236 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



bay, L. I., about October 20th, 1876, recorded by George N. Lawrence 

 [N. O. C. Bui. 2: 18, also in Forest and Stream, 7: 181, 276]. 



Olor columbianus (Ord) 



Whistling Swan 



Plate 22 



Anas columbianus Ord in Guthrie's Geogr. Am. Ed. 2. 1S15. p. 319 

 C y g n u s a m e r i c a n ti s DeKay. Zool. N. Y. 1844. pt 2, p. 353, fig. 235 

 Olor columbianus A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 2. 1895. No. 180 



o'lor, Lat., a swan; Columbia' mis, of Columbia river 

 Description, Adult: Plumage entirely white, sometimes with a rusty 

 tinge about the head and breast; bill black with a yellowish spot in front 

 of the eye; feet black; iris brown. Young: Ashy gray, with brownish 

 wash on head and upper neck; smaller than the adult; feet light colored; 

 middle portion of bill largely flesh-colored. Weight 12 to 19 pounds. 



The smaller dimensions are of immature specimens, and young of the 

 year are still smaller in each species. 



Distinctive marks. This swan is distinguished from O . bucci- 

 nator, the Trumpeter swan, by its smaller size, 20 instead of 24 tail 

 feathers, yellow or yellowish spot on the side of the bill, and particularh' 

 by the different shape and dimensions of the bill, as shown by the abo\-e 

 measurements [see also text figure]. The sternum is hollowed out to receive 

 a long fold of the trachea, which is more convoluted in b u c c i n a t o r, 

 forming a vertical as well as a horizontal fold. 



The Whistling swan, or American swan, breeds in the arctic regions 

 and appears in New York as a spring and fall migrant both on the coast 

 and on the interior lakes. It is more common in western New York than 

 on the coast and may be regarded as a regular migrant, appearing in spring 



