FLIGHT OF WILD SWANS. I'j5 



except in severe winters, when flocks of six or seven are 

 sometimes seen. 



jNIartin mentions, that in October the hooper comes 

 to Lingay, on tlie Western Isles, in great numbers, and 

 continue there until March ; a few may also be seen in 

 some of the islands of the Orkneys, and they sometimes 

 breed in the little islands of the freshwater lochs ; but 

 the greater part of them retire at the approach of spring ; 

 the inhabitants expecting a mild spring when these birds 

 take an early departure. In the countries in which 

 they remain during the summer and autvimn months, 

 they are usually found in small flocks, except in the 

 pairing season, or at the commencement of winter. At 

 the latter period they collect together in immense 

 throngs, particularly in the extensive rivers and lakes of 

 those countries wdiich are thinly inhabited. At the 

 commencement of the frost, the wild swans are known 

 to associate in great numbers, and thus united, to 

 use every effort to prevent the water from freezing, 

 by constantly dashing it with their extended wings; 

 and by this means they are enabled to remain in 

 some favourite part of a lake or river w'hich abounds 

 with food ; but when the severity of the w^eather de- 

 prives them of this sustenance, they take their flight 

 high in the air, in divided and diminished numbers. 

 They shape their course in search of milder climates, 

 and at this period they are frequently seen in various 

 parts of the British Isles, and in other warmer climates 

 of Europe. In their flight, the swans follow so closely, 

 that the bill of the one lies upon the tail of the other. 

 The largest flocks of them are found in the expansive 

 waters near Hudson's Bay, andKamtschatka, Lapland, 

 and Iceland. In Iceland these birds are objects of 



