Bill et al.,

There is no doubt that the bird in question is a Whooper Swan. Having seen several Bewick's Swans and intergrades in Washington and California, they all appeared essentially identical to the Tundra Swans they were with in size and structure. The Whooper is substantially larger than a Tundra and nearly as large as the typical" Trumpters," seeming to me to be just a bit less heavy in the head and bill. The yellow on the bill is quite a bit more extensive than the most extreme Bewick's I've seen, or seen pictured, and the shape of the yellow on the bill is precisely what one would expect of a Whooper, as opposed to a Bewick's, according to the illustrations I've seen. It seemed to me that the way the bare skin of the bill narrowly joined the eye was quite different from the Trumpeter pattern of a broad connection, and thus somewhat more like the Tundras in that regard. However, that is simply an interesting fact about Whooper Swans (at least this one), no reason to doubt the id. I've not heard it call, nor has anyone to my knowledge commented on that, but would certainly be curious to hear it.

Gene Hunn
18476 47th Pl NE
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
enhunn323 at comcast.net


----- Original Message -----
From: WILLIAM R BOYINGTON
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Sent: Tuesday, January 09, 2007 9:00 PM
Subject: [Tweeters] RE: Whooper vs. Bewick's


Regarding the yellow-billed swan seen first south of Snohomish, and recently south of Conway, presumably the same bird, I would recommend a look at Keith Brady's pictures taken from Elliot Road, near Snohomish, on Dec. 26th. They are at:

http://www.pbase.com/slickslug/washington_rarities

Both pictures show the yellow consuming more than half of the (upper) bill, with a wedge shape appearing to extend under the nostril. This looks most evident in the second of the two pictures.

In the reference, Birds of Europe, a Princeton Field Guide, it states that distinguishing between whooper and Bewick's can be difficult, when observing single birds. "Safest separation by pattern of bill, Bewick's having slightly less yellow than black, the yellow generally a square or rounded patch (diagnostic)..." But then it goes on to say the yellow can be rarely wedge-shaped, but yellow not reaching in front of nostril. This guide considers Bewick's to be a subspecies of the tundra swan.

The illustrations in the Birds of Europe guide would incline me to put the bird in the Brady photos into the whooper category, notwithstanding a whooper's prior presence in this area as unknown or unrecorded. I must acknowledge that others more expert than I should weigh in, as I've certainly never seen either bird in the wild before. Of all the photos of a Bewick's that I saw on Google sites, none had a wedge-shaped yellow patch extending more than half way down the bill.

Bill Boyington
Shoreline, WA
wrboyington at msn.com


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