Bewick's swan. 159 



of its eggs. Many pairs build in the same vicinity, but 

 each pair maintain the right of private property for the 

 time being in their own more immediate abode. 



Male; length, three feet ten inches to four feet; bill, black, 

 except only the inner portion of the upper mandible extending 

 back to the eye, which is orange yellow: in old birds a 

 knob arises at the base. Iris, dark chesnut. The yellowish 

 rust-colour on the head and neck appears in some individuals 

 of this species also. Otherwise the head, crown, neck, nape, 

 chin, throat, breast, and back, are white. 



The wings reach in expanse to the width of from six feet 

 to six feet three inches: the second and third feathers are 

 longer than the first and the fourth. Greater and lesser 

 wing coverts, primaries, secondaries, tertiaries, greater and 

 lesser under wing coverts, tail, of twenty feathers, wedge-shaped, 

 and the tail coverts, white. Legs and toes, dull black; webs, 

 dull black. 



The young, the first year, are greyish brown. In the 

 second year, the bill is pale yellow over the base; iris, 

 orange. The head and the breast are much tinged with 

 red rust-colour; on the latter it wears off soonest. The 

 young, according to Yarrell, have only eighteen feathers in 

 the tail, and Selby gives this number to the adult; the 

 point might therefore be considered as 'adhuc sub judice,' 

 but the former statement seems the correct one. 



