SWALLOWING 



SWAN 



827 



I 



Swallow, or Cliff-swallow (Petrochelidonlunifrons), 

 of North America, makes a nest of mud, in form 

 somewhat like a Florence flask, which it attaches 

 to a rock or to the wall of a house. Hundreds 

 sometimes build their nests in close proximity. 

 The Fairy-martin (H. arid}, a small Australian 

 species, also huilds a flask-shaped nest with the 

 month below, attaching it to a rock, or to the wall 

 of a house ; and numerous nests are often built 

 close together. Another Australian species (Ptero- 

 cltelidon nigricans) lays its eggs in a hollow tree or 

 rock without any nesting material. Some of the 

 swallows of tropical countries are much smaller 

 than any of the European species. See SWIFT. 



Swallowing. See DIGESTION, CHOKING. 



Swallow-wort. See ASCLEPIAS. 



Swaninierdaill, JAN, entomologist and ana- 

 tomist, horn at Amsterdam, 12th February 1637, 

 showed almost from his boyhood the greatest zeal 

 in the study of natural history. Choosing medi- 

 cine for his profession, he was trained at Leyden, 

 and settled down to practise in Amsterdam. But 

 he gave far more time and attention to investigat- 

 ing the life-history and anatomical structures of 

 insects than to his calling, became straitened for 

 means, and finally was carried away by the religious 

 mysticism of Antoinette Bourignon (q. v. ). He 

 dieil at Amsterdam on 17th February 1680. His 

 chief services in the advancement of science were 

 the application of a method of studying the circu- 

 latory system by injections of hot wax, demonstra- 

 tions in the anatomy of bees and other insects, and 

 investigations into the metamorphoses of insects, 

 the results of which afforded sure groundwork for 

 suljsequent classification. His most important 

 books were General Treatise on Bloodless Animal- 

 cules (in Dutch, Utrecht, 1669) and Biblia Natural 

 (ed. Boerhaave, 1737-38), giving the results of his 

 researches in insect anatomy. 



Swan ( Cygnus), a genus of birds constituting a 

 very distinct section of the Duck (q.v. ) family 

 Anatidie. They have a bill about as long as the 

 head, of equal breadth throughout, higher than 

 wide at the base, with a soft cere, the nostrils 

 placed about the middle ; the neck longer than the 

 body, arched, and with twenty-three vertebrfe ; the 

 legs short and placed far back ; the front toes fully 

 webbed, the hind toe without membrane ; the keel 

 of the breast-bone very large ; the intestines very 

 long, and with very long caeca. They feed chiefly 

 on vegetable substances, as the seeds and roots of 

 aquatic plants, but also on fish spawn, of which 

 they are great destroyers. They are the largest of 

 the Anatidie. They have a hissing note like geese, 

 which they emit when offended, and they deal 

 tremendous blows with their wings in attack or 

 defence. The Common Swan, Mute Swan, or 

 Tame Swan (C. olor) is about 5 feet in entire 

 length, and weighs about 30 Ib. It is known to 

 live for at least fifty years. The male is larger 

 than the female. The adults of both sexes are 

 pure white, with a reddish bill ; the young (cygnets) 

 nave a dark bluish-gray plumage and lead-coloured 

 bill. The bill is surmounted uy a black knob at 

 the base of the upper mandible, and has a black 

 nail at its tip. In its wild state this species is 

 found in the eastern parts of Europe ana in Asia 

 as far as Mongolia and the north-west of India, 

 breeding in Denmark, the south of Sweden, in 

 central and southern Russia, and in Turkestan ; in 

 a half domesticated state it has long been a common 

 ornament of ponds, lakes, and rivers in all parts of 

 Europe. It is said to have been brought to England 

 from Cyprus by Richard I. It is perhaps the most 

 beautiful of water-birds, when seen swimming, with 

 wings partially elevated, as if to catch the wind, 

 and finely-curving neck. The ancients called the 



swan the Bird of Apollo or of Orpheus, and ascribed 

 to it remarkable musical powers, which it was 

 supposed to exercise particularly when its death 

 approached. The note of the male bird at breed- 

 ing time is loud and tiumpet-like ; the tame bird's 

 note is little more than a hiss. The nest of the 

 swan is a large mass of reeds and rushes, near the 

 edge of the water, an islet being generally pre- 

 ferred. The female begins as a rule to lay in her 

 second year from three to five eggs ; when older she 

 lays ten to twelve eggs, of a dull greenish-white 

 colour. These birds are said to pair for life. The 

 female swan sometimes swims about with the un- 

 fledged young on her back ; and the young con- 

 tinue with their parents till the next spring. The 

 swan is now seldom used in Britain as an article of 

 food, but in former times it was served up at every 

 great feast, and old books are very particular in 

 directions how to roast it and to prepare proper 

 gravy. The Polish Swan (C. immutabilis of Yar- 

 rell) is generally believed now to be a mere variety 

 of the common swan. The Whistling Swan, Elk 

 Swan, or Whooper (C, ferus or musieus) abounds 



Fig. 1. Wild Swan, or Whooper ( Cygnus ferus). 



in the northern parts of Europe and Asia, but to 

 Britain it is now merely a cold-season migrant from 

 more northern regions, although about a century 

 ago it used to breed in the Orkneys. The size is 

 about equal to that of the common swan, and the 

 colour is similar, but the bill is more slender, is 

 destitute of a knob, and is depressed and black at 

 the tip and yellow at the base. This bird is 

 frequently brought to the London market. The 

 names whooper and whistling swan are derived 

 from the voice. Like all swans of the northern 

 hemisphere, except the common swan, this one has 

 a large cavity in the interior of the breast-bone in 

 which the windpipe coils before passing to the 

 lungs. Bewick's Swan (C. bewicki), another native 

 of northern Europe, is more rare in Britain, but 

 large flocks are sometimes seen. It is about one- 

 third smaller than the whistling swan. The Ameri- 

 can Swan (C. americanus), closely resembling 

 Bewick's swan but larger, is sometimes found in 

 Britain. It breeds in the northern parts of North 

 America, but its winter migrations extend only to 

 North Carolina. The Trumpeter Swan (C. buc- 

 cinator) is another American species, breeding 

 chiefly within the Arctic Circle, but of which large 

 flocks may be seen in winter as far south as Texas. 

 It is rather smaller than the common swan. The 

 ancients spoke of a black swan proverbially as a 

 thing of which the existence was not to be supposed, 

 but Australia produces a Black Swan (C. atratus), 

 discovered towards the end of the 18th century, 

 rather smaller than the common swan, the plumage 

 deep black, except the primaries of the wings, 

 which are white. The neck is long, thin, and 



