THE SWANS 185 



guarding the neighbourhood of the nest, assumes the well-known 

 attitude of defiance. The neck is retracted and the wings raised 

 in the attitude technically known as " busking," with the feathers 

 erected till the head is almost hidden. Meantime he advances 

 towards the intruder, driving himself through the water by simul- 

 taneous strokes of both feet, and thus proceeding by short rushes. 

 In this attitude there is a superficial resemblance to the nuptial 

 display of the turkey, black-grouse, and great-bustard, but of course 

 they are essentially distinct. The swan's attitude is intended to 

 intimidate an antagonist, and is adopted by a monogamous bird in 

 defence of his mate ; while the display of the other birds appears 

 to be a " showing off" on the part of a presumably polygamous male 

 in order to impress the female spectators. An old male swan can at 

 times show himself a decidedly formidable opponent, and it has been 

 frequently stated that a blow from his wing is sufficient to break 

 a man's arm or leg. Mr. Stevenson, however, failed to satisfy himself 

 that any instance of the kind had actually taken place, and a record 

 referred to by Mr. J. E. Harting is not only of American origin, but is 

 related of another species. Mr. Kirkman tells me he was attacked 

 by a male swan on land, and was struck several times on the leg by 

 the bird's wing. The blows were not serious, and the incident was 

 terminated by the simple expedient of seizing the swan by the 

 throat and pitching it into the water, where it elected to remain. 

 Mr. M. Woodward states, on the authority of the Abbotsbury keeper, 

 that one man had three ribs broken by an unexpected attack from 

 behind. On the water the bird is no doubt more dangerous, if it sees 

 signs of fear. A vicious cob does not hesitate to attack a man, or even 

 a boat full of people, and more than one dog has been killed outright 

 or seriously injured in this way. 



As all the young are hatched out as a rule on the same day, it is 

 evident that the pen does not begin to incubate until the clutch is 

 complete, for there is a period of about seven to twenty days between 

 the laying of the first and last eggs. When the lengthy incubation 



VOL. iv. 2 A 



