Breeding of Waterfowl at Gooilust. 73 



which becomes white in the adult stage. But the larger 

 wing-coverts have slightly lighter edgings. The first moult 

 of this bird generally takes place in the end of October, and 

 with it the white feathers of the head appear. At the same 

 period the bill and legs gradually begin to become pink, 

 instead of being dark, as they were up to that time. 



I bred Ross's Snow-Goose {Chen rossi) in 1902, as already- 

 described in 'The Ibis' (1903, p. 245), but lost the chicks 

 after about a fortnight. In 1903 the female laid eggs again, 

 but they were unfortunately destroyed by vermin, so that I 

 am not yet able to describe the first plumage. 



My pair of Trumpeter Swans {Cygnus buccinator) bred 

 again this season. Six eggs were laid and six chicks were 

 hatched. The chicks are white, with a grey tinge on the 

 back. The cere is covered with pure white down. The bill 

 is flesh-coloured, with a dark tip, and the legs are also flesh- 

 coloured. The down of these chicks is very short and dense, 

 quite different from the longer and more fluffy down of the 

 chicks of Cygnus nigricollis and C. atratus. The result is 

 that the chicks look much smaller in comparison. A con- 

 spicuous feature is the long neck, which is carried very 

 stiff and upright. At the age of about six weeks the first 

 feathers appear, and the birds then begin to grow very 

 quickly. The first feathers are brownish grey, without any 

 markings as a rule, but one of this year's birds is remarkable 

 for having transverse markings on the shoulders and greater 

 wing-coverts. After the birds are feathered the bills 

 gradually acquire the black colour, the black beginning at 

 the point and at the forehead, and gradually increasing. 

 Later, the middle part, which is still pink, gets spotted with 

 black, and in the course of the February following the first 

 summer the whole of the bill usually becomes quite black. 

 The legs by that time have also gradually darkened into dusky 

 grey, which becomes black after the birds are a year old. 

 About March white feathers begin to replace the grey 

 plumage, and when a year and a half old the birds are quite 

 white, except for some fine grey spots, which are still visible 

 on the back of the neck and on the head. Cygnus buccinator 



