118 ANATIDE. 



damage. Man made no preparation, the Bird* did. In- 

 stinct prevailed over reason ; her eggs were above, and only 

 just above the water. 



The young, when hatched, Avhich is generally about the 

 end of May, are conducted to the water by the parent birds, 

 and are even said to be carried there : it is certain that the 

 cygnets are frequently carried on the back of the female when 

 she is sailing about in the water. This I have witnessed on 

 the Thames, and have seen the female, by raising her leg, 

 assist the cygnets in getting upon her back. I thought it 

 probable that carrying the young might only be resorted to 

 when the brood inhabited a river, to save the young the 

 labour of following the parent against the stream ; but during 

 the present summer, 1841, a female Swan was frequently seen 

 carrying her young on the canal in St. James''s Park, where 

 there is no current to impede their course. A short quo- 

 tation from the first volume of " Gleanings in Natural His- 

 tory," by Mr. Jesse, corroborates several points in the habits 

 of this bird. " Living on the banks of the Thames, I have 

 often been pleased with seeing the care taken of the young 

 Swans by the parent birds. Where the stream is strong the 

 old Swan will sink herself sufficiently low to bring her back 

 on a level with the water, when the cygnets will get upon 

 it, and in this manner are conveyed to the other side of the 

 river, or into stiller water. Each family of Swans on the 

 river has its own district ; and if the limits of that district 

 are encroached upon by other Swans, a pursuit immediately 

 takes place, and the intruders are driven away. Except in 

 this instance, they appear to live in a state of the most per- 

 fect harmony. The male is very attentive to the female, 

 assists in making the nest, and when a sudden rise of the 



* In tlie account of the Green Woodpecker, I have referred at vol. ii. page 

 136, to the probable means by wliich birds and some other animals become 

 cognizant of approaching changes in the weather. 



