Trumpeter swan Edward Preble wrote of the decline in the hunt with the number sold annually dropping from 1,312 in 1854 to 122 in 1877. Sir John Richardson wrote in 1831 that the trumpeter "is the most common Swan in the interior of the fur-counties... It is to the trumpeter that the bulk of the Swan-skins imported by the Hudson's Bay Company belong." By the early twentieth century breeding trumpeter swans were nearly extirpated in the United States except for a remnant population of fewer than 70 wild trumpeters in remote hot springs in or near Yellowstone National Park. Surprising news came
Grey-winged trumpeter subspecies of the pale-winged trumpeter, actually is closer to the grey-winged trumpeter. The grey-winged trumpeter is a dumpy, guineafowl-like bird with a long neck and legs, and short yellow chicken-like bill. It is long and in weight. The soft plumage is mainly black, but the feathers of the inner wing are grey. These are gregarious forest birds which nest in hollow trees, laying 3-4 white eggs that are incubated by all members of a group of five or more birds. When not breeding, the flocks may number 50 or more. Their food is insects and fruit, picked off the ground.