S IVANS 



2IOI 



Whistling 

 Swans 



also arrive. The first of these is the whooper or whistling swan (C. 

 musicus}, which belongs to a group of species common to the northern 

 half of both the Old and New Worlds, and characterized by their com- 

 paratively-short and rounded tails; while it is specifically distinguished by the lores 

 and the basal portion of the beak to below the nostrils being yellow, the remainder 

 of the nostrils being black. In length this species reaches sixty inches. The 

 whooper is essentially an Arctic species, breeding chiefly within the Arctic Circle 

 either on the islands in the deltas of the great rivers, or on the lakes of the Siberian 



WHISTLING SWAN. 

 (One-seventh natural size.) 



tundras. Iceland and the northern parts of Scandinavia are also favorite nesting 

 haunts of this species, which appears to breed in pairs and not in small flocks. Mr. 

 Hume is of opinion that during its winter migration this species does not, except 

 in unusually severe winters, go as far south as some of its allies, although at times 

 it reaches the Mediterranean islands, Egypt, Algeria, and Palestine. Eastward, it 

 visits the Caspian, Persia, Turkestan, China, and Japan, but is unknown in India 

 proper. The nesting season commences in the latter half of May, the usual period 



