SUBFAMILY CYGNIA'^. 265 



confined to Europe, Asia, and North America, two to 

 South America, and one to AustraHa. The majority are 

 large birds with long, flexible necks, and some with 

 powerful voices, one only being mute. They associate 

 in flocks of from five or six to thirty, sometimes even 

 more, and are very conspicuous objects in the places 

 where they are accustomed to resort. Of this subfamily 

 only one genus is represented in North America. 



GENUS CYGNUS 

 (Greek k<)kvo%. kttknos; Latin cygnus, a swan.) 



Cygnus Bechst. Orn. Taschenb., 1803, vol. ii., p. 404 (note). 

 Type Anas olor, Gmel. 



Bill as long as head, high at base, deeper than wide, broad 

 and rather flat at tip. Skin of bill reaching to eyes. Nostrils 

 situated high, and placed about the middle of the length of bill. 

 Neck very long and flexible. Tibiae bare on lower part. Legs 

 behind center of body. Tarsus shorter than middle toe and 

 claw. Feet large. Wings long. Tail short. 



For a long series of years the term Cygnus, given by Bech- 

 stein, as recorded above, was adopted by all ornithologists 

 throughout the world for the White Swan. In 1832 Wagler 

 proposed the term Olor, which was a specific name for the 

 European Swan, but this was not generally, if at all, adopted by 

 naturalists. In 1882 Stejneger revived this term in his paper on 

 the Cygnin.-e, published in the Proceedings of the United States 

 National Museum, including in it two European species, cygtius 

 {Anas cyg'iits, Linn.) and bewickii ; also two American species, 

 colitiubianus and hitccinator. The only difference he mentions 

 in the diagno.ses of the genera, Cygnus and Olor as given on 

 pages 189 and 197, is that the down on the head of the young in 

 Cygnus does not form distinct loral antise; but it does do this in 

 Olor, and also that the tail of the species of Cygnus is cuneate, 

 but rounded in Olor. These differences are all the characters 

 produced which are claimed as generic. In questioning the 

 wisdom or even the advisabilitj- of this attempt to reinstate Olor 

 as here formulated, and thus suppressing a term in which the 



