WHISTLING SWAN {Olor columbianus) . 

 These great birds, measuring nearly 5 feet in 

 length, are still not uncommon in the inte- 

 rior and also occur in numbers on the South 

 Atlantic coast. They nest only in high lati- 

 tudes, chiefly on Arctic islands and the 

 mainland from northern Hudson Bay to 

 Alaska. This, the smallest of ouf two spe- 

 cies, can best be identified by the form of the 

 bill. The nostril is located about midway 

 between the eye and the extreme tip, while 

 that of the next species is nearer the eye 

 than it is to the tip of the bill. The present 

 species also has a small yellow spot between 

 the eye and nostril. 



During migration, swans fly at a great 

 elevation in a long V-shaped line with an 

 wise old gander at the apex. Their flight 

 is swift and very easy and graceful, as their 

 wings are of enormous size, easily capable of 

 carrying even such heavy bodies. From 

 time to time, the leader or some of the band 

 utter clear flageolet-like notes that reach the 

 ground like voices from the sky, as the swans 

 may be so high as to be almost invisible. 

 When within sight of their final stopping 

 places, they set their wings and gradually 

 float downward, circle around so as to come 

 up against the winds and then plump into 

 the water with great splashes. They are 

 most beautiful sights, either in flight or as 

 they sit lightly and gracefully on the water. They feed chiefly upon grasses 

 and roots that they pull up from the bottom, usually in water shallow enough 

 so that they do not have to "tip up." They seldom come to decoys, but are 

 shot by gunners in ambush between their feeding and resting places, or they 

 are taken by sailing down on them before the wind, the swans having to flap 

 vigorously against the wind before being able to leave the water. 



TRUMPETER SWAN (Olor buccinator). This species measures more 

 than s feet in length and differs otherwise as stated above. It is quite rare 

 now, but breeds west of Hudson Bay and winters in southwestern United 

 States and the lower Mississippi Valley. 



WHISTLING SWAN 

 TRUMPETER SWAN 



25 



