COMMON WILD SWAN oe WHOOPEE.
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-Schwan, 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