WHOOPER SWAN 77 
Note.—At the fold of the wing (carpal joint) there is a 
strong white horny spur developed which points upwards 
and inwards. It measures ‘62 in. in length. 
WHOOPER SWAN. Cygnus musicus (Bechstein). 
Coloured Figures.—Gould, ‘ Birds of Great Britain,’ vol. v, pl. 9; 
Dresser, ‘Birds of Europe,’ vol. vi, pl. 419, fig. 4; 
Lilford, ‘Coloured Figures,’ vol. vii, pl. 29; Booth, 
‘Rough Notes,’ vol. iii, pl. 2. 
The Whooper is the larger of the two Wild Swans 
which visit our country. With the onset of severe wintry 
weather in Northern Europe, numbers migrate southward. 
The coast and islands of Scotland are generally visited 
during the middle of November, and, with continued stress 
of weather, Whoopers make their appearance in many other 
parts of the British Isles. It seems rather a moot point as 
to whether this, or Bewick’s Swan, is the more plentiful 
bird in England. With reference to the distribution of the 
two species, Sir R. Payne-Gallwey draws attention to the 
fact that Whoopers are known to wander to inland lakes, 
often preserved, and accessible to the shoulder-gun, and so 
this species has been misjudged a more numerous bird 
than Bewick’s Swan, which, frequenting the sea-coast, is 
less easily approached by the fowler. In Sir R. Payne- 
Gallwey’s experience, the Whooper is on the whole the 
rarer. It more frequently occurs in Scotland than elsewhere 
in the British Isles. ‘lo Ireland it is a rather rare and 
uncertain visitor, which fact 1s borne out by the late Mr. E. 
Willams’s statement, namely, that the Whooper occurs in 
the proportion of one to twenty-five of Bewick’s Swan. 
The former pays us but a short visit. Its arrival, as before 
stated, depends largely on the severity of the weather, but 
the majority of the birds do not appear until December, 
and often take their departure in February or March, 
though stragglers may linger until May. 
Of the numbers of Wild Swans that frequent our shores 
few are molested. Apart from sentimental reasons, the birds 
are hardly worth the expense of powder and shot. Their 
flesh is coarse and, unless they are young, it is tough and 
