whistling swan

American  

noun

1. the small North American subspecies, Cygnus columbianus columbianus, of the tundra swan.

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whistling swan British  

noun

1. a white North American swan, Cygnus columbianus, with a black bill and straight neck Compare mute swan

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Etymology

Origin of whistling swan

First recorded in 1775–85

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

whistling swan

John Haynes Williams’ whistling swan decoy went for more than $348,000, the most ever for such a decoy and the artist.

From Washington Times ● May 12, 2018

He picked up feathers of 40 species of wild birds, including the whistling swan, osprey. great blue heron.

From Time Magazine Archive

There were also large flocks of the whistling swan or hooper, one of the finest species of North America.

From The Fur Country Seventy Degrees North Latitude by N. D'Anvers

It so closely resembles the whistling swan that only an ornithologist can recognize the difference, a yellow spot on the side of the upper mandible, near its base.

From Our Vanishing Wild Life Its Extermination and Preservation by William Temple Hornaday

Hwipajusi, the father of the three girls, is a whistling swan; we find among the characters Gowila, a lizard, Malwila, meadow-lark, and Maibyu, wood dove.

From Creation Myths of Primitive America In relation to the Religious History and Mental Development of Mankind by Jeremiah Curtin

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