ANA TID^ — ANSERINE : GEESE. 



683 



to the hind edge of the nostril more than thence to the end of the biJl. Tail-feathers normally 

 20. Length imder 5 feet ; extent 6 or 7 feet ; wing under 2 feet ; tail 7 or 8 inches. Bill about 

 4.00 along (juluien ; 

 from eye to tip of hill un- 

 der 5.00; tarsus 4.00; 

 middle toe and claw 

 5.50. Young smaller; 

 plumage ashy - gray, 

 with reddish - brown 

 wash on head and upper 

 neek ; bill in part flesh - 

 colored, the lores plu- 

 mulose; feet yellomsh 

 flesh-color. N. Am. at 

 large, U. S. in winter 

 and during the migra- 

 tion ; the usual species 

 along the Atlantic coast, 

 and more numerous on 

 either coast than in in- 

 terior. U. S. ; rare or 

 casual, however, in T^g. 472. -Whistling Swan. (From Lewis.) 



New England and eastward. Breeds only in the high north. Eggs 2-5, from 4.00 X 2.25 

 to 4.50 X 2.50, with rough dull white shell, with more or less brownish discoloration. 



690. C. mu'sicus. (Gr. fiovaiKos, mousikos, Lat. musicus, musical.) Whooping Swan. Similar 

 to C. colwmbianus, and having the same shape of the bill, but instead of a small yellow spot 

 behind the nostrils there is a great yellow blotch, occupying one half or more of the bill and 

 extending beyond the nostrils. Only N. Am. as occurring in G-reenland: Keinh., Ibis, 1861, 

 p. 13 of the reprint; Freke, Zobl., v, 1881, p. 372. 



691. [C. be'wicki. (To Thos. Bewick.) Bewick's Swan. A European species, incorrectly 

 attributed to N- A. in the 3d ed. of the Check List, which see, p. 111. J 



66. Subfamily ANSERIN/E; Geese. 



Common (a) and Black (6) Brant. 



Lores completely feathered ; tarsi entirely 

 reticulate; hind toe simple. Neck in length 

 between that of swans and of ducks ; cervical 

 vertebras about 16 ; body elevated and not so 

 much flattened as in the ducks ; legs relatively 

 longer ; tarsus generally exceeding, or at least 

 not shorter than, the middle toe; bill generally 

 rather short, high and compressed at base, and 

 tapering to tip, which is less widened and flat- 

 tened than is usual among ducks and almost 

 wholly occupied by the broad nail. The 

 species as a rule are more terrestrial, and walk 

 better, than ducks ; they are generally herbiv- 



orous, although several maritime species (Philacte, and an allied South American group) are 

 animal-feed6rs, and their flesh is rank. Both sexes attend to the young. A notable trait, 

 shared by the swans, is their mode of resenting intrusion by hissing with outstretched neck. 



