Natural History of Ireland. 4G3 



characters : — In the number of tail- feathers,, which in both birds 

 amounted to 20 ; * in the irides, those of both birds being blackish 

 instead of orange yellow. The feathers on the forehead and region 

 of the eyes were white, though the plumage of these parts was of 

 a rust colour when the birds were captured. The two preserved 

 specimens also have this rust colour about the head, but do not, like 

 the immature birds described by Mr Yarrell, exhibit the least ap- 

 pearance of it on " the under surface of the belly." This part of 

 the plumage being white, hence we may conclude, that the speci- 

 mens under consideration were older than those so described by that 

 gentleman, and that the head of the C. Betvickii retains the reddish 

 plumage for a longer period than the under parts. Mr Yarrell has 

 correctly remarked, that the plumage of the C. Beivic/cii is " ul- 

 timately pure white ;" but Sir Wm. Jardine and Mr Selby have as- 

 sumed that the ferruginous markings on the head are permanent, 

 as they are thus described in their specific characters of this swan, 

 " fronte genisque ferrugineo maculatis." In one of the living birds 

 there is not even, up to the present time, the slightest appearance 

 of a tubercle or knob at the base of the upper mandible. This swan 

 seems to be a female ; her neck, whether on land or water, is always 

 borne in such a manner as to appear much shorter than that of her 

 companion : the yellow of her bill also is of a pale lemon-colour, 

 whilst that of the other bird is orange : there are also such other 

 differences observable as serve to distinguish the sexes of swans and 

 geese in a living state. In conclusion, I shall only remark, that 

 these swans were similar in length and breadth, each being 3 feet 

 10 inches from the point of the beak to the extremity of the tail, 

 and 6 feet 4 inches across the wings : that the tubercle on the bill 

 of the assumed male has not during four years increased in size ; 

 and that this ridge of the upper mandible in the assumed female is 

 black from base to point, a small patch of pale-yellow, irregular 

 in outline, appearing on the sides only of that mandible, about 3 

 lines from the base ; the yellow colour is indeed differently disposed 

 on the bills of all the four specimens. 



Mr Sinclaire informs me, that every spring and autumn since he 

 has had these swans, they have regularly, about the months of 

 March and September, become very restless, and for the period of 

 at least three weeks, have wandered from the enclosure within which 

 they are contented to remain all the rest of the year. In disposi- 



* In the Fauna Bor. Amer. part 2, p. 465, a specimen killed at Iglvolik is 

 described as having 18 tail-feathers, and the irides of an orange colour. 



