Part 34

This species is one of the most abundant of our Geese, and is found in enormous flocks round our coasts throughout the whole winter. It breeds along the west coast of Greenland and also on the islands and northern coasts of Russia and Siberia. It feeds chiefly by day, and is fond of wading about in mud-flats or in shallow water feeding on aquatic vegetation.

The whole plumage is chiefly black, except the tail coverts, which are white, and a white patch on each side of the neck. Length 22 in.; wing 13 in.

THE WHOOPER SWAN Cygnus musicus, Bechstein

Formerly breeding in small numbers in the Orkneys, this species now only visits us during the winter, its numbers depending largely on the severity of the climate in Northern Europe. It frequents bays, estuaries, and inland lakes, feeding on weeds and aquatic vegetation. The note is a loud "whoop, whoop, whoop," from which its trivial name has been derived, and is often uttered as they fly along the shore in a long straggling line. The sexes are alike in plumage, as are all palæarctic Swans, and this species may be distinguished by the colour of the bill, which is black at the tip and yellow at the base, the yellow extending forward beyond the openings of the black nostrils. The base of the bill is flat and quadrangular and not knobbed as in the Mute Swan. Length 60 in.; wing 25·5 in.

BEWICK'S SWAN Cygnus bewicki, Yarrell

This species, which is smaller than the Whooper, visits us regularly every winter, and is in some places the commoner of the wild Swans. In Scotland it is abundant in some seasons as it is also in Ireland, but on the coasts of England and Wales it is always rather scarce. It breeds in the Far North to the east of the White Sea.

It may be distinguished from the Whooper by its smaller size and the extent of the yellow on the beak, which does not quite reach the nostrils. Length about 46 in.; wing about 21 in.

THE MUTE SWAN Cygnus olor (J. F. Gmelin)

In this country the Mute Swan is only met with in a state of semi-domestication, having been introduced at some early period of history. It is now, however, widely distributed throughout our islands. Inhabiting lakes, rivers, and ornamental waters, it feeds on aquatic weeds and grain, and is extremely useful in preventing an undue growth of weeds in ornamental ponds and lakes. The nest is a huge structure of straw and rushes, built upon the edge of the water, or in the centre of a reed-bed. The eggs, which vary in number from five to nine or ten, are of a uniform pale green, and are hatched after some five weeks' incubation.

The young, which are covered at first with greyish down, are carefully tended by both parents, and when tired nestle on their parents' back. In olden times the right to keep Swans on the Thames was granted by the King to many of the City Companies, and in the autumn of each year (a custom which is still continued) the young Swans are caught up and marked on the bill with the private mark of the Company to whom they belong. This is known as "Swan upping." The male is known as the "Cob" and the female as the "Pen," and the rules and regulations clearly state how the brood shall be awarded in the event of the Cob and Pen belonging to different Companies, while the landowner on whose ground they nest also comes in for a share.

At the nest the male Swan is very savage, attacking any intruder with his bill and with savage beats of his powerful wings; his mate, however, is very quiet and will allow herself to be pushed off the nest with no stronger protestation than a subdued "hiss."

This Swan is not mute as its name implies, but has a loud trumpet-like note, to which, however, it seldom gives utterance.

In a purely wild state, this species may be found breeding in Denmark and the south of Sweden, and it is a common breeding species in South-eastern Europe. From its northern breeding haunts it migrates in winter, many probably coming over to our shores.

The plumage is pure white; the bill reddish orange with a black knob at its base. This knob is much larger than in the male. The young are greyish drab. The so-called "Polish Swan" is a variety of this species, in which the young are white. Length about 56 in.; wing 27 in.

THE COMMON SHELD-DUCK Tadorna cornata (S. G. Gmelin)

Although somewhat local in its breeding haunts, this species is fairly abundant round all our coasts in winter. It is a Sea-Duck, being seldom found far inland, and its food consists of small mollusca and marine insects, which it seeks on our flat estuaries and along the shore.

A rabbit-burrow in sand-dunes near the sea is chosen for a nesting-site, and lined with a little grass, to which is subsequently added an abundance of grey down from the body of the female. Occasionally it makes its own burrow, or other sites such as crevices between boulders or under furze bushes are selected. The eggs, generally ten in number, are creamy white. As soon as they are hatched the mother leads her brood to the shore, where they feed, making for the sea on the first sign of danger.

During the pairing season this bird is very noisy, the male uttering a short whistle, while both sexes run round each other with out-stretched neck, making a curious guttural chuckle.

In winter large flocks of these birds visit us from the Continent. These flocks may be seen resting out at sea by day and come in to feed on the soft ooze by night; they are of course more partial to flat and sandy parts of the coast, but may nevertheless often be found in small sandy bays on an otherwise rocky shore.

The head and neck are glossy bluish black; the scapulars and primaries black. There is a broad band of bright chestnut across the back and breast, and a black stripe along the centre of the under parts. Speculum green. The rest of the plumage is pure white. Legs flesh pink; bill crimson. The sexes are alike, but the female is smaller and duller. The male has a crimson knob at the base of his bill which swells up considerably during the breeding season.

The young bird lacks the chestnut band, the head and neck are dull brownish black, the scapulars greyish brown, and in its first autumn it assumes a plumage similar to the adult female, but duller. Length 25 in.; wing 13 in. Both sexes assume in July a much duller plumage, somewhat resembling that of the young in their first winter.

THE RUDDY SHELD-DUCK Tadorna casarca (Linnæus)

The Ruddy Sheld-Duck is a South-eastern European species, breeding on the shores of the Levant and throughout Northern Africa, but it is rare on the north shores of the Mediterranean west of the Adriatic. It has several times been noted as a straggler to England, and in 1892 many flocks appeared in different parts of the country.

The general colour is a deep orange brown, the head being rather lighter. The male has a narrow black collar during the nesting season. The female is much paler on the head, the forehead, lores, and a ring round the eye being nearly white. Length 25 in.; wing 14·5 in.

THE MALLARD OR WILD DUCK Anas boschas, Linnæus

This is at once our commonest and most beautiful Duck. Owing to drainage of fen-lands and higher cultivation it is, perhaps, not so abundant as formerly, yet there are few marshes or low-lying lands of any extent in our islands, which do not afford a home to a few pairs of this species.

It feeds chiefly by night on worms, aquatic insects, water weeds, and grain, and prefers ditches overgrown with weeds or shallow ponds to open stretches of deep water. Early in March it chooses a nesting site, usually on the ground and at no great distance from water, but exceptionally it has been known to nest in trees, faggots, stacks, and other elevated places. No nest is formed, but a cup-shaped hollow is scraped out, which is warmly lined with down after incubation commences. The eggs, usually ten to twelve in number, are pale greenish yellow, and are always carefully covered up by the Duck on leaving the nest. They hatch after twenty-seven days' incubation, and the young are then taken to the nearest water, on or near which they remain for about two months till they can fly. If, however, they are much disturbed they will be led away by their mother to a neighbouring piece of water, often at some considerable distance.

In a wild state the Mallard, as the male of this species is called, is strictly monogamous, and during the whole of incubation he will remain in the vicinity of the nest, warning his mate of the approach of danger, and accompanying her when she comes off to feed. Once the young are hatched he retires to some secluded and sheltered piece of water, where he assumes a dull plumage, somewhat resembling that of the female. During this period he becomes very skulking, rarely showing himself on the open water. When his dull or "eclipse" plumage has been assumed, he casts all his flight feathers at once, and for a short time becomes incapable of flight. These grow again in about a fortnight, and then in September he begins to assume his brilliant colours once more, and comes from his secluded retreat to join his comrades. In the winter they gather in large flocks, which resort to open sheets of water or the sea, flighting every evening to the marshes and shore to feed, and retiring again at daybreak to rest on the water.