Trumpeter Swan Legs

[Tim Avery <western dot tanager at gmail dot com>]

I keep hearing people talking about the leg colors, I will agree, the
legs of the Salem bird WERE BLACK, not gray-green or yellow. however,
I would also like to mention that I have seen pictures of birds online
that do have black legs:

http://bdi.org/Birdkey/Detail.cfm?ID=406&Area_Name=&DepthToSearch=1&Passed_Genus=Cygnus&Passed_Species=buccinator

Note the base of the legs on the first picture, a little black for
Trumpeter eh? Also, what about the bill????  Cliff mentioned that he
has seen Tundra Swan's with large flat-topped bills such as this one,
but I am yet to see a good example of one online to compare it with? 
And while on the topic of bills, how narrow the connection between the
bill and eye doesn't seem to be such a big deal on this bird.  In
juveniles that patch isn't fully developed and I can show examples
where some birds completely lack any connection to the eye, and others
have merely a sliver:

The bird on BDI again:

http://bdi.org/Birdkey/Detail.cfm?ID=406&Area_Name=&DepthToSearch=1&Passed_Genus=Cygnus&Passed_Species=buccinator

captive juvenile Trumpeter Swan:
http://www.eimagesite.net/s1/gst/run.cgi?action=imagen&prid=310

I also created an image with Bill Schmoker's birds and the one I
photographed in Salem:

http://www.timaverybirding.com/swans.jpg

Note the bill on the Salem bird, far right in comparison to the
juvenile Trumpeter in the middle.  The head shape however seems wrong
for both species, however, it tends to lean towards Trumpeter.  It
doesn't look rounded enough for Tundra,, not to mention an abrupt
point at the top, and the eye is set fairly high toward the crest of
the forehead.

Problem with the Salem bird, as with many hard to Identify birds, is
the the fact that it is a juvenile bird, and there just aren't many
resources to base a 100% certain I.D.  Now with that said, will
someone please find some head shot of Tundra Swan, with a bill like
the Salem bird?  Until I see a hammer-down bill on a Tundra (which I
am yet to see on film or in the wild),  I cannot without major
hesitation call this bird a Tundra Swan, and stand firm with my belief
that the bird is a Trumpeter Swan.

Good Birding, and Respectfully Engaging in the Argument

Tim Avery

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