or at least not shorter 

 than, middle toe ; bill generally rather short, 

 high and compressed at base, rapidly tapering 

 to tip, which is less widened and flattened than 

 is usual among Ducks, and almost wholly oc- 

 cupied by the broad nail. No tracheal tym- 

 panum in typical Anserince (though present 

 in many forms whicli are commonly included 

 in this subfamily). The species as a rule are 

 more terrestrial, and walk better, than Ducks ; 

 they are generally herbivorous, although sev- 

 eral 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 Swans, is their mode of resenting intrusion or aggression 

 by hissing with outstretched neck, and striking with the wings. With some exceptions the 

 plumage is not so bright and variegated as that of Ducks, aud the speculum is wanting ; there 

 is only an annual moult, aud no great seasonal change of plumage ; the sexes are generally 

 alike (unlike in some species of Chloephaga, etc.). Most true Geese fall in or near our genera 



Common (a) and Black (6) Brant. 



