POLISH SWAN. 231 



Ornithological Society of London purchased of the late 

 Mr. Castang, the dealer in birds, whose name was referred 

 to under the article on the Hooping Swan, a pair of these 

 Polish Swans with one young bird of their own brood, and 

 this cygnet was also white. This appeared to be a spe- 

 cific peculiarity worthy of consideration ; the parent birds 

 were remarkable besides, in having the legs, toes, and 

 their intervening membranes, of a pale ash-grey colour ; 

 the black tubercle at the base of the beak was of small 

 size, and there is a slight difference in the nostrils, the 

 elongated openings of which do not reach the black colour 

 at the base of the beak, on each side, but are entirely sur- 

 rounded by the orange colour of the beak, as shown in 

 the representation. Unfortunately both the old female 

 and the young bird died in the following winter. The 

 old male has but a small tubercle at the base of the beak, 

 and his legs and feet, though a little darker than formerly, 

 are still of a pale slate grey. This bird has never paired ; 

 and can scarcely be said to associate with any of the Mute 

 Swans on the same water. 



In the months of January and February, 1838, Swans 

 of all sorts were more abundant than I ever remember to 

 have seen them, and I have already adverted to the great 

 number of Hoopers and Bewick's Swans which were seen 

 and killed at that season. The more intense the frost, the 

 farther south do the usual winter visitors extend their 

 range ; while new, or very rare species from extreme 

 northern latitudes are occasionally obtained. 



During the severe weather of January, 1838, several 

 flocks of these Polish Swans were seen pursuing a southern 

 course along the line of our north-east coast, from Scot- 

 land to the mouth of the Thames, and several specimens 

 were obtained. The specimen I exhibited, by permission, 

 at the evening meeting of the Zoological Society, be- 



