146 NESTS AND EGGS OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS. 



588. Whistling Swan — olor americanus. The Common American 

 or Whistling Swan inhabits the whole of North America, breeding in the 

 far north. It is found in the United States in winter and during the 

 migrations. The bill of this species normally has a small yellow spot not 

 extending to the nostrils. The tail-feathers are normally twenty in num- 

 ber. The nest is made on the ground in marshy places and is composed 

 of grass, weeds, etc. The eggs are from two to five in number and 

 measure from 2.25 to 2.50 in breadth by 4.00 to 4.50 in length. They are 

 dull white with more or less brownish or reddish discoloration ; the surface 



of the shell is rough. Hab. The whole of North America, breeding far north. 



589. Trumpeter Swan — olor buccinator. The Trumpeter Swan 

 chiefly inhabits the interior of North America from the Gulf coast to the 

 Fur Countries. It breeds from Iowa and Dakota northward. This species 

 may be distinguished from the Whistling Swan by its entirely black bill, 

 and having normally twenty-four tail-feathers. The nesting of this species 

 is the same as the last. The eggs are similar but average larger, like the 

 bird; size from 2.50 to 2.76 broad by 4.03 to 4.50 long. 



Hab. Chiefly the intenoi of N. A., from the Gulf coast to the Fur Countries, breeding from Iowa and 

 Dakota northward; west to the Pacific coast, but rare or casual on the Atlantic. 



591. Snow Goose — chen hyperboreus. Yellowish-white; elliptical; 

 five to eight in number; size about 3.00 by 2.00. The Snow Goose or 

 White Brant is distributed throughout North America at large, breeding 

 in the far north, migrating and wintering in the United States. It is 

 abundant in the interior and along the Pacific coast, but less so on the At- 

 lantic. The plumage of the adult bird is pure white; the head, however, 

 is usually washed with rusty-brown like a swan's. The feet are of a dull 

 lake-red color; the bill, carmine-red or pale purplish with a salmon tinge. 

 The weight of the bird is five or six pounds. The nest is made on the 

 ground in marshy places, of grass, weeds, etc. Dr. Richardson says this 

 bird breeds in the barren grounds of Arctic America in great numbers, 

 that the young fly in August and that by the middle of September all 

 have departed for the South. 



593rt. American White-fronted Goose — anser albifrons gambeli. 

 Dull greenish-yellow, with obscure darker tints; elliptical; six or seven in 

 number; size from 2.90 to 3.30 in length by 2.05 to 2.10 in breadth. 

 The White-fronted Goose inhabits the whole of the North American Con- 

 tinent, breeding in high latitudes. It winters in the United States and 

 southward to Mexico and Cuba. It is more abundant on the Pacific coast 

 than in the interior or along the Atlantic. This Goose, of large size and 



