BIRDS OF NEW YORK 239 



Buffalo newspapers of March 17th, 1908, and by James Savage in the 

 Buffalo Society Natural Sciences Bulletin 1908, volume 9, pages 23-28, 

 and by Fleming in the Auk, volume 25, pages 306-9. 



Olor buccinator (Richardson) 

 Trumpeter Swan 



Cygnus buccinator Richardson in Richardson & Swainson. Fauna Bor. Am. 



1831. 2:464 

 lo r b u c c i n a to r A. O. U. Check List. Ed. 2. 1895. No. 181 



buccind'tor, Lat., a trumpeter 



This large species is a bird of western North America, but has been 

 ascribed to the Atlantic states as a casual visitor by many authors. I have 

 been unable to find any New York specimen of this swan although the Auburn 

 List records it, page 36, as having been taken on Cayuga lake and the 

 specimen was still extant in 1879. The Buffalo List, by Dr Gregg, page 6, 

 also records it as an accidental visitant on the authority of the late Charles 

 Linden, but no specimens are cited. I regret to state that I have been 

 unable to trace the Cayuga specimen and hence can pass no judgment as 

 to its authenticity. Also, a second specimen from Cayuga supposed to be 

 this species, after careful measurements I have referred tocolumbianus. 

 This bird was evidently an immature specimen, probably of the second year 

 as it still retains the brownish or ashy tinge of the head and upper neck; 

 but its dimensions reach the maximum for c o 1 u m b i a n u s . Its bill 

 though appearing perfectly black, after being scrubbed with alcohol, 

 revealed the fact that it had been of an obscure flesh-color for a con- 

 siderable space both before and behind the nostrils. Its tail feathers are 

 20 in number. The shape and proportions of its bill are more nearly those 

 of columbianus. 



It is probable that the Trumpeter swan was formerly an occasional 

 visitor to this State in the days when all our waterfowl were more niimerous, 

 and such western species as the White pelican and Whooping crane are 

 known to have been regular visitors on the Atlantic seaboard. It will be 

 well for all sportsmen and ornithologists to make a sharp scrutiny of all 



