53 



BEWICK'S SWAN. 



PLATE CLXXXVIII. — FIG. I. 

 Cygnus Beivickii, .... Yarkell. 



The nest is reported by Captain Lyons, R. N., to 

 be built of peat-moss, and to be nearly as much as six 

 feet long, four feet and three-quarters wide, and two 

 feet high on the outside, the hollow one foot and a half 

 across. Another account says that the materials used 

 are flags, rushes, and- the small boughs of willow trees; 

 doubtless those most readily procurable are differently 

 made use of in different places. 



The eggs are of a cream white colour. 



This Swan too is said to occupy six weeks in the 

 incubation of its eggs. Many pairs build in the same 

 vicinity, but each pair maintain the right of private 

 property for the time being in their own more immediate 

 abode. 



