170 NEW V^ORK ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



cies is merely a parallelism, or whether the former isolation of 

 South America and its earl}^ connection with Australia are sig-nifi- 

 cant facts in the case, we can at present only conjecture. 



Naturalists who have seen Black-Necked Swans in their native 

 haunts have given no clew to the reason for their strange color- 

 ing; but if we look at one of these birds at some distance away 

 across a stretch of water, as it swims along the shore, the magic 

 with which, first the white body, then the black head and neck, 

 blend with the changing environment is most interesting and sig- 

 nificant. Our eyes show us alternately a headless body and a 

 bodiless head ; but when the bird comes out into clear open water 

 the curving neck is constantly the conspicuous feature. It seems 

 as if this alternative protective coloring cannot fail to be of 

 vital assistance to the bird at some of the critical moments of 

 its life. It is said that these birds prefer to keep close to the 

 margins of ponds and lakes, where they find good feeding 

 grounds. 



The Black-Necked Swan is found on the lakes and lagoons of 

 southern South America — Argentina, Chili, and Patagonia — 

 where they sometimes congregate in flocks of several hundred. 

 Indeed the late J. B. Hatcher reports seeing over a thousand 

 swans upon one lake of moderate size. Excepting what Hudson 

 relates we know but little of the habits of these birds. He says 

 that owing to their heavy bodied, short-winged condition the 

 noise which their wings make is remarkable — a loud rushing 

 which can be heard a great distance awav. 



These swans experience such difficulty in taking flight, espe- 

 cially when suddenly frightened and away from the water, that 

 the savage horsemen of the southern pampas occasionally ride 

 them down and catch them by hand. 



Black-Necked Swans begin to nest in July, and they seem to 

 take great care in choosing a safe location. This is probably very 

 necessary, as these pampas are the home of many predatory ani- 

 mals. Three to six cream-colored eggs are laid upon a firm pile 

 of leaves and sticks, the foundation of which is the bottom of a 

 swamp, sometimes in four feet or more of water, and among a 

 thick clump of reeds. By swimming to and from the nest many 

 dangers are avoided. One observer reports having seen a Black- 

 Necked Swan swimming away from her nest with her voung 

 perched upon her back. 



Strange to say, more than a quarter of a century before the 

 discovery of the Black Swan, this South American species was 

 first observed by a European, Narbrough having reported seeing 



