THE WHOOPER SWAN. 227 



Genus CYGNUS Bechst. 



Cygnus Bechstein, Orn.Taschenb. Deutschl. n, p. 404 (1803 — Monotype : 

 C. olor). 



Remarkable for its white colour and long neck, which sur- 

 passes body in length or equals it. Tarsus rather short, reticulated. 

 Lores in adult bare. Nail not occupying entire tip of upper man- 

 dible. Tail short, rounded to almost cuneiform. Hind-toe not 

 lobed. Sexes alike, young brownish-grey or greyish-brown. 6 

 species of which 3 Palsearctic, 1 Neotropical, 2 Nearctic. 



Key to species of genus Cygnus. 



J Tail graduated, lateral feather more than 7 cm. 

 shorter than middle C. olor, p. 231 



Tail rounded, lateral feather less than 7 cm. 

 shorter than middle 2 



f Yellow on bill reaching to nostrils C. cygnus, p. 227 



2 ■< Yellow not approaching nostrils by at least 



[ 1 cm C. beicickii, p. 229 



ISr" Note. — The whole of the Descriptions and paragraphs on 

 Characters in all the Swans, Geese and Ducks are by Miss A. 0. 

 Jackson (now Mrs. R. Meinertzhagen).* 



CYGNUS CYGNUS 



285. Cygnus cygnus (L.)— THE WHOOPER SWAN. 



Anas Cygnus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat., ed. x, i, p. 122 (1758 — Europe. 



Restricted typical locality : Sweden). 



Cygnus musicus Bechstein, Yarrell, IV, p. 308 ; Saunders, p. 413. 



Description (Plate 5). — Adult male and female. Winter and 

 summer. — Entire plumage white ; in some feathers of head, neck 

 and under-parts mostly with rusty stain on edgings. No materia] 

 in moult examined. 



Nestling. — Down on head, neck and upper-parts pale greyish- 

 white, slightly darker on crown and nape ; under-parts white ; 

 loral down extending on to bill nearly reaching posterior end of 

 nostril. In three specimens examined loral extends further forward 

 than frontal down and that on intercrural space is produced to a 

 point. 



Juvenile. — Crown dark ash-brown, feathers narrowly tipped 

 whitish ; rest of head, neck and upper -parts (except lower scapulars, 



* I wish here to acknowledge my great indebtedness to Mr. E. Lehn 

 Schioler of Copenhagen for his kindness in having allowed me to examine at 

 will his magnificent series of Swans, Geese and Ducks and for the great assist- 

 ance he gave me. Although I had been given every facility to examine 

 the collections in the British Museum and Lord Rothschild's Museum at 

 Tring, for which I am most grateful, yet without Mr. Schioler's materia] 

 many descriptions would have been incomplete and some plumages un- 

 described. I am also very grateful to Dr. F. M. Chapman, Dr. J. Dwight and 

 the American Museum of Natural History for very kindly sending material 

 from America for my examination. — A.C.J. 



VOL. II. Q 2 



