WILD FOWL 
Formerly it used to nest in the Orkney Islands, on the islets in Loch 
Stenness in the Mainland. 
Nest and eggs . — ^The nest, a large structure of dead herbage, is generally 
placed on an island in a delta or lake, and concealed among the dense 
willow-scrub. The eggs, which vary in number from four to seven, are 
yellowish -white or creamy-buff, and measure about 4*4 by 2*8 inches. 
Incubation lasts from five to six weeks. 
In the adult the trachea is less lengthened than in Bewick’s swan, and 
the loop curving forwards enters a cavity in the keel of the sternum for a 
distance of about three or four inches only, never extending to the hinder 
part. The call is a loud, trumpet -like sound— whoop-whoop^ whoop 
— often uttered during flight. 
The food consists of roots and stems of aquatic plants and grass. The 
whooper is a very shy bird. Both on the water and on the wing its move- 
ments are very graceful and powerful, but on land it is somewhat 
awkward and ungainly. When swimming the neck is usually held erect, 
but when walking the head is lowered over the back. The weight of 
an adult male is about 22 lbs. 
BEWICK’S SWAN 
CYGNUS BEWICKI 
(Plate XXVll, Fig. 3) 
Cygnus bewicki, Gould, Birds Europe, v, pi. 356 (1837) ; Dresser, Birds Europe, vi, p. 441, 
pi. 419, fig. 3 (1880) ; Hume & Marshall, Game Birds Ind., iii, p. 51, pi. 6 (1880) ; Lilford, 
Col. Fig. Brit. Birds, part xxv, pi. (1893) ; Salvador!, Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., xxvii, p. 29 
(1895) ; Saunders, III. Man. Brit. Birds, p. 415 (1899). 
''M DULT male. — Similar to the male of C. cygnus, but consider- 
ably smaller. The bare lores and basal portion of the bill 
/ are bright orange -yellow to the nostrils, but the black 
/ ' terminal portion extends further up the ridge and on the 
g sides to the gape. Iris hazel; legs, toes and their mem- 
pL. branes dull black. Total length about 45 inches; bill 
3*8 inches; wing 21*0 inches; tail 6*6 inches; tarsus 4*1 inches. 
Adult female . — Similar to the male, but smaller. Total length about 
40 inches; bill 3*4 inches; wing 20*0 inches; tail 6*2 inches; tarsus 
4*0 inches. 
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