CHAPTER VI 



THE SWANS 

 {Cygnincs) 



This group contains the largest of the water- 

 fowl. There are about eight species scattered 

 over the world, but the majority belong in the 

 northern hemisphere. Swans, while possessing 

 a bill much like that of a duck, but rather longer 

 proportionately, differ from all other birds of the 

 family in having in adult life a space between the 

 eyes and bill bare of feathers. The neck is exceed- 

 ingly long, longer than the body, and contains more 

 vertebrae than that of the geese and ducks, and is 

 therefore extremely flexible. The legs are rather 

 short and set far back, so that the grace that is 

 characteristic of the swan in water disappears 

 when it tries to walk. The hind toe has no mem- 

 branous lobe or a very small one. The sexes are 

 alike in color, and the plumage of the adults in all 

 the species frequenting the northern hemisphere 

 is pure white. They prefer the temperate regions 

 of the globe ; but the majority of individuals, still 

 existing wild in the northern hemisphere, now 

 breed far north. They are seldom found in large 



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