ANATin.E — THE SWANS — OLOR. 



431 



lowiah brown, tiiii^etl witli olive ; the dawa brownish bliicii, the webs blackish brown. The upper 

 part of the head and the cheeks aiv li^,'lit ivddish brown, each leather having; toward its extremity 

 a small oblonj^ whitish spot, narrowly mur^'iiied with dusky ; the throat nearly while, as well as 

 the ed{,'e of the lower eyeliil. The ^.iieml color of the other parts is jjrayish white, slijihlly 

 tinged with yellow ; the upjitr jwrt of the neik marked with spots siualar to those on the head" 

 (Audubon). 



Total lenj,'tli, about 58. "lO to(;8.(K( inches ; extent, about 8.(H)to nearly lO.tKt feet ; wing, 21.(Kt- 

 27.25 inches ; culineu (from fi\)ntid feathers) -1.3-1— 1.7(1 ; tarsus, 4.54-4.02 ; middle toe, ().(H)-G.5(I. 



The arrangement i>f the Inu-liea in this species is very different from that in U. columbianm. in 

 having, besitles the hori/oiital bend, a vertical flexure, occupying a prominent prntulxjrance on the 

 anterior portion of the doi-sul aspect of ilu' sternum. 



The Trunipi'ttT Swan is aluuwt exclusively foxind in the interior during the breed- 

 ing-.sea.son, is edniinon in all the valley of the Mississippi, and is found from Southern 

 t.'alifornia in the winter to the highest .Vrctic regions in the summer. It breeds in 

 the interior as far iu)rth at least as the 7(>th parallel, and as tar south as latitude 

 42°. A tew of this si)e(;ies breed in Central aiul Northern Iowa, and thence north- 

 ward. 



On the Vaoitic coast, according to ] >r. f 'ooper, this is the prevailing si)ecies, n.s it also 

 is throughout the interior of the continent, being found in Minnesota and Nebraska 

 in Jtine, .Inly, and August, where some undoid)te(lly breed. It is i)resent in Califor- 

 nia in the middle of the winter only in small nundters, frequenting, as u.siud, the 

 inland fresh-waters, its habits are said to be much the same as those of the 

 Whooper, Init itserv is very different, resendding the notes of aFrencdi horn, and being 

 very .stniorous. These peculiar tones are dependent on the form of the windpipe, 

 which is very long, and Ix-nt in various S-shajied turns through hollows of the breast- 

 lione — the differences <'orres[iondiug to the different cries, as well as other distinc- 

 tions of the species. .\ Hock of what |)r. C(K>)>er supjjosed to be this sjjecies wintered 

 at Fort Mojave, in latituile .")">, Colorado N'alley; but J)r. Cooper saw none near the 

 southern coast of California. 



According to Sir .I(diii Hichardson, the Trumpeter Swan arrives in the spring in 

 the Arctic Kegions .several days in a<lvance of the ( loose, and remains later in the 

 season. He foiuid it breeding in the interi(n- from the (iOth to the GSth parallel. It 

 frequents only the fresh water, swims with great rapidity and elegance, aiding itself 

 by raising its wings when going iM'fore the wind. If attacked when swimming, it can 

 strikt^ sevendy with its wings. This Swan flies very high, aiul usiially alights in the 

 water. It is the Common Swan id' the interior of the Fur C'ountries. and was found 

 breeding as far soutii as latitude r>l° N. With the exception of the Kagles, it is the 

 earliest of all the migratcnv birds. 



llearn*' states that at his time this species visited Hudson's Hay in large numbers 

 in the summer months, and bred on the islands in the fresh-water ponds and lakes. 

 The eggs he s|»eaks of as so large that one of them would be a sufficient meal for a 

 moderate! man, without breatl or any other additiinis. In the interior parts of the 

 country this species precedes every other kind of waterfowl, and in some years arrives 

 as early as the month of Mandi. and long before the ice of the rivers is broken up. 

 At those times tliese birds always frerpient the open waters of falls and rapids, where 

 they are shot by the Indians in considerable numbers. This Swan is said frequently 

 to weigh as much as thirty jKninds. Its tlesh is regarded as excellent eating, and 

 when roasted equals in flavor the Ix-ef of a young heifer. The Cygnets are also very 

 delicate. Hearne states that notwithstanding its size this Swan is so swift on the 

 wing that it is, in his opinion, more difficult to shoot than any other bird. Indeed, 



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