322 NATATORES. 



and not very palatable ; and that of the wild one's, from the 

 greater exercise that they have on the wing, is less palatable 

 than that of the tame. The eggs are eaten, however ; those 

 of the tame swan being esteemed in all countries where 

 they can be procured, and those of the wild ones being 

 much sought after by the northern nations. The skins 

 and down are also very valuable in those cold and northern 

 climates. From its cry, the wild swan has been called the 

 "whooper," which has naturally enough been corrupted to 

 the "hooper."* 



BEWICK'S SWAN (Oygnus Hewickii). 



This species, which bears externally a considerable resem- 

 blance to the former, has no doubt been often confounded 

 with it, though the specific characters of the two are quite 

 distinct. Its lineal dimensions are a few inches less each 

 way than those of the common wild swan ; and its weight, 

 in proportion to the dimensions, is less. Like that species, 

 it has a black bill with a yellow base, and the general 

 plumage of the body is white ; but instead of the yellowish 

 tinge on the head and nape, it has the forehead tinged or 

 mottled with rusty. The principal distinction is in the 

 trachea, which in this bird forms an elongated horizontal 

 curve between the bony plates of the sternum itself, instead 

 of the short vertical curve within the keel of the sternum, 

 peculiar to the hooper, t 



* The Cygnus ferus, or Cygnus musicus of "Bechstein, is represented 

 in North America by the Cygnus Americamts of Sharpless; the two 

 species are closely allied, and were formerly regarded as identical; they 

 are, however, distinct. M. 



f It is to the acumen of Mr. Yarrell that we are indebted for the 

 discovery of a new species of swan, Cygnus immutabilis, which is one of 

 our winter visitants. In his notice of this species, in " Proceeds. Zool. 

 Soc. 1837," p. 19, Mr. Yarrell observes that this swan "Lad been known 

 to him for some years past as an article of commerce amcnj the London 



