The Sivans. 137 



Brent. The nests found by Mr. H. L. Popham in the Yenesei Valley were placed 

 at the foot of a cliff and were well supplied with down. The eggs were from seven 

 to nine in number, and of a creamy white colour. 



The Swans resemble the Geese in having no lobe on the hind 

 THE SWANS. j^g^ i^^j. |.j^gy ,j|.g distinguished from them by having an abnor- 



^ ,r'^ {t""" '*' malh' long neck, with which they search for their food under the 



water. They are also remarkable for the disposition of the 

 trachea which, in most of the species, enters the bony walls of the sternum or breast- 

 bone. 



Besides the species enumerated below, there are two North American species, 

 Cyginis biicciiiator, the 'Trumpeter Swan,' and Cygnus aniericaims, the ' \\'h\stUr\g 

 Swan,' which have been included in the British List, but on somewhat slender 

 evidence. 



As all the Swans, when adult, are pure white, the only 



THE WHOOPER characters by which thev can be distinguished are those of the 

 SWAN 



colour of the bill, and so the Whooper is recognised by its yellow 



(Cvgnus luusuiis.) 



bill with a black end to it. The yellow colour extends far 

 forward along the side of the upper mandible, beyond the opening of the nostrils, 

 which are black, this black marking only reaching half-way towards the gape. The 

 female is a little smaller than the male, and the cygnets are greyish brown, and 

 have the bill dull flesh colour, black near the forehead with a band of reddish- 

 orange across the middle ; the base of the bill and the lores greenish white ; the 

 feet flesh-colour instead of black. The nestlings are covered with white down. 



The adult Whooper has no knob at the base of the bill like some of the other 

 species. The ' Wild Swan,' as it is also called, breeds in the Arctic Regions, from 

 Iceland, through Northern Europe and Siberia, and it is only in winter that it 

 wanders south, and is then met with on our coasts and inland waters. It arrives in 

 its breeding haunts about the beginning of May, as soon as the ice begins to break 

 up. It is generally seen in companies, flying in a "V-shaped line, and at a great 

 height : it is very shy and difficult of approach. The note is trumpet-like, 

 resembling also the deep bass-notes of a trombone, sufficient, says Seebohm, to ' set 

 your ear on edge.' The nest is a large structure, made of dead sedge and coarse 

 grass. The eggs vary from two to seven in number; they are creamy-white in 

 colour, with a slight gloss, the shell being granulated, while the length of the egg is 

 about four-and-a-half inches. 



This a smaller bird than the Whooper, and, like that species, 



BEWICK'S j^^g ^ yellow bill, but the black marking on it is disposed dif- 



ferentlv, for it extends backwards to the gape and also beyond 

 {Cygnus bcwicki.) . „, , 



the line of the nostrils on its upper margin. 1 he culnien only 



measures 3-8 inches, instead of 4-2. The iris is hazel in the adult birds, and lemon 



yellow in the young ones. The nestlings are greyish white. 



