240 



KEY TO THE WATER BIRDS OF FLORIDA. 



BRANTA BERNICLA (Z/;w.). 

 Brant. 



Whole of head, neck, and upper breast black, ex- 

 cept a patch on the sides of the neck, which is 

 white and black ; back grayish brown ; longer tail 

 coverts white; lower breast grayish, shading into 

 white on the belly. 



Length. 25; Wing. 13: Tarsus, 2.25 : Bill, 1.30. 



Ranges from Arctic Circle, where it 

 breeds, southward to Georgia and occa- 

 sionally to Florida, several having been 

 killed on the Florida coast. 



The eggs are described as creamy 

 white in color, four in number. The 

 nest is composed of grass and moss. 



Subfamily CYGNIN.-E. Swans. 



Genus OLOR Wagler. 



OLOR COLUMBIANUS {Onf). 

 Whistling Swan. 



General plumage white ; bill and feet black ; a 

 small yellow spot at the base of the bill in front 

 of the eye which is not always present ; the distance 

 from the front angle of the eye to the back edge of 

 the nostril is more than the distance from the back 

 edge of the nostril to the end of the bill ; this is one 

 of the characters by which it may be distinguished 

 from the Trumpeter Swan. 



The immature birds are usually ashy gray in 

 color with a brownish wash on the head and upper 

 neck ; feet pale yellowish, sometimes pale flesh color. 



Length, 53; Wing, 21.50: Bill, 4; Tarsus, 4.20. 

 This species ranges throughout most of North America, breeding in the 

 far North. It is common in winter on the Atlantic coast about the Carolinas 



