Whistling Swan and Snowy Owl in Texas
Whistling Swan and Snowy Owl in Texas.-The Whistling Swan (Cygnus columbianus) was a common winter visitant in Texas in the past century but we have found no records of its occurrence in the state in the past fifty years. Some recent events suggest that it may be reclaiming its old winter range. In late November, 1954, three Whistling Swans were shot by hunters near Lubbock, Texas. We are indebted to game warden Morris Stallcup, of Wichita Falls, for this information. On January 3, 1955, two hunters shot a Whistling Swan on a stock tank of the Taylor Ranch in Archer County, Texas, a few miles south of Wichita Falls. The confiscated bird was deposited in the collection of the Biology Department of Midwestern University, at Wichita Falls. Two weeks later, on January 12, one of us (Lewis) saw a swan in the shallows of the Canadian River north of Amarillo, Texas.
Although four of the five Whistling Swans known to have visited Texas in the past two years were killed, it is hoped that future migrants will be treated more kindly. All individuals killing swans have been arrested and newspapers in Lubbock, Amarillo and Wichita Falls have published the occurrences of the birds and emphasized the fact that they are protected by law.
The occurrence of the Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca) as far south as Texas is most unusual. Bent (U. S. Nat. Mus. Bull. 170, 1938:374) mentions only two: one in 1850 and the other in 1876. A recent record may therefore be worthy of note. On February 16, 1955, a biology student at Midwestern University informed us that a large, white owl had been seen that day on the shores of Lake Wichita, three miles south of Wichita Falls. The next day one of us (Dalquest) accompanied the student to the lake. The owl was found on a rocky, wave-swept beach, barren except for a few scrubby mesquite trees. It was observed at a distance of 50 feet and identified as a Snowy Owl. The following day the owl was found on a nearby point. Again it had picked a retreat. of barren, wave-swept, rocky beach, which must have most closely resembled its arctic home. It proved to be a male with small testes. Its plumage was in good condition except that the feathers of the tail, save for the outermost, were ercded away until little was left but the midribs. A heavy infestation of birdlice was noted. There was a small, scabby wound on the fleshy part of one wing and another, larger, infected sore on one fink. The wounds did not seem to affect the bird’s health; it was moderately fat.
The stomach of the owl was filled with the remains of a female Red-winged Blackbird Agelaius phoeniceus). Three regurgitated pellets, which were picked up earlier, contained bird remains only: one a meadowlark (Sturnella), one a large finch and a small finch; and the other a Robin (Turdus migratorius) .-WALTER W. DALQUEST and LEO D. LEWIS, Texas Game and Fish Commission, Wichita Falls, Texas, March 15, 19.55.
