MUTE SWAN 83 
MUTE SWAN. Cygnus olor (J. F. Gmelin). 
Coloured Figures.—Gould, ‘ Birds of Great Britain,’ vol. v, pl. 8; 
Dresser, ‘ Birds of Europe,’ vol. vi, pl. 418; Lilford, 
‘Coloured Figures,’ vol. vii, pl. 28. 
As we watch this magnificent and stately bird gliding 
leisurely through the waters of our parks and rivers, now 
and again drawing up to the brink to accept the proffered 
cake or biscuit from the hand of even the most timid child, 
no creature could appear more thoroughly domesticated 
and accustomed to the society of man. Yet the Mute 
Swan maintains itself on unprotected lakes, and breeds in 
a semi-feral state in many parts of the British Isles. Ac- 
cording to Mr. Saunders, it is said to have been introduced 
into England in the time of Richard I., having originally 
come from Cyprus. It is generally distributed in England 
and Scotland, breeding, during recent years, in the Outer 
Hebrides, where the birds fly as if wild. 
With reference to its occurrence in Ireland, Mr. Ussher 
states that it ‘‘ has increased to considerable flocks in 
favourable localities.”’ 
When boating in Dublin Bay, I have met the Mute 
Swan resting on the open sea; I have seen solitary indi- 
viduals flying across the city of Dublin, some fifty yards 
above the highest buildings, and judging from their heavy 
form, I am of the opinion that they were Mute Swans. I 
have seen them in midsummer as well as in winter, which 
tends to prove that they were not migrating, but were simply 
unpinioned birds from ornamental waters, locally changing 
their quarters. 
In the ‘ Birds of Ireland,’ Mr. Ussher states that 
“when the resorts of these birds become crowded, small 
parties go forth on the wing, not only to other lakes and 
rivers, but in many places to the coast; thus Mr. Warren 
has seen seven adults in Killala Bay, and Mr. Sheridan 
has met with others in Achill, while six were approached 
and one shot on Dundalk Bay a mile from land.” During 
hard winters the numbers of Mute Swans are increased 
by migrants arriving from Denmark, Sweden, and other 
countries of Kurope. These visitors—which may or may 
not remain to breed in the British Isles—are distinctly 
wild birds. It has been stated that a blow from a Swan’s 
wing is of sufficient strength to break a man’s leg. This 
can hardly be true, judging from the size of the wing 
