106 HISTORY OF THE 



HABITAT. North America in general; breeding far northward; 

 south in winter to California and the Gulf coast; casual west to 

 the Commander Islands, Kamtchatka; accidental in Scotland. 



SP. CHAE. "Tail usually of twenty feathers; bill not longer than the head. 

 Adult: Entire plumage pure white; the head (sometimes the neck, or even en- 

 tire iinder parts) tinged with rusty. Bill, tarsi and feet deep black, the bare 

 loral skin usually marked by an oblong spot of orange or yellow (dull pale red- 

 dish, yellowish or whitish in the skin); iris brown. Young: Light plumbeous, 

 paler beneath, the fore part and top of the head tinged with reddish brown. 

 Bill reddish flesh color, dusky at the tip; feet dull yellowish flesh color or grayish. 



"The principal anatomical character of this species is the disposition of the 

 trachea in the sternum, it making but one horizontal turn upon itself at the 

 point fartherest from its entrance in the front of the enlarged carina." 



Stretch of 

 Length. wing. Wing. Tail. Tarsus. Bill. 



Male 55.00 80.00 23.00 8.75 4.30 4.20 



Female... 53.00 75.00 20.00 7.00 4.20 4.10 



This species is rarely met with on the Atlantic coast north of 

 Chesapeake Bay, but it is not uncommon throughout the interior 

 and on the Pacific coast. I have one in the "Goss Ornitho- 

 logical Collection," shot March 12th, 1875, in the Neosho val- 

 ley, Kansas, out of a flock of six, and I have occasionally seen 

 these birds in the State during migration; and I once saw a few 

 in winter, on Galveston Bay, near the mouth of Trinity River; 

 they were in company with, or rather near, a flock of the Trump- 

 eters, and readily known by their smaller size. 



Their food consists of grasses, leaves and roots of various 

 water plants; also snails, insects and other forms of life. They 

 cannot dive, but are able, with their long necks, to feed in quite 

 deep waters. While feeding, as well as in flight, they are quite 

 noisy, and their loud-toned notes are occasionally heard during 

 the night. 



In olden times, when credulity largely prevailed among the 

 people, the most fabulous and absurd stories were readily be- 

 lieved. The Swans were supposed to sing sweetly, especially 

 when dying. This belief seems to have been based upon the 

 fable, that the soul of Orpheus was transmigrated into a Swan, 

 and for this reason these birds were held in great veneration. 

 The Greek and Latin poets praised its song, and the philoso- 

 phers and historians recorded it as a fact. I quote from three 



