TRUMPETER SWAN. 37 



rusty, but grow whiter as they advance in years. The 

 gray of the head and neck is the last to disappear. In 

 the young the bill is flesh color at the base, dusky at 

 tip ; feet gray. 



The trumpeter swan is a western species, and is 

 scarcely found east of the Mississippi River. Formerly 

 it bred over much of the western country, though un- 

 doubtedly most of the birds repaired to the far North 

 to rear their young. Many years ago I found it 

 breeding on a little lake in Nebraska, and I have seen it 

 in summer on the Yellowstone Lake, in Wyoming. 

 The nest is built on the ground, and the eggs are white 

 or cream color. 



In agreement with what is known of the trumpeter 

 swan in the United States, its breeding grounds in the 

 North appear to be inland. Explorers give the Hud- 

 son's Bay as one of its resorts, where it is said to be one 

 of the earliest migratory birds to arrive. It breeds on 

 the islands and in the marshes, and on the shores of 

 the fresh water lakes, and is said to lay from five to 

 seven eggs. It is stated also that it is monogamous, 

 and that the mating is for life. During the period of 

 the molt, when the swans are unable to fly, they are 

 eagerly pursued by the Indians, not always success- 

 fully, since they are able to swim and to flap over the 

 water as fast as a canoe can be paddled. The swan 

 breeds also in the barren grounds on the head of the 

 Fraser River, and at various points on the Mackenzie 

 River ; it has been reported also from Norton Sound. 



The note of the trumpeter, from which it takes its 



