The Whooper Swan — Cygnus Musicus, Bechstein
Formerly breeding in small numbers in the Orkneys, this species now only visits us during the winter, its numbers depending largely on the severity of the climate in Northern Europe. It frequents bays, estuaries, and inland lakes, feeding on weeds and aquatic vegetation. The note is a loud “whoop, whoop, whoop,” from which its trivial name has been derived, and is often uttered as they fly along the shore in a long straggling line. The sexes are alike in plumage, as are all palæarctic Swans, and this species may be distinguished by the colour of the bill, which is black at the tip and yellow at the base, the yellow extending forward beyond the openings of the black nostrils. The base of the bill is flat and quadrangular and not knobbed as in the Mute Swan. Length 60 in.; wing 25·5 in.