THE TRUMPTER SWAN 207 



the specimen under the tape is a large one, it is the former 

 species; but if it is smaller than the average, it is booked as 

 the "Lesser." Obviously, the' wisest course is to discard both 

 adjectives of size, and recognize the Snow Goose only, be it 

 more or less. 



This easily recognized bird, like the majority of our other 

 wild geese and ducks, wanders over almost the whole of the 

 well-watered portion of North America down to Cuba and 

 Mexico; but where the guns of civilization are most numerous 

 it is now a rare and lonesome bird. To-day it is more abun- 

 dant — or, it were better to say, less scarce — in the Mississippi 

 Valley, Texas, and the Pacific states than elsewhere. Where 

 they were permitted to do so, these birds often assembled in 

 large flocks, and often made themselves conspicuous around 

 the prairie ponds of the Dakotas and Minnesota. When 

 you are travelling over the Northern Pacific Railway, or the 

 Great Northern, and see on the smooth prairie a flock of 

 rather large white birds, it is safe to declare that they are 

 Snow Geese. 



The Swans. — Last of the Order of Ducks, and farthest 

 from the type of the Order, are the Swans. Although two 

 species are recognized, the difference between them is not 

 always visible to the naked eye. 



The Trumpeter Swan^ is one of our largest birds, and 

 considering its great size it is strange that it has not been 

 exterminated ere this. Its existence speaks highly for its 

 wariness. Formerly specimens were purchasable at from $20 



' O'lor buc-cin-a'tor. Length, 4 feet 8 inches ; height, when standing erect, 3 

 feet 9 inches; expanse of wings, 7 feet 10 inches; weight, 22 pounds. 



