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nor, as far as he could learn, in the village, except this. It was Bewick's Swan ; and we have 

 reason to believe, and none whatever to doubt, that it was the veritable bird caught upon the 

 nest which contained the two eggs which we had purchased from the other fisherman on the 

 29th June. We consider these eggs thoroughly satisfactory, and the chain of evidence in all 

 reason complete. 



" The egg of Cygnus bewicki is smaller than that of Cygnus musicus, the former measuring 

 3-95 inches in length, and the latter 4T to 4*6. We may also remark that our eggs of the 

 Wild Swan are cream-coloured and glossy, whilst those of Bewick's Swan are white and dull. 



" On the 26th July two of our boatmen, Little Feodor and Simeon, came to the wreck at 

 Dvoinik carrying a fine Bewick's Swan. They had had a long day and night upon the tundra, and 

 had covered a considerable extent of country. According to their account, extracted by much 

 cross-questioning, with and without Piottuch's assistance, they had been away towards the south- 

 west and had seen a great lake near the sources of the Eevka and Erisvanka rivers. They said 

 they had walked a distance of twenty-five to thirty versts — which, upon the North-Russian tundra, 

 is equivalent at least to as many miles on a Yorkshire moor. They had seen nine Swans, ' all of 

 the small kind,' at the edge of the big lake, and had succeeded in stalking up to within thirty 

 paces of them. On being slightly alarmed the Swans swam close up together and stretched up 

 their necks. Simeon and Feodor both aimed ; but Feodor's ' pooshka ' (literally cannon) refused 

 to go off. Feodor therefore was left disconsolate ; but Simeon succeeded in shooting one. 

 Afterwards we saw several Swans at Dvoinik, and the footprints of others on the damp sand or 

 mud. The measurements of these latter agreed with the specimen procured, the middle toe of 

 which is nearly one inch shorter than that of the larger species. We consider that Bewick's 

 Swan is not uncommon on the delta of the Petchora, but, from what we have seen, that its 

 distribution there does not extend so far up the river in the breeding-season as that of the 

 Whooper, but that both species pass Ust Zylma on migration, though of this last we cannot, of 

 course, speak positively." 



It occurs in Central Russia on passage. Mr. Sabanaeff is uncertain as to whether it breeds 

 in the Kaslinsky Ural ; but it is said to be tolerably numerous near the boundary of the Tobolsk 

 Government. Bewick's Swan is not uncommon in North Germany on passage and in winter, and 

 is said to have been met with most frequently on the Weser and Ems. Mr. Schalow, however, 

 states that it is only of rare occurrence in Mark Brandenburg. 



In Denmark, Mr. Collin remarks, it used formerly to be considered extremely rare, but 

 later investigation has shown this to be wrong. In March 1857 an old female was sent from 

 Ringkjbbing to the Copenhagen Museum ; and since then examples have been obtained at the 

 same place from time to time ; and it appears to occur there as regularly as the Whooper, appearing 

 rather later. It has also been met with in other parts of Denmark. 



This little Swan occurs on passage on the coasts of Holland. Messrs. Degland and Gerbe 

 say that it has on several occasions been killed in Belgium, on the Escaut and Meuse, near Liege. 

 About fifteen were brought to the Paris market in the winter of 1844-45 ; and it has been shot 

 near Montreuil-sur-Mer. Since then it has appeared with tolerable frequency on the coasts of the 

 Channel, as well as on those of the Gulf of Gascony. It is said to straggle in Southern France as 

 far down as the shores of the Mediterranean ; but it has not been obtained in Italy or on the 



