656 



Crratiurp cf 



celebrated, oftener repeated, or better re- 

 ceived : it occupied the soft and lively ima- 

 gination of the Greeks ; poets, orators, and 

 even philosophers, adopted it as a truth too 

 pleasing to be doubted. The truth, however, 

 is very different from such amiable and 

 affecting fables ; for the voice of the Swan 

 is very loud, shrill, and harsh ; though, when 

 high in the air, and modulated by the winds, 

 the note, or hoop, of an assemblage of them 

 is not unpleasant. Equally absurd stories 

 are current of their great strength of wing, 

 and how dangerous it is to approach their 

 nests, it being asserted that a blow from the 

 wing of a Swan is capable of breaking a 

 man's thigh. " It is high time," as Montagu 

 observes, " such absurdities should be erased 

 in this philosophic age, and that the mind of 

 man should reason before he continues to 

 relate such accounts, only calculated to 

 frighten children." In Iceland, we are told, 

 Swans are an object of chase. In the month 

 of August they lose their feathers to such a 

 degree as to be incapable of flying. The 

 natives, at that season, resort in great num- 

 bers to the places where they most abound, 

 and are accompanied with dogs and horses 

 trained to the sport ; by which means they 

 take great numbers. But when in full 

 plumage, Swans are so extremely swift on 

 the wing as to make it very difficult to shoot 

 them. 



The TAME SWAN, or MUTE SWAJT. (.Cyg- 

 nus olor.) Our half-domesticated Swan is 

 very properly entitled the peaceful monarch 

 of the lake; conscious of his superior strength, 

 he fears no enemy, nor suffers any bird, 

 however powerful, to molest him. The 

 plumage of this species is of the same snowy 

 whiteness as that of the Wild Swan, and the 

 bird is covered next the body with the same 

 kind of fine close down ; but it greatly exceeds 

 the Wild Swan in size, weighing about 

 twenty-five pounds, and measuring more in 

 the length of the body and extent of the 

 wings. It also differs in being furnished 

 with a projecting, callous, black tubercle or 

 knob on the base of the upper mandible, and 

 in the colour of the bill, which is red, with 

 black edges and tip ; the naked skin between 

 the bill and the eyes is also of the latter 

 colour ; legs black. This species cannot 

 with strict propriety be called domesticated; 

 they are only, as it were, partly reclaimed 

 from a state of nature, and invited by the 

 friendly and protecting hand of man to deco- 

 rate and embellish the artificial lakes and 

 pools which ornament his pleasure grounds. 

 On these the Swan cannot be accounted a 

 captive, for he enjoys all the sweets of liberty. 

 Placed there, as he is the largest of all British 

 birds, so is he to the eye the most pleasing 

 and elegant. " What in nature," exclaims 

 Bewick, "can be more beautiful than the 

 grassy margined lake, hung round with the 

 varied foliage of the grove, when contrasted 

 with the pure resplendent whiteness of the 

 majestic Swan, wafted along with erected 

 plumes by the gentle breeze, or floating, 

 reflected on the glassy surface of the water, ! 

 while lie throws himself into numberless ! 

 graceful attitudes, as if desirous of attracting | 



the admiration of the spectator ! " The 

 Tame Swan is found, in its wild state, in the 

 eastern countries of Europe and Asia ; and, 

 domesticated, it occurs in almost every 

 European country. Swans are supposed to 

 live to a great age, but no satisfactory evi- 

 dence has yet been brought forward to prove 

 the assertion. The young do not acquire 

 their full plumage till the second year : 

 during this period they are called cyyncts, 

 and in former times were much esteemed as 

 food, though they are not at present. 



The BLACK SWAN (Cygnus atratus) is 

 nearly the size of the Tame Swan. Its beak 

 is large and red, the tip being rather paler ; 

 at the base of its upper mandible, near the 

 nostrils, is a bifid protuberance ; its under 

 mandible is red on the sides and white be- 

 neath : the iridcs are red. The prevailing 

 colour of the plumage is of a deep black, 



with all the primary quills, the greater part 

 of the secondaries, and part of the wing- 

 coverts white : the belly and thighs are ci- 

 nereous : the legs brownish flesh-colour. 

 The female is destitute of the nasal pro- 

 tuberance on the beak. These birds inhabit 

 various parts of Australia, and are generally 

 seen floating on some lake in small flocks of 

 eight or nine. The Swan River, in Western 

 Australia, derives its name from the abun- 

 dance of them found there. Their habits 

 are but little known ; but in a domesticated 

 state their food is similar to the common 

 species. When disturbed, they generally 

 flv off in line or single file, and are so shy 

 tliat it is difficult to get within gunshot. 

 Their note is rather melodious than harsh, 

 though not of long continuance. This spe- 

 cies, like the Tame White Swan, is frequently 

 kept as an ornament in parks in this coun- 

 try, and is now by no means the " rara avis 

 in terris " of antiquity. 



SWIFT, or BLACK MAKTIN. (Cypsclus 

 apus.) This species of the Hirundince, or 

 Swallow tribe, arrives later in this country, 

 and departs sooner than any of its congeners. 

 It is larger, stronger, and its flight is more 

 rapid than that of any other of the tribe. 

 Its length is nearly eight inches : general 

 colour a sooty black, with a greenish tinge ; 

 the wings very long in proportion to the size 

 of the body ; tail much forked ; bill black ; 

 chin white ; legs dark brown, and very short; 

 toes stand two and two on each side of the 

 foot, and consist of two phalanges or joints 

 only. The female is less than the male, 

 and the general colour of her plumage more 



