WHISTLINGS WAN 73 



is deep and too soft tor travelling, they would have been exterminated 

 long ago." Eifrig (1905) says: "They breed in lowlands with lakes, 

 where their nests, constructed of seaweed, grass, and moss, are very con- 

 spicuous. They are very bulky affairs, about 3 feet in diameter at the 

 base, tapering to 18 inches at the top, and 18 inches high." 



This swan lays from 2 to 7 eggs, but the usual number seems to be 

 4 or 5. The eggs are creamy white or dull white when first laid, and 

 average 4.21 by 2.68 inches. The period of incubation is said to be from 

 35 to 40 days. Nelson (1887) says of the young: "The last of June or 

 first of July the young are hatched, and soon after the parents lead them 

 to the vicinty of some large lake or stream, and there the old birds molt 

 their quill feathers and are unable to fly. They are pursued by the na- 

 tives at this season, and many are speared from canoes and kyaks. Al- 

 though unable to fly, it is no easy task single handed to capture them 

 alive. The young men among the Eskimo consider it a remarkable ex- 

 hibition of fleetness and endurance for one of their number to capture a 

 bird by running it down." 



The length of time required for the juvenile to assume full adult 

 plumage appears to be uncertain. Dr. Sharpless, quoted by Audubon 

 (1840) says: "The swan requires five or six years to reach its perfect 

 maturity of size and plumage, the yearling cygnet being about one-third 

 the magnitude of the adult." Elliot (1898) says: "It is probable that 

 it takes fully five years before the pure white dress is assumed and the 

 bird becomes such an ornamental object." Baird, Brewer, and Ridgway 

 (1884) make a similar statement. Bent (1925) says: "I can not believe 

 that it takes a swan any such length of time to acquire its full plumage. 

 .... Hon. R. M. Barnes tells me that young swans, reared by him in 

 confinement, acquired their full plumage during the second summer or 

 fail, when 14 or 15 months old. I believe that this is usually the case 

 with wild birds, though some traces of immaturity may not disappear 

 until some time during the following winter or even spring." 



"The food of the Whistling Swan is largely vegetable, which it ob- 

 tains by reaching down with its long neck in shallow water, occasionally 

 tipping up with its tail in the air when making an extra long reach. 

 While a flock of swans is feeding in this manner, one or more birds are 

 always on guard watching for approaching dangers, as the feeding birds 

 often keep their heads and necks submerged for long periods. It appar- 

 ently never dives for its food except in cases of great extremity. In 

 Back Bay, Virginia, and in Currituck Sound, North Carolina, the Swans 

 feast on the roots of the wild celery and fox-tail grass; they are now 

 [1916] so numerous that they do considerable damage by treading great 

 holes in the mud and by rooting and pulling up the celery and grass; 

 they thus waste large quantities of these valuable duck foods, much more 

 than they consume, and consequently spoil some of the best feeding 

 grounds for ducks, much to the disgust of the sportsmen in the various 

 clubs, who are not allowed to shoot the swans and have to submit to this 



