HOOPER SWAN. 481 



dendorff found it breeding on the Taimur peninsula, and it probably 

 breeds as far east as Behring Straits, as it passes through Southern 

 Siberia and Mongolia on migration, and is not uncommon during winter 

 in Japan arid on the coasts of China, where it has been found as far south 

 as the mouth of the Yan-tsze-kiang. It passes through Turkestan on 

 migration to winter in the basin of the Caspian, and is said to have occurred 

 in Nepal. It has no nearer ally than Bewick's Swan. 



The Hooper frequents exactly the same kind of country as ifs congener 

 the Mute Swan, but its breeding-grounds are situated a thousand miles 

 further to the north. It is doubtful whether it has ever been found breed- 

 ing south of lat. 62 in Finland, and the Arctic circle is said to be its 

 southern breeding-range in Scandinavia as in East Russia. 



When Harvie-Browri and I were in the valley of the Petchora, waiting 

 at Ust Zylma, a little south of the Arctic circle, for summer to come, one 

 of the first warnings that we had of the approaching break-up of the winter 

 was the arrival of the Swans. At first they arrived in pairs. The earliest 

 date was on the llth of May; every day the numbers passing over in- 

 creased, and occasionally we saw them on the snow or on the ice ; until, 

 on the 20th, when the ice on the river broke up, the last Swan appeared 

 to have passed us, and we saw no more of them until we arrived at their 

 breeding-grounds. A month later, when we had reached the tundra, 

 where a few small birches and willows was all that was left of forest- 

 growth, we came upon the breeding-ground of the Swans in the delta of 

 the Petchora. We found several nests between the 19th and 30th of June ; 

 they were large structures composed of dead sedge and coarse herbage, 

 and concealed in the dense willow-scrub that covered most of the islands. 

 The number of eggs varied from two to four, but in Iceland five is the 

 usual clutch, and seven are occasionally found. The Hooper is a very shy 

 bird ; we never got a chance of a shot, except once or twice from a boat. 

 We saw very little of it on the tundra, the lakes probably not producing 

 the particular water-plants which formed its favourite food ; but it was 

 very common on the islands in the delta, and was especially fond of the 

 " Kourias," long reaches of water running inland for some little distance 

 and often fringed with willows. Most of the islands in the delta 

 are under water for a few days when the river is at its highest, 

 but they are nevertheless generally covered with low willow trees, and 

 very often in the middle of an island there is a little lake. By cautiously 

 stealing up to these lakes under cover of the willows we frequently 

 obtained the most charming glimpses of happy families of Swans and 

 half a dozen different species of Ducks feeding in delightful security. 

 The Hooper is a ten times handsomer bird than a tame Swan in the 

 eyes of an ornithologist, but it is not really so graceful : its neck is shorter, 

 and its scapulars are not so plume-like. Instead of sailing about with 



