TRUMPETER SWAN. 



Cygnus buccinator (Rich.). 



The plumage of the trumpeter swan is white 

 throughout; the naked black skin of the bill extends 

 back to the eyes, covering what is called the lores, and 

 the bill and feet are wholly black. The tail feathers 

 are twenty-four in number, and this character will dis- 

 tinguish it from our only other swan, the species just 

 mentioned. The bill is longer than the head, and the 

 bird measures about five feet in total length. The 

 spread of wings is great, sometimes ten feet. Audu- 

 bon records a specimen which weighed 38 pounds. 



The young are gray, the head often washed with 



