42 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



[Swans. 



nail at the tip of the upper mandible, the edges of 

 both, and of the nostrils which are black. 



Ill A natural state the femnk- swan, sedulously at- 

 tended l)y her mate, forms her nest, which is a thick 

 innsi of slicks, reeds, ftac*. and rushes, in the mid»l 

 of roeds or oziers near the water. The eggs are six 

 or tii?ht in number. The young birds are termed 

 Cycnets, and are covered with a greyish brown 

 tdumnire, which is not entirely lost till the begmning 

 of the third year. Tliough the swan is in general 

 veiy gentle and inoffonsive. the male will defend 

 the nest with ereat courage, and advance to the 

 on-iet with ruflU-d pinions and every demonstration 

 of amrcr, nor is it, from its muscular powers, an an- 

 ta^nist to be despised. 



The swan is very long-lived, attaining to the age 

 of even more than thirty vears. 



In this species the trachea, or windpipe, is simple, 

 and passes into the chest without any previous con- 

 volutions. 



Fig. 13-M represents Richmond Palace in the 

 olden time, with the Tliames flowing before it, when, 

 in numbers more considerable than the present, the 

 •wan gave additional charms to the river, and wa.s 

 looked upon as an appendase to the pomp of roy- 

 alty; for in (he 2 Henry IV., c. 21, which directs 

 that no lord shall give any livery or sign to any 

 knight, esquiie, or yeoman, there is an express pro- 

 viso thai the prince may give liis honourahk Urenj of 

 lilt! sirnn lo Ins loi-ds and to gentlemen his menials. 

 (3 Rot. I'nrl. 478. a.) 



The swiin feeds on aquatic weeds, and coarse 

 gra?8 growing by the sides of rivers and in morasses, 

 and the gizzard, which is very muscular, is well 

 adapted for grinding the fibres to a pulp. Fii. 1945 

 represents the Gizzard of the Swan opened to show 

 its grinding surface and the zone of gastric glands. 



I'JIG.— The Hooper, or Whistling Swan, 

 Head of 

 (Cffjnutferus). Cygnus musicus, Bechstein ; Cygne 

 tauvage of the French ; C'iirno salvatico of the Ita- 

 lians ; Singschwan of the Germans ; Vikl Svane of 

 the Danes ; Alarcli gwylt of the ancient British. 

 • This species, which' differs in many important 

 anatomical details from the preceding, is a native 

 of nearly the whole of the noithern hemisphere, as 

 far at lea4 as Europe and Asia extend ; for it ap- 

 pears, according to the Prince of Canino, that in 

 tlie h^gli latitudes of America it is represi-nted by a 

 distiiRt though closely allied species, the Cygnus 

 Americanus, Sharpless. 



The Hooper is a migratory bird, residing dniing 

 the summer within the regions of the arctic circle, 

 where it breeds in great numbers. It has been 

 known, however, to incubate and rear ilsyounginthe 

 Shetland and Orkney Islands. On the approach of 

 winter, this bird leaves the dreary regions of the 

 north for more southern latitudes, visiting the Hiitish 

 Islands, Holland, Gei-many, Fiance, and Italy, ex- 

 tending its journey even to Northern Afiica and 

 Egypt. It performs its periodical flight in flocks of j 

 greater or less extent, arranged in the figure of a 

 wedge, travelling with vast rapidity, and at a great i 

 elevation. The note which it utters while on the 

 v.ing is harsh, and resembles the word hoop, re- 

 peated several times successively ; yet this cry, when 

 lieard from a flock high overheail and softened by 

 distance, is not unmusical. The trachea, or windpipe, 

 of this species is very remarkable. After passing 

 ilownthe long neck of the swan, it descends between 

 the two branches of the meriythought, and instead 

 of then passing into the chest, it enters into the keel 

 of the breast-bone, which is hollowed for its recep- 

 tion ; here it extends backwards between the two 

 ji'atesofthakeel, nearly throughout its whole extent, 

 tiien suddenly turning upon itself, it passes forwards, 

 and emeicing sweeps round the apical poilion of 

 the merry Ihouirht, and so again turning back enters 

 the chest, and there gives off two long branchial 

 tubes, one to each lobe of the lungs. In females 

 and young males the extent to which the windpipe 

 enters the keel of the breast -bone is not so consider- 

 able. ¥\ii. 1947 and 1948 represent the windpipe 

 and breast-bone, with a portion of the keel removed 

 BO as to expose the former : a, a, the trachea : b, the 

 bony rinz, or lower larynx, whence are given oft' c, c, 

 the two branchial tubes. Fig. 1949 shows the ante- 

 rior portion of the keel, with the opening for the re- 

 ception and exit of the trachea. 



\Vide mora-ses, lakes or tha mouths of rivers, and 

 inundated grounds are the abode of this wary bird. 

 On the first dawn of sprinii, the flocks which have 

 spread themselves in small parties over our latitudes 

 rolled and wing their way back to their northern 

 b.eeding-haunts, scattering themselves over Nor- 

 way. Iceland, Lapland, Spitzbeigen, and Siberia. 



Tne down of this species is very valuable, and is 

 procured in great quantity by the Icelanders, to- 

 gether with the feathers, not only for domestic com- 

 tort, but for the purpose of barter. The season for 

 s'.van-hunting in Iceland is during the month of Au- 

 gust, when the old birds, having ca«t their quill-fea- 



thers, are unable to fly; the natives assemble in 

 bodies in the places wlieie these birds collect, at- 

 tended by dogs, and mounted upon small but active 

 horses, well trained to p.iss over bogs and through 

 marshy soil, and many are ridden down, but the 

 greater number are caught by the dogs, which al- 

 ways seize by the neck, a mode of attack that 

 causes the bii-d lo loose ils balance and become an 

 easy prev. 



The Hooper is smaller and much less gracclul 

 than the tame swan ; in swimming it is never seen 

 to throw up the plumes of its wings, nor assume any 

 striking altitude, and it carries its neck erect and 

 straight, instead of curved ; but while walking the 

 head is lowered, and the neck reclines over the back 

 to assist in preserving the equipoise of the body. 

 In caiitivity it soon becomes lame, and has bred in 

 the Zoological Gardens, but it does not associate 

 with the tame swan. 



This species has no basal protuberance on the 

 beak ; the base of the upper maiulible and cere, as far 

 as the eye, are yellow, as is also the back part of the 

 lower mandible; the point, as far as the nostrils, 

 black— these two colours meet each other obliquely, 

 the latter running obliquely backwards, the yellow 

 advancing forwards along the sides, of the beak; 

 iris brown ; feet black. Expanse of wings about 

 eight feet. 



1950.— Bewicks Swan, Head of 

 (Ci/gnm BeulcMi). This species is about one-third 

 IcfS than ihe hooper. Its beak rises high at the base, 

 which is yellow; the anterior portion, including 

 more than the nostrils, black ; the tail-feathers are 

 eii^hteen, in the hooper twenty ; the legs are of a 

 deeper black than in the hooper, and the neck is 

 more slender. Tli? ananireinent of the trachea, be- 

 sides, is very different. "The tiibeof the windpipe,'' 

 says Mr. "Vairell, " is of equal diameter throuch- 

 ouf, and, descending in front of the neck, enters the 

 keel of the sternum, which is hollow ixs in the 

 hooper, traversing the whole length. Having ar- 

 rived at the end ol the keel, the tube, then gradually 

 inclining upwards and outwards, passes into a cavity 

 in the sternum destined to receive it, caused by a 

 separation of the parallel horizontal plates of bone 

 forming the posterior flattened portion of the breast- 

 bone, and producing a convex protuberance on the 

 inner surface. The tube, also changing its direc- 

 tion from vertical to horizontal, and reaching within 

 half an inch of the posterior edge, is reflected back 

 after making a considerable curve, till it once more 

 reaches the keel ; again traversing vvhich, in a line 

 immediately over the first portion of the tube, it 

 passes out under the arch of the merrythought:: 

 where turning upwards and afterwards backwards, it 

 enters the body of the bird, to be attached to the 

 lungs in (he usual manner. Tiiis is the state of de- 

 velopment in the oldest bird I have yet met with. 

 The degree next in order, or younger, differs in hav- 

 ing the horizontal loop of the trachea confined to 

 one side only of (he cavity in the sternum, both 

 sides of which cavity are at this time formed, but 

 the loop of the tube is not yet sufficiently elongated 

 to occupy the whole space ; and the third in order, 

 from a still younger bird, possesses only the vertical 

 insertion of the (old of the trachea." Mr. Yarrell 

 adds, however, that in this last case the cavity in the 

 posterior part of the sternum already exists to acon- 

 sideral)le extent. 



Bewick's swan is a native of the northern regions 

 of Europe and Asia, as well as of America; though 

 in his • Comparative List of the Birds of Europe and 

 America,' the Prince of Canino does not give it as an 

 American species, but parallels it with the Cygnus 

 Buccinator. According to Temminck, it breeds in 

 Icelan 1, and within the arctic circle, migrating 

 southwards in spring ; but it appears to be much 

 scarcer than the liooper. 



Captain Lyon describes Ihe nest as con^tructed of 

 peat moss, nearly six feet long, four and three quar- 

 ters wide, and two feet in height, with a cavity for 

 the egas a foot and a half in diameter. Mr. Black- 

 wall describes the cry of this species as loud, and 

 states that a flock of twenty-nine were very clamor- 

 ous. Mr. Sinclaire says the note of these birds in 

 captivity is a low-toned whistle ; and Mr. Selby, " its 

 voice is much weaker than that of the preceding 

 species." Fig. 1951, a portion of the Trachea of 

 Cygnu* Bewickii. 



1952.- Polish Swan, Head of 

 (Ci/gnus immufabilh, Yarrell). Till recently (his 

 species has been confounded wi(h the Cygnus olor, 

 to which, of all the European swans, it is the most 

 nearly related. There are, however, many important 

 anatomical differences, especially in (he osleolosry of 

 (he head. (Sec paper by \V. G. Pelerin, Esq., in 'Mag. 

 Nat. Hist.' 1S,3J. )). 179.) The cygnets are white, a 

 point in which it differs from every other species of 

 white swan. In (he adult bird (he beak is reddish 

 orange ; the lateral margins, the nail, (he nostrils, and 

 base of the upper mandible are black. There is a 



small tubercle, which never acquires the size of that 

 crramenting Ihe head of the Cygnus olor. Legs, 

 toes, and intervening membianes slate grey. The 

 windpipe is simple. The bird, a native of (he high 

 northern regions and (he Baltic, is called by dealers 

 the Polish swan, and occasionally visits our island. 

 It is easily reconciled to captivity, breeding as freely 

 as the common tame swan. The female of a pair of 

 these swans, at Lord Derby's seat, Knowsley, having 

 died, the male paired with a female of the ordinary 

 tame species, and a brood was the result, but (he 

 hybrids, though ohi enough, neither paired among 

 themselves nor wi(h any of the tame swans on the 

 same water. 



1953. — The Black Swan, Head of 



(Cyjntts «/m/H.s, Bennett). Anas Plulonia, Shaw; 

 Chenoi)is atratus, Wagler. 



The black swan, by no means " rara avis in teriis," 

 is a native of Australia, where it abounds on (he 

 rivers and lakes, and on various islands along (he 

 coast, and is usually seen in flocks, which are shy 

 and waiy. 01 late years this boautilul bird has been 

 introduced into our island, where it thrives and 

 breeds, and will no doubt soon become iilmost as 

 common as the tame swan. It is irascible in temper, 

 and disposed to tyrannise over the weaker or more 

 timid captives resident on the same piece of water. 



The black swan is inferior to the hooper in size ; 

 its plumage is black, with (he excepdon of (he pri- 

 mary and a few of the secondary quill-feathers, which 

 are white ; but these are obscured by (he ciuled 

 secondaries, which hang plume-like over (hem. The 

 bill is of a bright red colour, crossed near (he nail 

 by a whitish band ; its base in the male is surmounted 

 by a slight protuberance, which is wanting in the 

 female ; under ii.-ut of the bill greyish ■.vliite : legs 

 and feet of a dull ash-colour : iris red ; trachea per- 

 fectly simple, not unlike that of the Cygnus olor. 

 Fig. 1954 represents the Tiachea and Breast-bone of 

 (he Black Swan. The note of (his species is harsh. 



Various porttons of (he coast of .South America 

 (Chili, (he Falkland Islands, Rio de la Plata, &c.) 

 present us with a very beautiful species of swan 

 (Cygnus nigricollis), distinguished by a jet black 

 head and neck, contrasting admirably with (he 

 snowy whKeness of the rest of the plumage. The 

 bill is red ; the legs and feet flesh-colour. It equals 

 the hooper in size. It has never, we believe, been 

 brought alive to Europe. 



From the swans we shall proceed to (he ducks, 

 which may be divided, again, into two sections, 

 nAme]y, Jiin-iati/e and niaiine. The fiuviatile ducks 

 have the neck and wings long, the tarsi round, the 

 hind-toe without any lobe or paddle-like membrane; 

 the gizzard is muscular, the ribs short, the keel of 

 the breast-bone deep, an osseous drum at the lower 

 part of the trachea. The birds of this division fre- 

 quent rivers, lakes, swamps, &c., feeding upon aqua- 

 tic vegetables, insects, worms, &c. : they seldom 

 dive, unless superficially, and (hat rather in play- 

 fulness, or when hard pressed by danger, than lor 

 food. Their flight is powerful and rapid. To the 

 specimens of the fiuviatile section of ducks we shall 

 first direct our attention. 



19.")5. — The Shoveller 



(Ki/nchaspis cli/peala, Leacli). Spathuica cl}peata, 

 Fleming and Selby ; Anas platyrhynchos, Ray ; 

 Canard souchet on rouge of Buff'on ; Liiffel Eiite of 

 Bechstein ; Cucchiarone of the It.ali;ins ; Hwyad 

 lydanbig of the Welsh; Kerlutock, and Broad-bill, 

 Provincial English. In (his genus the size and di- 

 latation of (he bill at its extremity are very remark- 

 able ; the edges are finely laminated, and the hooked 

 rmil at the tip of (he upper mandible is small. Fig. 

 19,-)G, the Bill of the Shoveller. 



The shoveller is a native of the noithern regions 

 of Europe, Asia, and America; in Holland it is 

 very abundant. In France, Germany, and England 

 it is a bird of passage, arriving in October and de- 

 parting nordiwards in March. A few pairs, however, 

 occasionally breed both in cur island and Fiance ; 

 but these may be deemed exceptions to the general 

 rule. In America (he shoveller breeds in (he fur- 

 countries, visiting the United States in the winter. 

 It is called Mimenick by (he Cree Indians. The 

 nest of this species is placed amidst (he reeds and 

 (all herbage of marshes and (he borders of lakes ; 

 the egiis are from twelve to fourteen in number, of 

 a bright olive green. In the male the lower larynx 

 of the windpipe is enlarged, and furnished on the 

 side with a small, thin, bony drum or bladder, of 

 irregular shape. 



llie flesh of the shoveller is excellent, and by 

 many considered to excel that of the common 

 wild duck. The food of this species consists of 

 atpiatic insects, worms, and larva- ; these it pro- 

 cures by silting the watery mud through the long 

 and finely set teeth of its curious bill, each man- 

 dible l)elng bordered by pectinated rows, exactly 

 rcsenibling. as Wilson remarks, those of a weaver's 

 reed, and which, fitting into each other, form a kind 



