MUTE SWAN. 211 



weeks, during which time the male is in constant attend- 

 ance upon the female, occasionally taking her place ujxon 

 the eggs, or guarding her with jealous care, giving chase 

 and battle, if necessary, to every intruder. So fierce and 

 determined are they at this time that two instances have 

 occurred in which Black Swans, though but little inferior 

 to themselves in size, have been killed by White Swans ; 

 one of these occurrences, which took place in the Regent's 

 Park, is thus related : " The two White Swans pursued 

 the Black one with the greatest ferocity, and one of them 

 succeeded in grasping the Black one's neck between its 

 mandibles, and then shook it violently. The Black Swan 

 with difficulty extricated itself from this murderous grasp, 

 hurried on shore, tottered from the water's edge a few 

 paces, and fell, to die. Its death appeared to be attended 

 with great agony ; it stretched its neck in the air, fluttered 

 its wings, and attempted to rise from the ground : after 

 about five minutes of suffering it made a last effort to rise, 

 and fell dead with outstretched neck and wings. Its foes 

 never left the water in pursuit, but continued sailing with 

 every feather on end, up and down towards the spot where 

 their victim fell, and seemingly proud of their conquest." 

 The triumph, however, is not always on the side of the 

 White Swan. At Castle Martyr, the seat of Lord Shan- 

 non, near the Cove of Cork, a male Black Swan, in 1843, 

 as I learned from Admiral Bowles, attacked and killed 

 the male of a pair of Mute Swans, and took possession of 

 the female in right of conquest. " She laid six eggs, and 

 hatched four cygnets. Before they got to the age of six 

 months, three of them met with untimely deaths. The 

 fourth bird, in 1845, paired with its father, and laid four 

 eggs, which came to nothing. It is very like the father 

 about the head, but about the body it resembles the White 

 Swan. It lives on the water with others, Black Swans and 



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