WHOOPEE SWAN 77 



/ 



Note. At the fold of the wing (carpal joint) there is a 

 strong white horny spur developed which points upwards 



and inwards. It measures '62 in. in length. 



WHOOPER SWAN. Cygnus musicus (Bechstein). 



Coloured Figures. Gould, ' Birds of Great Britain,' vol. v, pi. 9 ; 

 Dresser, ' Birds of Europe,' vol. vi, pi. 419, fig. 4 ; 

 Lilford, ' Coloured Figures,' vol. vii, pi. 29 ; Booth, 

 'Eough Notes,' vol. iii, pi. 2. 



The Whooper is the larger of the two Wild Swans 

 which visit our country. W T ith the onset of severe wintry 

 weather in Northern Europe, numbers migrate southward. 

 The coast and islands of Scotland are generally visited 

 during the middle of November, and, with continued stress 

 of weather, Whoopers make their appearance in many other 

 parts of the British Isles. It seems rather a moot point as 

 to whether this, or Bewick's Swan, is the more plentiful 

 bird in England. With reference to the distribution of the 

 two species, Sir B. Payne-Gallwey draws attention to the 

 fact that Whoopers are known to wander to inland lakes, 

 often preserved, and accessible to the shoulder -gun, and so 

 this species has been misjudged a more numerous bird 

 than Bewick's Swan, which, frequenting the sea-coast, is 

 less easily approached by the fowler. In Sir B. Payne- 

 Gallwey's experience, the Whooper is on the whole the 

 rarer. It more frequently occurs in Scotland than elsewhere 

 in the British Isles. To Ireland it is a rather rare and 

 uncertain visitor, which fact is borne out by the late Mr. E. 

 Williams's statement, namely, that the Whooper occurs in 

 the proportion of one to twenty-five of Bewick's Swan. 

 The former pays us but a short visit. Its arrival, as before 

 stated, depends largely on the severity of the weather, but 

 the majority of the birds do not appear until December, 

 and often take their departure in February or March, 

 though stragglers may linger until May. 



Of the numbers of Wild Swans that frequent our shores 

 few are molested. Apart from sentimental reasons, the birds 

 are hardly worth the expense of powder and shot. Their 

 flesh is coarse and, unless they are young, it is tough and 



