166 



NEW YORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



BLACK SWANS. 



in a single estuary, and become suddenly frightened by the dis- 

 charge of a gun, the sight is described as magnificent. The 

 myriad particolored birds flap frantically along the surface until 

 they attain momentum enough to rise ; then they swing round, 

 dividing into lesser flocks, or perhaps families. The scarlet bills 

 of the birds fairly glow with their rich color, while against the 

 dark vegetation the white wing feathers shimmer like flashes of 

 lightning ; but when the swift-flying birds are silhouetted against 

 the sky their dark bodies spring into view, the long necks stretched 

 far out, as they wing their way high overhead. 



As is usually the case, the coming of white men marked the 

 beginning of scenes of slaughter and extermination, and to-day 

 the Black Swan, although protected by law, has been driven to 

 the wildest portions of its haunts, and in Australia is doubtless 

 doomed to speed}' extinction. Indeed it is said that there are 

 probably more of these birds in captivity in different parts of 

 tlie world than are now living wild in their native country. W'e 

 read reports of whalers sending many boats ashore and bringing 

 back load after load of Elr.ck Swans, whose condition during the 



