96 SHOOTING IN CHINA 



Teal, the Falcate Teal and the most 

 beautiful of all, found only in China, the 

 Mardarin Duck. 



There is also the Siberian Wiiite-eyed 

 duck, spasmodic in its appearance, but 

 when met with seems to be numerous. 

 Other birds uselessly shot are Cormorants, 

 Coots, Goosanders, Smews and Moorhen. 



The Whooper or Wild Swan (Cygnus 

 ferns) is the largest of the genus and may 

 easily be recognised, not only by its unusual 

 size, but by the shape and colour of the 

 beak which is slender in form, black at 

 the tip and yellow at the base. It is a 

 comparatively rare bird in China but may 

 occasionally be seen in the hardest weather 

 in numbers of from ten to fifteen. Ordinary 

 weights are from eighteen to twenty-two 

 pounds, while measurements from tip to 

 tip of extended wings run from seven to 

 eight feet. 



Bewick's Swan (Cygnus minor) is very 

 common all along the coast. At certain 

 times these birds may be seen in hundreds 

 as they stand marshalled like soldiers on 

 the ooze round the islands of the Yangtze 

 Estuary. Its distinguishing mark is a 

 large patch of orange at the base of the 



