Greg and other tweets,
I have not been able to relocate the picture but I know it was in the
Seattle Times a week or more ago. Reasons of why I was guessing at
Whooper:
1. Elimination of Tundra swan, including Bewick's race, due to the
comparison of the Trumpeter standing right next to it. I agree strongly
with Greg on the ntion that Tundra are frequently misidentified as
Trumpeter. Only three ways I can clearly identify Tundra to me: voice,
good enough look to see bill shape, yellow in front of eye (if visible) or
if they are next to Trumpeter which then its easy to compare to Trumpeter.
Anyway back to the bird. The bird was equal height with the Trumpeter and
identical bill shape.
2. The yellowish color extended from the orbital area to the nostril area.
Because the area had well defined edges and was not splotchy it did not
look like it would have been a foreign substance.
So I believe the color on the bill was not foreign and the comparison to
Trumpeter eliminates Tundra (including Bewick's). As to whether the bird
was a wild bird or an escaped bird as was suggested by Martha Jordan it is
hard to say. The probabilty is that it would be a kept bird, and how would
one prove otherwise (and please don't anybody suggest a vote on tweeters
to confirm it :).
I will keep looking for the pic.
Thanks for all of the suggestions,

Scott Downes
sdownes at u.washington.edu
Seattle WA

"Birds don't read bird books. (That's why they are seen doing things they
are not supposed to do)." -Mary Wood


On Thu, 25 Feb 1999, Greg Toffic wrote:

> Hi Scott,
> Did you have any luck tracking down the newspaper photo of the possible whooper swan?. Was it in the Everett Herald? Maybe we can get a look at the original photograph. By the way, since I live on Seattle Hill, above the Snohomish Valley, I frequently travel along the Marsh Road and Lowell-Larimer Road and regularly see swans at a distance. These roads are narrow and well traveled so its hard to find a convenient place to park and scope, so I haven't made it a practice to confirm identity every time I pass by. Also swans are predictable further up the valley. One spot in particular is about 3/4 mile East of Snohomish on the old Sno-Mo Rd. I looked carefully at that flock earlier this week and while at first glance I thought I saw both trumpeters and tundras, closer inspection showed no trumpeters, just tundras. These two species are a lot more difficult to separate (for me, at least) than many people think. I truly believe that trumpeter reports are overestimated and tundras are often reported as trumpeters if the observer fails to see any yellow on the beak. As you well know, mud can hide the yellow quite completely. Some of the other features (facial feathering pattern, placement of eye, pink at the base of the mandible, crooked neck, etc.) are subtle or inconsistent. On the other hand I doubt that many trumpeters are erroneously reported as tundras. Anyway, there has been a pretty regular occurrence of swans in the valley and it warrants closer scrutiny of the flocks. Maybe the bird in the photo is a whooper, and if so, there's a good likelihood that its still around.
>
> Greg
>
> Greg Toffic
> Curator of Birds
> Woodland Park Zoo
> 5500 Phinney Avenue N.
> Seattle, WA 98103
> (206)684-4836 PH
> (206)233-7278 FAX
>
>
>