256 GAME BIRDS OF CALIFORNIA 



Young birds are said to be decidedly palatable. Adults are also 

 reported to have made excellent food when they had "hung" the 

 proper length of time, this depending on the weather. The Indians in 

 the far north formerly used the eggs for food. 



As above indicated, definite instances of the occurrence of the 

 Trumpeter Swan in California are rare, although the concensus of 

 evidence indicates that it was a more or less common bird in the 50 's. 

 There is no record of the occurrence of this species within the state 

 during the past seventeen years. Hence we must point to it as one 

 which, like the Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse, has been obliterated 

 simultaneously with the settlement of the state by white men. 



Nor can we say that this species has simply been driven somewhere 

 else. Coale (1915, pp. 82-90) has summarized the records of occur- 

 rence of this swan down to date throughout its entire range. He 

 finds that "of the great multitudes of Trumpeter Swans which 

 traversed the central and western portion of North America sixty 

 years ago, there are [but] sixteen specimens preserved in museums 

 which have authentic data. These were collected between the years 

 1856 and 1909." It would appear that the species is now nearly if 

 not quite extinct. It is probable that destruction of the birds on their 

 breeding grounds had as much or more to do with their disappearance 

 as had the hunter in the winter home of the species. For, according 

 to MacFarlane (1905, p. 754), between 1853 and 1877, the Hudson's 

 Bay Company sold a total of 17,671 swan skins. The number sold 

 annually ranged from 1,312 in 1854 to 122 in 1877. The bulk of 

 these are believed to have been Trumpeter Swans. 



Here, then, is a species the disappearance of which must be 

 charged to commercialization. At any rate, the Trumpeter Swan is a 

 vanished member of our original endowment of game species, though 

 the circumstances indicate that citizens of California have not been 

 largely responsible. This irreparable loss should teach us to avoid 

 such a calamity with other game species in the future. Apparently 

 the loss of entire species is necessary to wake us up to our duty toward 

 the wild life, just as the lives of many people had to be sacrificed 

 before we could realize our duty with regard to the social order. 



Whistling Swan 



Olor columhianus (Ord) 



Other names — American Swan; Cygnus americanus. 



Description — Adults, both sexes : Entire plumage pure white often discolored 

 at tips of feathers with rusty; iris "brown" (Audubon, 1843, VT, p. 232); 

 bill black; an oblong spot of yellow or orange on each side of upper mandible 

 near base; legs and feet black. Males: Total length 51.00-53.40 inches (1,295- 



