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TRUMPETER SWAN. 
Cyrcnus BuccINATOR, RicHARDSON. 
PLATE CCCLXXVI. Youne 1n WINTER. 
Tue history of the American Swans has been but veryslightly traced. 
Few records of the habits of these majestic, elegant, and useful birds 
exist, on which much reliance can be placed ; their geographical range 
still remains an unsolved problem; one species has been mistaken for 
another, and this by ornithologists who are said to be of the first order. 
The Cygnus Bewickii of Great Britain has been given as a North Ame- 
rican Swan in place of Cygnus Americanus (well described by Dr 
Suarpuess of Philadelphia) in the Fauna Boreali-Americana; and 
the latter bird has been taken for the Whistling Swan, C. musicus of 
BecusTEIN, by the Prince of Musicnano, who says in his Synopsis, 
p- 379, No. 321, that it is “very numerous in winter in Chesapeake 
Bay.” It is possible that we may have more than two species of Swan 
within the limits of North America, but I am at present acquainted 
with only that which forms the subject of this article, and the Cygnus 
Americanus of SHARPLESS. 
In a note contained in the Journals of Lewis and Ciarx, written 
in the course of the expedition of these daring travellers across the 
Rocky Mountains, it is stated that “the Swans are of two kinds, the 
large and small. The large Swan is the same with the one common 
in the Atlantic States. The small differs from the large only in size 
and note; it is about one-fourth less, and its note is entirely different. 
These birds were first found below the great narrows of the Columbia, 
near the Chilluckittequaw nation. They are very abundant in this 
neighbourhood, and remained with the party all winter, and in number 
they exceed those of the larger species in the proportion of five to 
one.” These observations are partly correct and partly erroneous. 
In fact, the smaller species of the two, which is the C. Americanus of 
Suarp.ess, is the only one abundant in the middle districts of our 
Atlantic coast, while the larger Swan, the subject of this article, is 
rarely if ever seen to the eastward of the mouths of the Mississippi. 
A perfect specimen of the small Swan mentioned by Lewis and Crark 
ee ee a es 
