Part 20

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The COOTS (Fulica) are distinguished from the above birds by the structure of their feet, the Water-hens having the toes bordered by simple folds of the integument, whilst in the Coots these membranous folds are scalloped, and more elaborately constructed. In conformity with such enlargement of their feet, which make excellent oars, the members of this group spend more of their time in water than on land. During the course of the day, however, they frequently come on shore in order to repose and preen their feathers. Upon level ground they run with considerable facility, and in their powers of diving might compete with many of the really web-footed birds. If alarmed, they at once plunge to a very considerable depth, and when under water, row themselves along by means of their feet and wings for a considerable distance before again rising to the surface. It is probable that during these immersions they obtain the greater part of the larvæ, worms, mollusca, and vegetable matter on which they principally subsist. Although the flight of the Coots is somewhat superior to that of the Common Gallinules, they but seldom take wing, and when about to do so are compelled to run before rising into the air, in order to obtain sufficient impetus. Should they endeavour to take flight from the water, they are obliged to flutter along for some distance, striking the surface with the soles of their feet, and splashing along in such a noisy manner that they may be heard at a considerable distance. No sooner have a pair of Coots selected a pond for their residence than they immediately set about the important work of building their nest. On large sheets of water, on which several couples may have taken up their abode, this business is by no means an easy task, as many battles must be fought before the question of appropriated territory is satisfactorily settled; indeed, in localities where many of these birds have congregated, their shrieking, splashing, and flying about seems interminable; no sooner does one pair encroach upon the domain of another, than the invaded male at once hastens to the combat, and furious encounters take place, until the enemy is fairly driven away. Sometimes these engagements afford a very interesting spectacle. The battle-field is generally some quiet creek, in which the birds swim around each other, using the arms with which Nature has provided them with all their might, hacking with their bills, striking with their wings, and kicking with their feet, until one or other is compelled to yield. These affairs settled, the labour of building is at once commenced. The nests are placed near the water, either amidst or upon aquatic plants that there abound; sometimes they are raised upon a bed of reeds or similar matter, or float upon the surface of the pool. The foundation of the nest is generally laid with dry reeds and stubble, while the upper part is formed of finer material and more carefully arranged, the interior is snugly lined with soft hay, rushes, and leaves. The eggs, from seven to fifteen in number, are smooth-shelled, but lustreless. The female does not begin to sit until the last egg is laid; the young make their appearance in about twenty-one days; when first hatched they are beautiful little creatures, clad in dark-coloured down, with flaming red heads. They at once betake themselves to the water, where they are carefully fed, tended, and valorously defended by both the parent birds. At first they seem to prefer to keep themselves hidden among the reeds, but at night they retire to the nest. As they get stronger they become more independent, and even before they are fully fledged are well able to provide for themselves. Although the flesh of the Coots is scarcely eatable, they are nevertheless frequently killed for the sake of the sport. In Italy great numbers are caught by means of nets, and they are commonly sold in the markets at a very low price.

THE COMMON COOT.

The COMMON COOT (Fulica atra) very closely resembles the Water-hens, except in the peculiar construction of its feet. Its body is powerfully framed and slightly compressed at the sides; the neck is of moderate length, and the head rather large; the beak is conical, compressed at the sides, and has its sharp cutting margins slightly denticulated. The callosity upon the forehead is large; the foot moderately high, strong, compressed at the sides, and furnished with long toes, each of which is fringed laterally with a broad expansion of the skin divided into lobes. The wings are of moderate length, with their second and third quills longer than the rest; the tail consists of fourteen or sixteen quills, and is very short, being almost entirely hidden by its covers. The plumage, which is of extraordinary thickness, is almost entirely of a uniform slaty-black; the head and neck, however, are darker, and the breast and belly lighter than the rest of the body. The eyes are light red, the beak and callosity on the brow pure white, and the feet lead-grey, merging towards the heel into a reddish green. In young birds the plumage on the under side of the body is light grey mixed with black, and the mantle tinged with an olive shade. This species is eighteen inches long, and thirty broad; the wing measures nine, and the tail three inches.

The Common Coot is a native of Europe, and is met with in all parts of that continent; it has also been seen during the winter in Central Asia, and the interior of Africa. In Germany it is found on every piece of water adapted for its residence, and is abundant in England on all fresh-water lakes. In the choice of a locality it seems to avoid streams and rivers, as also salt water, but readily takes up its abode near still deep water, the margins of which are fringed with sedges and tall reeds. For their winter quarters, these birds resort to the extensive marshes of Southern Europe, and to the northern and central parts of Africa, returning to their usual haunts as soon as the snow begins to melt, and there remaining till the autumn; unlike allied species, they assemble in large flocks previous to commencing their migrations. The food of the Common Coot consists of shelled molluscs, worms, larvæ, and a variety of vegetable substances; in southern climates we are told they sometimes visit the corn-fields in order to devour the grain. We are not inclined to question this statement, as we have not only seen them eat corn with avidity when in a state of captivity, but appear to prefer that diet even when fishes were offered them. The nests of this species are large, and, though clumsily formed, are strong and compact. So remarkable, indeed, is the strength of these apparently careless structures, that Mr. Hewitson tells us, upon one occasion when standing up to his knees in water, a nest made of flags and broken reeds afforded him a firm seat. The eggs are of a pale yellowish brown, delicately spotted with dark ashy green, and marked with brown. The Coot when properly prepared before roasting is tolerable eating, otherwise, it becomes imbued with a fishy flavour owing to an oil which exudes from the skin when cooking. During the winter great numbers are killed upon the coast while roosting on the sandbanks.

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The FINFOOTS (Podoæ), a group of birds inhabiting South America and Senegal, present many difficulties in their classification, although, judging from their structure generally, and more especially from the formation of their skeleton, they show the closest relationship with the Coots. Their toes are not exactly webbed, but furnished with broad lateral membranes admirably adapted for swimming; their bodies are small and slender, but strongly built; their long neck curves gracefully; their wings are weak and their tail strong and broad. The beak, which is about the same length as the head, is thin and feeble, slightly arched along the line of the culmen, but without any callous prolongation on the brow. The legs are very stout and feathered to the tarsus; the front toes exceed the tarsus in length, and are furnished, as we have said, with lateral folds which perform the office of a web; the hind toe is small and without any appendage; in the wing the second and third quills are longer than the rest; the tail is composed of eighteen feathers, which are slightly rounded at their extremities.

THE SURINAM FINFOOT, OR PICAPARE.

The SURINAM FINFOOT, or PICAPARE (Heliornis Surinamensis), has the head and upper neck black; the back, wings, and tail are brown; a stripe over the eye, the throat and front of neck are white; the breast and belly yellowish white. The eye is brown, beak pale greyish yellow with brown base and black point; in old birds the bill has a red shade. The feet are yellowish red, the inner and hinder parts of the tarsus black, and the toes marked with a black band over every joint. The length of this bird is twelve inches, breadth sixteen inches, length of wing five and a half inches, and tail three and one-sixth inches. According to observations made by the Prince von Wied, the Picapare is to be met with in Brazil and Paraguay, its habitat extending to 25° south latitude, so that it may be said to occur throughout a considerable part of South America. It is by no means scarce upon the rivers of East Brazil, but is often overlooked, as it hides itself amongst the luxuriant vegetation that covers the shore; wherever darkness and silence favour its presence, it is always to be found. Very frequently it may be seen sitting on a thin branch, partially immersed in the water, and occupied in bowing its head in a most peculiar manner. Its food consists of aquatic insects and seeds, in search of which it occasionally plunges its head under water. Its voice, which is emitted from the throat, somewhat resembles the barking of a little dog. We learn from the same authority that the young of these birds are only two in number, and are reared during the hot season. At first they are nearly naked, and hide themselves under the wings of their parents, holding themselves on by means of their beaks; when they have grown a little stronger, they may be seen sitting upon their mother's back, and even accompanying her in her dives under water. If alarmed when with its young, the Picapare at once takes wing, and betakes itself to the shelter of the thick bushes that cover the shore; if still further pressed it hides among rushes and reeds until the danger is passed. It seems only to dive when seriously alarmed, as for example, when shot at; on such occasions it will remain under water for a considerable space of time; its powers of diving, however, are far inferior to those of many water birds.

THE SWIMMERS (Natatores).

BUT little difference of opinion exists among naturalists as to the limits of our last order; indeed, a swimming bird is at once recognisable by characters so sharply defined that there is scarcely room for doubt or hesitation. The grand character whereby they are all distinguishable is to be found in the structure of their feet, the toes of which are more or less completely united to each other by a broad web by which they are converted into paddles, admirably adapted to propel them through their appropriate element. Hence they swim with facility, and frequent rivers, lakes, and seas. Generally speaking, the Natatores move awkwardly on land, as, in order to render the strokes of their paddle-like feet more effective, their legs are placed more or less behind the centre of gravity, so that when on the ground they have, in a great measure, to retain their balance by muscular exertion, as may be seen in the Goose or Swan as they waddle clumsily over the grass. In some cases these birds are compelled to assume an upright attitude, as do the Auks and Penguins. In the structure of the feet important differences are observable, generally only the three front toes are connected together by the web, but occasionally the hind toe is likewise included in the expansion of the skin, or is provided with lateral appendages that materially enlarge its surface. The form of the body in the swimming birds is boat-like; in those that dive, the ribs are strong and carried back, so as to almost entirely surround the enclosed viscera, and thus defend them from undue pressure. Their plumage is dense, close, and waterproof, consisting of a thick under garment of down overlaid with broad flat feathers, which throw off the water as if their surface were oiled. In many groups the neck is very long and the tail very short, while in others the tail composed of rigid quills is employed as a rudder when the birds are diving. Some are utterly incapable of flight, and use their wings in the water as though they were fins. The members of this order live almost exclusively upon animal food, only a few preferring a vegetable diet. All, without exception, are sociable in their habits; most of them exceedingly prolific, some species, however, lay but one egg. Frequently they crowd their favourite breeding-places in great numbers, and are devotedly attached to their offspring; some will even incubate eggs, and rear young that are not their own.

THE SIEVE BEAKS.

The SIEVE BEAKS (Lamellirostres), according to our usual plan, are placed at the head of the Natatorial order, as in these TOOTH-BILLED and SOFT-BILLED SWIMMERS, as they have been called by various writers, the peculiar attributes of Swimming Birds are most equally developed, and their locomotive capabilities most varied. Whoever examines a Duck with attention, will appreciate the leading features whereby the Lamellirostres are distinguished. Their bill is generally depressed, broad, and always laminated at the sides; the lamination being more prominent in some species than in others, but always so arranged as to form a sieve-like apparatus, by means of which these birds obtain their food, in a manner peculiar to themselves. This remarkably constructed beak, which is seldom longer than the head, is usually straight, broad, and flatly arched above, terminating in front in a broad nail-like appendage, while at the sides it presents a series of horny laminæ, which interlock with similar developments from the under jaw. With the exception of the margins, which are tolerably hard, the entire beak is covered with a soft skin, and is largely supplied with branches of the fifth pair of nerves, so as evidently to be endowed with great sensibility, as is likewise the tongue, which is large and fleshy except at its sides, which are fringed and toothed with horny ridges. When we observe the use that the Duck makes of this organ, we perceive that, unlike other birds, it discriminates its food, not by sight or smell, but by the sense of touch resident in its tongue. It plunges its beak into the mud, and brings up whatever it may happen to meet with, and from this mouthful of stuff it selects, by the aid of that member alone, whatever is good for food; while what is useless escapes through the straining apparatus at the sides of the bill. In comparison with this remarkable structure of the beak, the other characters whereby these birds are distinguishable become of secondary importance, nevertheless they also are somewhat striking. The slightly elongated body is strongly built, the neck either of moderate length, or very long and slender, the high and narrow head of medium size. The tarsus is small or moderate (or, exceptionally, very high), four-toed, and webbed in front. The moderate-sized wings are somewhat pointed; they consist occasionally of but twelve feathers, and are either truncate or rounded, sometimes wedge-shaped or pointed at the extremity. The plumage is always close, smooth, and well packed with down. The distribution of the various races of these birds is more limited than that of many Natatorial families, and some of them at certain seasons migrate regularly from colder to warmer climates, and vice versâ.

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The FLAMINGOES (Phœnicopteri), notwithstanding their extraordinary length of leg and neck, which have induced some authors to class them with the Wading Birds, are, both in their general structure and mode of life, most undoubtedly to be regarded as members of the present order, and are, as their internal anatomy teaches, very nearly related to the Swans. Their body is slenderly built, neck very long, head large, and the wings, in which the second quill is the longest, of moderate length; the tail, which consists of twelve feathers, is remarkably short. The peculiarly constructed beak is somewhat longer than the head, higher than broad, but thick and bent down towards the middle, at an obtuse angle. The upper mandible, which is much smaller and feebler than the lower, is remarkably flat; both mandibles are provided at their circumference with the lamellated sieve-like structure characteristic of the Lamellirostres. The whole apparatus very much resembles a box, of which the lower jaw forms the body, while the upper mandible constitutes the lid. This extraordinary bill is covered with soft skin, but is hard at its apex, and towards its base presents a soft cere. The legs, which are most disproportionately long and slender, are denuded of feathers for a considerable distance above the heel; the three front toes are of moderate length, and connected by a broad, slightly-excavated web. The hind toe, which is considerably elevated, is short and feeble. The thick, compact, soft plumage is beautifully coloured, and is exactly comparable to that of other Swimming Birds. The internal structure of the Flamingo has been carefully studied by Wagner, and found to correspond in every particular with that of the Ducks (Anatidæ). Naturalists are at present acquainted with about half a dozen species belonging to this group, and although the history of some of them is far from complete, enough is known to induce us to believe that in their mode of life they differ in no respect from the species with which we are best acquainted. These remarkable birds are widely distributed over the warmer portions of the globe, and are met with principally in Asia, Africa, and South Europe. According to the accounts of both ancient and modern writers, they make their appearance every year in great numbers in the vicinity of the lakes of Sardinia and Sicily, as also in Albufera de Valencia, and other parts of Spain. Along the coasts of Egypt, Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, and Morocco, they are abundant, as also in Smyrna, and near the banks of the Volga, but are very rarely met with in Greece. Occasionally a few stragglers have been seen as far north as the banks of the Rhine; generally speaking, however, the south coast of Europe must be regarded as their northern limit, and North Africa and Central Asia as their usual habitat. Those species that inhabit the Western Hemisphere are likewise confined within corresponding limits. Lakes of salt or brackish water in the vicinity of sea-coasts are the favourite resorts of the Flamingoes. To lakes of fresh water they are only casual visitants, and never resort to them for any length of time. On the other hand, they are always very abundant on the sea-coast, more especially where the shores are flat and swampy. All are birds of passage, and the migrations of some occur with such regularity that the period of their return may be predicted with tolerable accuracy. According to Cetti, Flamingoes appear in Sardinia about the middle of August, and depart thence in March or the beginning of April. In South Italy they are stationary, remaining in the same locality all the year round. Only those who have had the good fortune to see these birds assembled in flocks, consisting of many thousands, can form an adequate idea of the beauty of their appearance. "Looking from Cagliari to the sea," says Cetti, "it seemed to be banked in with a wall of red bricks, or to be covered with countless numbers of roses. On nearer approach these proved to be Flamingoes ranged in regular ranks. Aurora herself was never adorned with more roseate tints than the wings of these birds, they seemed literally to glow with pink and carmine. The name of the Flamingo, both in Greek and Latin, was derived from the magnificent hues of their glorious wings, and the French in the epithet flammant only repeat the same idea. The first impression produced by such a spectacle is not easily to be forgotten; the birds stood in ranks, not merely of thousands, but literally of hundreds of thousands, ranged in interminable array. As the sunlight played upon the dazzling white and glowing red, the effect was indescribable; at length, taking alarm at something, the whole body of them rose into the air, displaying their wings to still greater advantage, as they formed themselves into an immense wedge-shaped phalanx, and winged their way far up into the blue sky." When standing quietly upon the shore, the appearance of these birds very much resembles that of an army drawn up in order of battle; the Cingalese call them "English soldier birds," the South Americans simply "soldiers," and indeed not without cause, for, as Humboldt informs us, the inhabitants of Angostura, soon after the establishment of that colony, were one day thrown into a state of great alarm by the sudden appearance of what they took to be a numerous army, and it was only when the supposed enemy took flight to the shores of the Orinoco, that they discovered their mistake. A solitary Flamingo is very rarely seen, never perhaps before the commencement of the pairing season, and even then it must be some young bird that has strayed by accident from its fellows. Usually they keep together in flocks, and carefully avoid any locality where danger might be apprehended. Open waters are usually selected as their fishing-place, and should a boat approach they at once take flight whilst it is still far off, so that it is by no means easy to observe their proceedings, except with the aid of a telescope. In general they may be seen with their legs immersed in the water, or more rarely on the dry shore or on sandbanks with their necks curved in a very peculiar manner (see page 116) in front of the breast, the head being laid as it were upon the back, or buried beneath the shoulder-feathers of the wing; generally the whole weight of the body is supported by one leg, the other being held obliquely backwards or drawn up close to the body; in this strange position the Flamingo sleeps. The manner in which these birds obtain their food is equally remarkable. Like all other sieve-beaked birds, the materials upon which they subsist are procured by raking in the mud. The Flamingo when in search of food, wades into the water to a convenient depth, and then bends down its long neck until its head is upon the same level as its feet; it then plunges its beak, with the upper mandible downwards, into the mud. In this position the bird rakes about at the bottom of the water, moving backwards and forwards with short steps, and opening and shutting its bill whilst its tongue is busily at work. In this manner, by the delicate sense of touch resident in that member, the Flamingo examines the contents of its mouth, retaining what is useful as food, and straining out through the sieve-like apparatus the mud or non-nutritive materials with which it is accompanied. Meanwhile, by the movements of its webbed feet, it is continually stirring up the bottom, and thus putting in motion all the little aquatic animals of which it is in search. The gait of the Flamingo very much resembles that of the Long-legged Waders, but is not exactly similar, although the difference is not easily described. Its steps are longer, more regular, and more vacillating, as might be expected from the extraordinary length of its legs, but at the same time its movements are easy, and differ widely from the accounts given of them by some writers, who tell us that when walking it is compelled to help itself along by its beak. Its beak, however, is occasionally employed to assist it in its movements, as for example, when having bent its legs under its body it lies down upon the ground to rest, and is suddenly obliged to rise from this position, the bill is employed to assist in getting up, but this once accomplished it runs away with tolerable speed in the manner above described. When taking flight from the sea or lake in which it has been feeding, it not unfrequently goes to a considerable distance, half running and half flying over the surface of the water, much after the manner of a Duck or Water-hen. In deep water it also swims apparently without the slightest effort, and although its progress may be somewhat slower than that of the Short-legged Swimmers, it is evidently more enduring. Its flight, when once it has raised itself out of the water in the manner above described, is light and tolerably rapid, the quick strokes of its wings producing a noise not unlike that which accompanies the flight of Ducks and Wild Geese, indeed, the sound made by the rising of a whole flock has been compared to distant thunder. When fairly on the wing a flying Flamingo could not be mistaken for any other bird, even by the most unpractised novice. Unlike the generality of long-necked birds, it stretches not only its long legs, but its neck straight out, thus presenting an appearance of extraordinary length and slenderness; so that, with its narrow wings exactly in the centre, it assumes pretty much the shape of a cross. When flying together in considerable numbers, the flock, as we have already said, arrange themselves in regular phalanx, either in one long line, or in a wedge-shape like that of the letter V. When descending from a great height, their flight assumes a spiral direction, but just before alighting they sweep forward for a little distance over the water until they find a suitable spot whereon to settle. The loud harsh voice of these birds somewhat resembles that of a Goose. The food of the Flamingo consists principally of water-snails, worms, crustaceans and small fishes, but it by no means despises vegetable substances, and in a state of captivity will eat boiled rice, corn, or soaked bread. Our information concerning the breeding of these birds is not very satisfactory. Labat many years ago gave a very strange description of their mode of incubation, which was subsequently contradicted by Dampier; and later writers have contented themselves with copying these accounts without ascertaining their accuracy. Dampier informs us that "the Flamingoes build their nests where plenty of dirt is procurable. This dirt they rake together by means of their feet, so as to form a hillock, which stands like a little island, a foot and a half above the water, each hillock being of a conical shape, and having a depression at the top, on which the nest is placed." Labat states that the hillocks are solid, as high as the surface of the water, but that above this point they are hollowed like a basin, and that when the birds lay or incubate their eggs, they place themselves upright, not upon the hillock, but close to it, with their feet upon the ground, in such a manner, that leaning against the hillock they cover the nest with their tail. Naumann in the strongest terms refuses to believe either of the above accounts, and from our own observations on the living birds we ourselves quite acquiesce in the doubts he expresses. It is true we have never seen a Flamingo actually engaged in incubating; but at Mensala, in Egypt, where we obtained a full-grown egg from the oviduct of a dead female, we procured the following information concerning the mode of incubation. The Flamingo makes her nest in shallow places in the water, or, as the Arabs assert, upon flat insular spots, overgrown with low vegetation. In the first case the nest is a conical heap of mud scraped together by the feet of the bird, and raised so high that its top is a foot and a half above the water. In the second case it consists of a mere hollow trough, scooped out in the soil and lined with sedge, rushes, grass, and similar materials. The number of eggs laid is generally two, occasionally three. Their shape is elongated, and their shell smooth and of chalky whiteness. The bird when brooding most undoubtedly sits upon her eggs in the usual manner, bending her legs beneath her, and lying flat upon the nest. The duration of incubation is stated to be from thirty to thirty-two days. The young when hatched immediately betake themselves to the water, and swim from the day of their birth. They soon learn to run, but are not capable of flight till a lapse of several weeks. The chase after Flamingoes requires considerable caution. In the daytime they are so timid that it is almost impossible to get within gunshot of one of their numerous assemblages, seeing that while feeding they invariably station some of the older members of the flock to warn them of the approach of danger. The Arabs informed us, however, that they may be procured in considerable numbers by a very simple contrivance. The plan adopted in Egypt is to suspend ordinary fishing-nets between two boats, and in this manner to sail directly towards the sleeping-place of the birds; thus suddenly awakened, the Flamingoes fly against the nets, in which they are easily captured, and in this manner fifty or sixty are sometimes taken at once. The fishermen on the Lake of Mensala adopt a still stranger plan: after having, by carefully watching a flock, discovered where the sentinels are placed (the latter always remain bolt upright, whilst the rest of the flock sleep with their heads under their wings), a naked fisherman, having his head covered with a bundle of grass or reeds, swims or creeps towards the unsuspecting birds, and suddenly seizing the sentry, plunges his head under water, and breaks his neck before an alarm can be given. The sleepers then become easy victims. This latter account we should certainly not have credited without corroborative evidence. In North Egypt, however, dozens of these beautiful birds may be seen exposed for sale in the markets, where they are eagerly bought for the table; their flesh is excellent, and quite devoid of the oily flavour which we fully expected would have rendered it unpalatable.

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The SWANS (Cygni), from their proud looks and majestic demeanour, must ever hold a conspicuous position in the order to which they belong. Their imposing size and elegant appearance at once rivet attention, and closer examination shows that amongst Lamellirostral birds they form a sharply-defined group, easily distinguishable from the Ducks and the Geese, with which they have been sometimes associated. Their body is elongated, their neck very long, and their head moderate. Their beak is straight, of equal breadth throughout, rounded in front, and at its base naked and protuberant. The upper mandible is flatly vaulted above, and terminates anteriorly in a roundish nail. The length of the beak is pretty nearly the same as that of the head; the legs are short, and placed very far back; the middle toe is longer than the tarsus, and the hinder toe, which is small and feeble, is so much elevated that in walking it does not reach the ground; while the web connecting the three front toes is remarkably broad and complete. In the construction of the wing, the relative proportions between the bony framework and the quills is deserving of notice, the former being very long, the latter somewhat short, while the primary quills, of which the second is the longest, are scarcely longer than the secondaries and the tertiaries. The tail consists of eighteen or twenty graduated feathers. On the under surface the plumage is thick and fur-like; on the upper side, on the contrary, the feathers are broad; but everywhere, both above and below, the body is richly covered with down.

With the exception of the equatorial regions of our globe, Swans are to be met with in every climate, but they principally abound in temperate and cold latitudes. In Asia and Europe three species are met with, which occasionally extend their winter visits as far as North Africa. Two of these species are likewise met with in America, together with several others that are peculiar to that continent; while at least one other very conspicuous species is an inhabitant of Australia. The extent over which these several kinds are spread is very considerable, and their migrations extend over a great distance. All the species are migratory, but by no means all the individuals belonging to each, seeing that there are many of them whose residence is within the limits of the temperate zone, that remain all the year round in the same locality, or at all events, content themselves with wandering to some place not very far remote from their usual residence.

The following interesting account of the migrations of these birds is given by Franklin: "About the first of September the Swans leave the Polar Sea, and resort to the lakes and rivers in and about the latitude of Hudson's Bay; there they remain till October, preparing for their departure for the winter, when they collect in flocks of from twenty to thirty, and seizing a favourable opportunity, with the wind not opposed to the direction of their flight, they mount high in the air, form a prolonged wedge, and with loud screams depart for more genial climes. While making either their semi-annual transmigration, or on shorter expeditions, an occasional scream, equal to, 'How do you all come on behind?' issues from the leader, which is always replied to by some posterior Swan with an 'All's well!' vociferation. When the leader of the party becomes fatigued with his extra duty of cutting the air, he falls into the rear, and his neighbour takes his place. When mounted, as they sometimes are, several thousand feet above the earth, with their delicate outline scarcely perceptible against the clear blue of heaven, this harsh sound, softened and modulated by distance, and issuing from the immense void above, assumes a supernatural kind of tone."

The permanent habitat of the Swans is always upon large lakes of fresh water, or in marshy situations where fresh water is abundant. During their migrations, however, they take up a temporary residence on water of any kind. Their nests are generally placed on rivers or fresh-water lakes, but probably this is only on account of the shallowness of such situations, as after the breeding season some betake themselves to the sea, or wherever food is most abundantly procurable. The Swans are only active in the day, and even their migrations are never carried on by night. In their locomotive capabilities they surpass most other Swimming Birds. Their domain is the water, and it is only unwillingly that they ever venture on dry land; nor do they readily take wing, unless compelled to do so by unavoidable necessity. The very backward position of their legs renders walking on land difficult, so that when on dry ground their gait is heavy and vacillating. Their flight apparently requires considerable effort, more especially when they attempt to rise from the surface of the water; when, however, they have gained a certain altitude, it is extremely rapid. It would appear almost impossible for these birds to rise from the ground, and they never venture to alight on dry land. When beginning their flight from the water, they always stretch out their necks horizontally to their full length, striking the surface with their wings, and splashing with their broad-soled feet; and thus, half flying and half walking, they proceed for a distance of from forty to eighty feet, before they can acquire impetus to enable them to mount into the air. When, however, this is once accomplished, their movements are perfectly easy and free. When alighting from their flight they glide obliquely downwards to the water, and when they have nearly reached it, spread out their webbed feet to stay their headlong career, and moderate the shock of their descent. As relates to their vocal powers, different species of Swans vary considerably; some appear to be mute, but generally speaking their cry may be said to have somewhat the sound of a trumpet, and much resembles the voice of the Cranes. Some commonly, however, only utter a loud hissing or a low muttering noise; in other species, on the contrary, the voice is loud and powerful, and somewhat varied, so that when heard from a distance its effect is by no means disagreeable. The cry of the male is always louder and of a deeper tone than that of the female. The young "pipe," like young Geese. The manners of Swans are gentle, and rather shy, nevertheless they exhibit a certain degree of vanity and consciousness of power, often manifested in their domineering behaviour towards other Water-fowl. Only those of the same species associate in large numbers, and they seem particularly jealous of intruders. The matrimonial engagements of these birds are kept with exemplary fidelity, and last throughout their lives. No sooner have they paired, than the happy couple begin to show the tenderest affection towards each other, manifested by innumerable graceful caresses; they swim together with indefatigable constancy, and should danger approach defend each other with the utmost courage and self-devotion. Their care for their young progeny is equally remarkable. Although the male does not himself actually take a share in the duties of incubation, all his energies seem to be devoted to the protection of his mate during her patient retirement, and he may at such times always be seen, either swimming proudly and defiantly around her, or reposing in the immediate vicinity of the nest, as though to cheer her confinement by his presence. Although the labour of nidification seems to devolve principally upon the female, she is eagerly assisted by her mate, whose employment seems chiefly to be the procuration of materials, which he supplies abundantly, dragging them with his beak, sometimes from a considerable distance, or pushing them before him in heaps towards the selected locality. The nest, when completed, is a very large but inartistically constructed pile, composed of all sorts of water plants, confusedly heaped together, but surmounted with a finer covering of sedge grass and other softer materials. The place chosen for the situation of the nest is generally some small island, and its size such that it would float even with the weight of its occupants upon it. In this capacious cradle the female Swan lays from six to eight thick-shelled eggs, of a dirty white, or dirty pale green colour, from which, after the lapse of five or six weeks, the young brood make their escape. When first hatched the Cygnets are pretty little creatures, warmly clad in a thick covering of down; after having remained in the nest for a day or so, they venture out and trust themselves upon the water. Sometimes the mother carries them upon her back, sometimes takes them beneath the shelter of her wings, and always watches over them with the greatest tenderness and anxiety, until they are able to take care of themselves. No sooner, however, are they completely fledged, than they finally separate themselves from their parents, never to see them again; for should they next year make their appearance in the same locality, they would at once be driven away, and treated as any other intruders. The food of the Swans is very diversified, consisting of such vegetables of various kinds as grow in ponds and marshes, roots, leaves, and seeds, beetles and their larvæ, worms, snails, tadpoles, and fishes; anything, in short, that affords nourishment. They are not so strictly vegetable feeders as the Geese, neither are they so carnivorous as the Ducks, but in this respect they seem to occupy a middle position between the two. Their food is principally obtained at the bottom of the pond, which, owing to the length of their necks, they are able to reach, even in water of considerable depth; and here they gather aquatic plants, or, straining the mud through their sieve-like jaws, extract such nutriment as it affords.

As the Wild Swans, owing to their great size and strength, are well able to defend themselves against ordinary assailants, they have few enemies to fear, with the exception of the larger Eagles and of the arch-destroyer, man himself, who wages constant war against them, partly on account of their flesh, which affords excellent food, and partly for their feathers and down, the latter of which in particular is extremely valuable. The chase after these birds, however, requires considerable skill and perseverance, owing to their extreme watchfulness and the rapidity of their flight. In the north they are generally pursued in a boat whilst they are swimming in the water; the sportsman taking advantage of a high wind, and then steering with all sail directly towards them, in this manner he is sometimes able to approach them so closely as to get them within range of his gun, more especially as they always prefer to fly right against the wind. In Algeria, as Buvry informs us, they are taken in the same manner as the Flamingoes, by wading towards them under cover of floating herbage, or they are often captured on the shores of sheltered bays by means of hooks, and lines of camel's hair, baited with bread, flesh, or fish. When the bird has swallowed the bait, says Buvry, it must perforce remain quiet until the hunter comes to rescue it from its unpleasant position.

THE MUTE SWAN.

The MUTE SWAN (Cygnus olor), the species so frequently seen in this country living upon our ornamental water in a state of semi-domestication, and sometimes described by writers as the "Tame Swan" (Cygnus mansuetus) is, in its wild state, an inhabitant of Northern Europe and Northern Asia, more especially of Eastern Siberia, and is easily recognisable by the callous protuberance at the base of its bill. Its body is elongate, its neck extremely long and slender, and its bill, which is nearly of the same length as the head, of a red colour, surmounted at its base with the black knob-like protuberance above alluded to. The plumage of the adult is white, that of the young grey, or occasionally white. The eye is brown, the beak red, while the bridles and protuberance at the base of the beak are black; the feet brownish or pure black. This bird is seventy inches long, and one hundred inches broad; the length of the wing is twenty-seven inches, and of the tail ten to eleven inches; the female is not quite so large. Brehm is of opinion that the Polish Swan (Cygnus immutabilis) of Yarrell, is merely a variety of the above species, but the following extract from a paper, read by Yarrell before the Zoological Society, will give our readers that naturalist's reasons for maintaining that these birds are not identical, although in their appearance, habits, and mode of life, they closely resemble each other. "The London dealers in birds," he says, "have long been in the habit of receiving from the Baltic a large Swan which they distinguish by the name of the Polish Swan. During the severe weather of January, 1838, several flocks of these Polish Swans were seen pursuing a southern course along the line of our north-east coast, from Scotland to the mouth of the Thames, and several specimens were obtained. The circumstance of these flocks being seen without any observable difference in the specimens obtained, all of which were distinct from our Mute Swan; the fact also that the Cygnets, as far as we observed, were of a pure white colour like the parent birds, and did not assume at any age the grey colour borne for the greater part of the first two years by the young of the other species of Swans; and an anatomical distinction in the form of the cranium, which was described by Mr. Pelerin in the Magazine of Natural History, induce me to consider this Swan as a distinct species, and in reference to the unchangeable colour of the plumage, I proposed for it the name of Cygnus immutabilis."

As additional peculiarities of this species, Yarrell notes that "the parent birds were remarkable in having the legs, toes, and their intervening membranes, of a pale ash-grey colour. The black tubercle at the base of the beak was of small size, and there was a slight difference in the nostrils, the elongated openings of which did not reach the black colour at the base of the beak." The Mute Swan, as it has erroneously been called from the fact of its possessing a soft voice very unlike the harsh tones of its wild brethren, utters a somewhat monotonous and plaintive call during the spring, or occasionally later in the season when moving about with its young. Col. Hawker, in his "Sporting Notes," describes this "Swan's melody" as consisting of two notes, C and the minor third E flat, adding that the musician he heard kept working with his head, as though delighted with the sounds he was producing. In England, where these birds live in a state of semi-domestication, they are met with at all seasons. During the period of incubation they live in pairs, and jealously drive away all intruders from the domain they have appropriated for the purpose of building. The nest, which is formed of a mass of reeds and rushes, is placed near the edge of the river or pond, or on an island, and by a most wonderful instinct is frequently raised to a height sufficient to escape a rising of the water even before man himself has observed any indication of such a danger. The eggs are six or seven in number, and have a dull greenish white shell; their length is about four inches by two inches nine lines broad. During the whole period of incubation, which lasts about six weeks, the male is in constant attendance to guard his spouse, boldly chasing off all intruders, and occasionally taking his place upon the nest. When first hatched, the young follow the mother about in the water, and are frequently carried on her back as she sails along the stream. Speaking of these birds in their wild state, Lloyd says, "In flying they make a strange appearance; their long necks protrude, and resemble at a distance long lines with black points; their heavy bodies and triangular wings seeming mere appendages to the prolonged neck. When thus in motion, their wings pass through so few degrees of a circle that, unless seen horizontally, they appear almost quiescent, their movements being widely different from the semicircular sweeps of the Goose. The Swan, when migrating, with a moderate wind in its favour, and mounted high in the air, travels at the rate of one hundred miles or more an hour. I have often timed the flight of the Goose, and found one mile a minute a common rapidity, and when the two birds, in a change of feeding ground, have been flying near each other, the Swan invariably passed with nearly double the velocity." The Mute Swan was first brought to England from the island of Cyprus by Richard I., and is still regarded as a royal bird which no subject can claim when kept in a public river, except by permission of the crown. Formerly, when this permission was accorded, a Swan mark was granted in order to identify the property of the persons so endowed. In the days of Queen Elizabeth it was ordered that all Swans in the Thames and its tributaries should be "upped," i.e., taken up and marked on the skin of the bill on an appointed day in the presence of the king's Swanherd. This ceremony, known to us as "Swan hopping," was performed annually, until quite recently, upon the first Monday in August. The flesh of this Swan was formerly highly esteemed, and was served as one of the principal dishes on state occasions. The value of one of these birds in the reign of Edward III. may be estimated by the fact, that while the best Capon sold for sixpence, the best Hen for fourpence, and twelve eggs for one penny, the price of a Swan was fixed at four shillings, and the poulterers were forbidden by proclamation to exact a larger sum. The late Bishop of Norwich gave Mr. Yarrell the following account of the manner in which young Swans were formerly fed at Norwich for the table: "The town clerk," he says, "sent a note to the public Swanherd, and to the members of the Corporation there who had Swans and Swan rights. On the second Monday in August the Swans were collected in a small stew or pond (the number varying from fifty to seventy). They began to feed immediately, being provided with as much barley as they could eat, and were usually ready for killing in November; these were all Cygnets. If kept beyond November they begin to fall off, losing both flesh and fat, the flesh also becomes darker in colour and stronger in flavour." A printed copy of the following lines was usually sent with each bird:--

"TO ROAST A SWAN.

"Take three pounds of beef, beat fine in a mortar, Put it into the Swan, that is when you've caught her; Some pepper, salt, mace, some nutmeg, an onion, Will heighten the flavour in Gourmand's opinion. Then tie it up tight with a small piece of tape, That the gravy and other things may not escape; A meal paste, rather stiff, should be laid on the breast, And some whited brown paper should cover the rest. Fifteen minutes at least, ere the Swan you take down, Pull the paste off the bird that the breast may get brown.

"THE GRAVY.

"To a gravy of beef, strong and good, I opine You'll be right if you add half a pint of port wine; Pour this through the Swan, yes, quite through the belly, Then serve the whole up with some hot currant jelly. N.B.--The Swan must not be skinned."