W H O O P E R .
CYGNUS MUSICUS.
L's has come under my observation; in smaller
g winter along many portions of the open coast-
, uu frequently bo seen early in (lie season, it is
north or east or iln; setting in of lVo-1 ami slumthe
saltwater lochs anil friths of the Northern
of the eastern counties, whence they are shortly
i the west of Perthshire 1 ascertained
for three s
ive years on some small lochs
folate glen, shut in by steep and rugged bills,
f any keepers or shepherds making their way
ide. In December 1805 I went up the glen
is,my first visit luid not the slightest
•Íes.our approach the pair were dressing
IT is useless to enumerate every locality in which this spi
or larger "herds"* these line birds have been met with dm
lino from Sutherland to Sussex. Though stragglers may 1
usually a few days in advance or heavy gales of wind from t
that Wild Swans put in an appearance in any numbers <
Highlands—arriving somewhat later on the broads and inor
driven to the estuaries and mud-Hats further south.
"Whoopcrs occasionally penetrate long distances inland; wl
that a pair of these birds tool; up their quarters during wink
near the head of Glenlyon. Their haunts in this wild and di
were seldom intruded on; and they took little or no notice
across country by an old bill-track that ran along the loehto
learn whether the birds were Whoopcrs or Bewick's Swans, and on
dilliculty in perceiving that they belonged to the former species. On
their feathers (one occasionally preening the neck of the other or bowing
on the shore of the loeli near the road. Xot needing specimens, I made no attempt to obtain a shot, though
both could doubtless have been procured with the greatest cose, the large slabs of rock and stone encumbering
its head with a low chattering note)
the track olFering every- chance fur a successful stalk. When at length aroused they merely paddled
off to the distance of eighty or one hundred yards, and, turning round, quietly regarded without the slightest
symptoms of alnrm the intruders on their domain. The assistance of the glasses was scarcely needed to
establish their identity: the birds, judging by their comparative sizes and actions, were evidently male and
female, the former weighing probably as much as four or five and twenty pounds, while the latter was
considerably lighter. In 18<>(i I did not remain sufficiently long in the north to inspect the Swans, who were
somewhat late in reaching the glen ; the following year the snow fell early, and the pair having been reported
at their accustomed quarters, the first opportunity was taken to again interview my old friends. On arriving in
sight of the loch a heavy snow-squall was passing over, and for a time the birds rcinaiuul undetected ; at la-t,
when the storm cleared oil', they came in view, swimming slowly out of a small creek in which they had evidentlysought
shelter from the cutting blasts, the first glimpse being sufficient to show that they corresponded in
every particular with the pair so closely examined on the former occasion. The wind now increasing rapidly
aud causing the snow to drift, rendered it necessary to boat a speedy retreat; so without delaying to make
• T.> Urn (a n iloi-LiofWilJf.nil in.l 1
Utile knob" of Teal
or bjthow
" Jopuing -
rfcctlj- intelii-ilile. Thr mciinii
Sheldrake* might prove ¡icrplcí