COMMON WILD SWAN or WHOOPER. 



CYGNUS MUSICUS, Bechst. 



Cygnus musicus, Bechst. Gemeinn. Naturg. Vog. Deutschl. 



iii. p. 830 (1809); Macg. iv. p. 659; Yarr. ed. 4, iv. 



p. 308 ; Dresser, vi. p. 433. 

 Anas cygnus, Linn. S. N. i. p. 194. 

 Cygnus xanthorhinus, Naum. xi. p. 478. 

 Cygnus ferus, Hewitson, ii. p. 393. 



Cygne sauvage, French; Sing-Schivan, German; Cisne, 

 Spanish. 



This is one of the not uncommon British birds with 

 whom I can hardly claim a personal acquaintance in a 

 wild state, so that I am unable to add from that source 

 any details worthy of record to the mass of information 

 given by our standard authorities. We are assured that 

 towards the close of the last century a few pairs of 

 Whoopers bred in Orkney, and that some were to be 

 found there at all seasons. At present this species no 

 longer breeds in any part of the British Isles, but it is 

 a regular winter visitor to the coasts and islands of 

 Scotland, and by no means very rare as an accidental 

 migrant to the shores and estuaries of England. I refer 

 my readers not only to the classic records given by 



