Date: Tue, 20 Feb 2001 04:15:02 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: Susan Hoffmann Subject: Re: Schoolhouse Pond Swan MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I saw the swan on Saturday. It came right up to us as we stood on the boardwalk (it was in the water). It still has a slight wash of gray on the head; not fully mature. It appeared to me to be the same size as a Tundra swan. I have never seen a Whooper swan but I have seen a Trumpeter (in Yellowstone) and it seemed smaller than the Trumpeter. It has the black stripe form of bill. The yellow on the bill did NOT extend below the level of the nostrils. In profile the bill was bumpy. I had my Sibley guide with me and the bird's bill looked almost exactly like the Bewick's picture in the guide. The front edge of the yellow was rounded and did not extend past the nostrils. It extended closer to the nostrils than in the picture, but not beyond them. I think it was a Bewick's, but it might have been a hybrid, as has also been suggested. S. Hoffmann ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================