SWANS—DUCKS 79 
brenta (Pallas)]. Winter visitor, often in large flocks, chiefly 
on our east.coasts. Bird of passage. 
Bird. Length 22in. Therefore smaller than the barnacle, 
from which it may be distinguished by 
the black of the head, neck, and upper 
breast, relieved only by a patch of white 
on the neck; by the dusky brown of the 
mantle, and brownish-grey of the lower #& 
and mid-breast. Beak, legs, wing, and 4B 
tail quills black. Tail-coverts and belly Zy 
white. The young lack the white neck 5; 
a and the forebreast is grey, not Fig. 93. 
ck. 
Family: Anatide. (b) Subfamily : Cygnine—Swans 
160. Mute-swan [Cygnus olor (Gmelin)]. Semi-domesticated, 
resident and stationary species. 
Bird. Length 60 in. This familiar tenant on our lakes and 
rivers may be distinguished from its two wild relatives, the 
whooper (60 in.) and the smaller Bewick’s swan (50 in.) by its 
reddish beak and black “berry” at the base thereof. Both 
the whooper and Bewick have the bill yellow on the basal part 
and black on the tip part, but in the whooper a tongue of the 
yellow extends forward on each side under and beyond the 
nostrils. Plumage white. The young swan or cygnet is dusky 
or brownish-grey. 
Nest. Usually near the water edge. A mass of aquatic 
plants, rushes, grasses, &c. 
Eggs. Usually 5-12. Greenish-white to greenish. Av. size 
4°44 x 2°89 in. Laying usually begins in April. One brood. 
Family: Anatide. (c) Subfamily : Anatine—Shelduck and 
Surface-water Ducks 
161. Common-shelduck [Tadorna tadorna (Linnzus) ; 
Tadorna cornuta (8S. G. Gmelin)]. Resident on flat coasts and 
estuaries. Breeds inland in parts. 
Bird, Length 25in. Distinguished by its large size and the 
boldly marked contrast of its plumage, which is white with 
greenish-black on the head and neck, with a broad chestnut 
band round the forepart of the body, a dark band down the 
middle of the white breast and black on the scapulars and 
primaries. Tail tipped black. Speculum or wing-spot, chest- 
nut-red and steel-blue. Beak red with a basal knob. The 
female lacks the basal knob. The young lack the chestnut 
band and black breast-stripe. 
