192 



Nostrils oblong, lateral, near the middle of the beak. Neck slender, and 

 very long. Legs short, the hind toe small and free. 



THE HOOPER, so called on account of the peculiar note 

 uttered by this bird, is a winter visitor to the British Is- 

 lands, even to the southern parts, arriving in flocks, some- 

 times as late as Christmas, arid are generally more nume- 

 rous as the weather becomes more severe. The Rev. Mr. 

 Low, in his Natural History of Orkney and Shetland, says, 

 " The Wild Swan is found at all seasons in Orkney ; a 

 few pairs build in the holms of the loch of Stenness. 

 These, however, are nothing to the flocks that visit us in 

 October from the more northern climates, their summer 

 retreats. Part of these continue with us all the winter, 

 and the rest go to Caithness and the other northern shires 

 of Scotland ; in April they go off again to the northward, 

 except the few which remain here for the summer. Like 

 the wild geese, these birds fly in the fashion of a wedge, 

 making a fine melodious clang, which has, perhaps, fur- 

 nished one occasion to give a musical voice to this bird.'* 

 Mr. Donn, the botanist, says a few visit the lakes of For- 

 farshire. In December various flocks are seen flying in 

 compact bodies, directing their course southward, particu- 

 larly along the coast lines, and many specimens are to be 

 seen in the London Markets, which are sometimes supplied 

 to profusion. Many reach the sea on our southern coast. 

 The late Earl of Malmesbury sent me, in the spring of 

 the year 1838, a list of four hundred and sixteen wild 

 fowl, killed at Heron Court during the frost of the pre- 

 vious January and February, namely, from January the 

 9th to February the 24th. This list included thirty-three 

 Hoopers. And Colonel Hawker describes with his usual 

 skill the many successful shots he had made at Swans, 

 when wild-fowl shooting between Lymington and Poole 

 harbour ; " the Hoopers, before they have been shot at, 



