838 TIIK WIIISTI.IXC. SWAN. 



No. 339. 



WHISTLING SWAN. 



A. O. U. No. iSo. Olor columbianus (Ord). 



Description. — Adult : Kntirc plunia,L;e ])urc wliitc. the head sometimes tinged 

 vvitli nisty ; hill and lores hlack, the latter nsually with a distinct yellow spot near 

 eve: feet and legs hlack. /luiiiatiirc: I'lnmage ashy gray, tlie head and neck 

 tinged with lirownish ; hill and feet light. Length ahont 54.00 (1371.6); extent 

 seven feet: wing 31.25 ( 539.8) ; tail 8.50 (215.0) ; hill 4.00 ( 101.6) : tarstis 3.90 

 (99.1 ) ; middle toe and claw 5.40 (137.2). 



Recognition Marks. — Brant size; pure white plumage; long neck; small 

 yellow split nn lures di.stinctix'e for this species. 



Nesting. — Xcst: on the ground or ujion loose heap of sticks and trash, lined 

 with mosses, grass, and down. Ef/ys: 2-5. sordid white. Av. size, 4.22 .x 2.70 

 (107.2x68.6). Season: .April-June ; one brood. 



General Range. — The whole of North .America, breeding far nurth. Com- 

 mander Islands, Kamschatka : accidental in Scotland. 



Range in Washington. — Not common migrant: fornierlv bred in some num- 

 bers on the lakes of eastern Washington, where a few pairs still linger in summer. 

 In danger of extermination. 



Authorities. — [Lewis and Clark, Hist. Ex. (1814) Ed. liiddle: Cones. 

 Vol. n. p. 192 f. I C\'(/iius amcricanus Sharpless. Baird, Rep. I'ac. R. R. Surv. 

 i860, p. 758. T( ?). C&S. L'. Rh. E. 



Specimens. — Prov. BN. E. 



NO fitter emblem of imritv and grace will e\'er he found than this match- 

 less (laughter of the wilderness, the .American Swan. If we are impelled 

 to admire tlie stately beaut\' of tlie domestic bird, as it moves about some 

 narrow^ duck-ixmd of our nwn contriving, how much more shall we }-ield 

 tribute of adnn'ratioii to this native jirincess, spotless and untamed. It is 

 to be feared that our fathers set a higher value upon the gastronomic (pialities 

 of the Swan than upon its marvelous ])tu-ity of plumage or majesty of mo- 

 tion. .At anv rate early accounts abound with estimates of axoirdupois, and 

 directions f(^r "hanging otit" the bird's carcass for a given length of time, 

 in order to fit it for the talile : but they had less to say of the flashing splendors 

 of the white-winged fleet, as they passed o\erhead in their semiannual 

 regattas. 



Dm'ing migrations the .Swans mo\e in small flocks, forming a '"llying 

 wedge," or \^-shaped figure, wdth some trusted patriarch in the lead. Their 

 flight is exceedinglv swift, being estimated by competent observers at one 

 hundred miles per hour — probably twice that of the Geese. For all they are so 

 powerful on the wing, they rise from the water rather reluctantly, and prefer. 



