TENTH ANNUAL REPORT. 173 



highly esteemed as a table delicacy. " It was under special enact- 

 ments for its preservation, and regarded as a ' Bird Royal ' that 

 no subject could possess without license from the crown, the 

 granting of which license was accompanied by the condition that 

 every bird in a ' game ' (to use the old legal term) of swans 

 should bear a distinguishing mark of ownership (cygninota) on 

 the bill. Originally this privilege was conferred on the larger 

 freeholders only, but it was gradually extended, so that in the 

 reign of Elizabeth upward of 900 distinct swan-marks, being 

 those of private persons or corporations, were recognized by the 

 royal Swanherd, whose jurisdiction extended over the wdiole 

 kingdom." The largest swanery at present in England is the one 

 belonging to Lord Olchester. where from 600 to 1,200 swans are 

 kept. 



Mute Swans are very easily bred in captivity, and in our own 

 country often begin to build their nests as soon as the snow has 

 gone and the water is free of ice. 



THE WHOOPING SWAN. 



Cygiius cygiius {Linn.). 



This is the species which ever since the days of the Iliad has 

 been lauded for the beautiful musical clanging of its notes. No 

 words or syllables can express the character of these tones, but 

 the succession may be indicated by hoop-hooper-hoop — clang! 

 The breeding range of this swan covers much of arctic Europe 

 and Asia, including Iceland. In winter it ranges south over Eu- 

 rope, central Asia, China, and Japan, occasionally reaching 

 Egypt. It also justly claims a place in the avifauna of our own 

 hemisphere, as a number of specimens have been taken in south- 

 ern Greenland, doubtless storm-blown, or perhaps individuals 

 with unusual wandering instincts which have made their way 

 from Iceland. It is said that these birds formerly bred in Green- 

 land, but that they were exterminated by the Eskimo during the 

 period of helplessness at the moulting season. 



Pure white, like the Mute Swan, this species lacks the frontal 

 knob, and differs in a number of other respects. Its neck is 

 shorter, and its general carriage is so unlike that of the Mute 

 that the two species are easily distinguished. The trachea, as 

 mentioned before, enters the breastbone, where it describes a 

 loop. In this, as in the three species to follow, the most reliable 

 character for specific identification is the arrangement of color 

 on the bill (see illustration between pages 174 and 175). In the 



