OF THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 309 



breeding grounds just as winter is about to give way to the short, hot northern 

 summer, and the ice on the great rivers is breaking up, towards the end of May. 

 It is a gregarious bird on passage, and journeys in herds of varying size, which 

 usually assume a wedge-shaped formation as they fly. It migrates by day as 

 well as by night, and like its larger ally is a very noisy bird on passage, the 

 individuals of the party calling to each other at intervals. This note is neither 

 so loud nor so harsh as that of the Whooper, and is aptly described by Sir Kalph 

 Payne-Gall wey as long, short but musical. Both at its summer quarters and 

 whilst in our Islands during winter Bewick's Swan is a remarkably shy and 

 cautious bird, difficult to approach either on the sea or on an inland lake. During 

 winter it is a very gregarious species, sometimes congregating on certain favoured 

 waters in flocks, hundreds or even thousands strong. Its food is obtained in a 

 very similar manner to the Whooper, and consists of the roots, stems, buds, flowers, 

 seeds, and leaves of herbs and aquatic plants, and of grass, insects and their 

 larvae, and worms. The bird, perhaps, feeds more whilst on land than the 

 Whooper, and is more partial to enclosed waters than the open sea. Its flight is 

 just as rapid and powerful, the long wings beat regularly with a loud noise, and 

 the bird's neck is outstretched. 



Nidif ication. Very little is known of the breeding habits of Bewick's Swan, 

 and although its eggs have been obtained, few naturalists have yet been fortunate 

 enough to see them in situ, or to examine the nest. Messrs. Seebohm and 

 Harvie-Brown, when in the valley of the Petchora in 1875, had eggs of this bird 

 brought to them by a Russian fisherman, which were obtained on the island of 

 Pyonin in the delta of that river. Other eggs were brought to the former gentle- 

 man during his visit to the valley of the Yenisei two years afterwards, which had 

 been obtained from an island, and on the mainland of the delta of that river. 

 Mr. Trevor Battye discovered the nest of this Swan on the island of Kolguev a 

 huge pyramid of moss, with a cup at the apex for the eggs, whilst the young in 

 down were obtained there more recently by Mr. H. J. Pearson's expedition. The 

 nest resembles that of the Whooper, and is built in a similar situation. The 

 number of eggs in a clutch is not known with certainty, but more than three 

 have not yet been found in one nest. They are smaller than those of the 

 Whooper, whiter on an average, and not so glossy. They measure on an average 

 4'0 inches in length by 2 - 6 inches in breadth. 



Diagnostic characters Cygnus, with the tail short and rounded, and 

 with the lores and the basal portion of the bill (but not extending below the 

 nostrils) yellow, remainder black. Length, 50 inches. 



