90 Coalb, The Trumpeter Swan. [j^ 



Trumpeter, together with the sternum and trachea shown in plate. 

 The bird was taken in North Dakota in Nov., 1891. Mr. Dury 

 informs me that there is a mounted pair in the museum of the Cuvier 

 Club, one of which, the male, was shot from a flock of three, on the 

 Ohio River near Cincinnati in December, 1876. Mr. Dury writes 

 "several were taken at St. Mary's Reservoir in spring and fall, 

 when I visited the place from the early 70s to the late '80s. That 

 body of water was the resort of water birds in vast swarms, includ- 

 ing both species of swan. The Whistling Swan was always more 

 abundant than the Trumpeter. They would alight in the open 

 water and were very wary and difficult to shoot. The last time 

 I visited the Reservoir the birds were in such diminished numbers 

 that I never went back." . 



Same bird shown in Plate VIII, note the parallel lines of bill — a 

 distinguishing feature. (The rule shown in the cuts is 12 in. in 

 length.) 



Allen D. Hole, Curator, Earlham College, Richmond, Indiana, 

 writes: "We have in our Museum a mounted Trumpeter Swan 

 without data. Tail of 22 feathers." 



F. Smith, Curator, University of Illinois, Champaign, writes 

 that they have "One specimen of the Trumpeter Swan obtained 

 from W. N. Butler, Anna, 111., in 1880. No data." 



Judge R. M. Barnes, Lacon, 111., writes me : " There are at present 

 ten known birds of this species in confinement, five of which are on 

 my home place. I have been unable to breed any birds here." 



A number of alleged Trumpeters which I traced proved to be 

 Whistling Swans and many records also proved erroneous. 



Of the great multitudes of Trumpeter Swans which traversed 

 the Central and Western portion of North America sixty years ago, 

 there are sixteen specimens preserved in museums which have 

 authentic data. These were collected between the years 1856 and 

 1909. 



There are besides the type, five other Canadian records, Toronto 

 1863, Fort Resolution 1860, Lake St. Clair 1878, St. Clair Flats 

 1884 and Manitoba 1887; and one from Wyoming 1856, Idaho 

 1873, Michigan 1875, Wisconsin 1880, Ohio 1880, Oregon 1881, 

 North Dakota 1891, Minnesota 1893, Montana 1902 and Mexico 

 1909. 



