THE HOOPER SWAN. 



485 



Pliny disbelieved it, and, thougli the assertion may have 

 been resuscitated from time to time as a poetic fiction, it 

 has found no place in works on j^atural History. 



The Swan is not musical ; it rests its claims to our ad- 

 miration on other grounds, unchallenged and indisputable ; 

 the unsullied white of its plumage is an apt emblem of 



THE HOOPER SWAN, 



purity, and the elegance of its movements in the water has 

 become proverbial. The present species, which owes its 

 name to its powerful voice, is said to be not quite so grace- 

 ful as the tame Swan, but on land it is far more active. A 

 bird which has been winged by a sportsman, and has fallen 

 on the land, can only be overtaken by smart running. In 



