SWANS 



(180) Olor coliimbianus 



iOrd.) (Lat., a swan). 



WHISTLING SWAN. Bill and 

 feet black. Plumage i«ire white. 

 Nostril is nearer tip of bill than it is 

 the eye. A }'elIow spot on bill in 

 front of eye. L., SS-oo; Ex., about 

 seven feet; W., 22.00; T., 7.50; Tar., 

 4.25; B., 4.00. 



Range — Breeds on the Arctic 

 coast from Hudson Bay to Alaska. 

 Winters from ]\Id., Lake Erie and 

 B. C. south to the Gulf and Cal. 

 Rarely north on the Atlantic coast. 



(181) Olor buccinator 



(Rick.) (Lat., a trumpeter). 



TRUMPETER SWAN. No \-el- 

 low on bill. Nostril nearer eye than 

 it is the end of bill. Breeds west of 

 Hudson Ba)'. Winters from III. to 

 Texas and from B. C. southward. 



^i*-- 



from those of the Black-bdhed, and their range is the same 

 except that they casually stray to Louisiana. 



SWANS are the largest of all our water fowl, weighing 

 twenty or thirty pounds and with an expanse of six or seven 

 feet. Of our two species, the WhistUng, which is the most 

 abundant, breeds near the Arctic coast, west of Hudson Bay 

 to Alaska, while the Trumpeter nests east of Hudson Bay. 

 During migration the paths of the two species cross, for the 

 former is most abundant from the Mississippi Valley to 

 . the South Atlantic coast, while the latter is commonest on 

 the Pacific coast. They build enormous nests, measuring 

 perhaps five feet across by two feet high, on islands in 

 Arctic ponds and lakes. 



Their migrations are performed in long converging lines, 

 at high elevations and with but slight movement of the 

 enormous wings, although they progress at a rapid rate. 

 The Whistler has a high-pitched, flageolet-like note, while 

 that of the Truinpeter is loud, sonorous and horn-like. 



