AMERICAN SWAN. 

 Cygnus columbianus (Ord). 



The common swan is slightly smaller than the 

 trumpeter, but is colored like it, except that on the 

 naked lores, just before the eye, there is a spot of yel- 

 low. This, however, is not invariably present, and is 

 usually lacking in the young birds. The tail feathers 

 are 20 instead of 24, and this with the fact that the 

 nostrils open half way down the bill (instead of being 

 in the basal half, as in the trumpeter swan), will al- 

 ways serve to distinguish the two. 



The young are gray, with a pink bill, which later 

 turns white, and finally black. As the young grow 



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