ANAS. BIRDS. 317 



and legs black. 26 inches long. Inhabits Arctic Regions. B. 



Leivin's Brit. Birds, vii. pi. 242. 



A. bernicla, Lin. Brent Goose. Head, neck, and top of the breast 

 blackish ; on the lateral part of the neck a space formed of black- 

 ish feathers, tipped with white; back, scapulars, and wing-coverts 

 deep gray, terminated with brown ; middle of the belly, crown, 

 abdomen and tail-coverts white ; secondaries and tail-feathers 

 black ; bill and legs black. 22 or 23 inches long. Inhabits Arctic 

 Regions. B. Bewick's Birds, ii. 311. 



This species was long conceived to have been produced in the shell of the Lepas 

 anatifcra of Linnaeus, growing on old timber ; and even Gerard the botanist strong- 

 ly asserts the improbable circumstance. 



A. nificollis, Lin. Red-breasted Goose. A white space between 

 the eye and the bill, and white behind the eyes, and on the sides 

 of the neck ; a girdle of the same colour surrounds the lower part 

 of the breast, and rises to the back ; top of the head, throat, belly, 

 tail and all the upper parts deep black ; abdomen, lower coverts 

 of the tail, and rump, white. 20 to 21 inches long. Inhabits 

 Arctic Regions. Sham, xii. pi 43. 



2. SWANS. Nostrils pierced in the middle of the bill; neck very long. 



A. cygnus, Lin. Wild, or Whistling Swan. Bill semicylindrical and 

 black ; cere yellow ; body white ; head and nape very slightly 

 tinted with yellowish ; iris brown ; legs and feet black. 4 feet 

 5 to 4 feet 9 inches long. Arctic Regions. Shaw, xii. pi. 37- 



The Whistling Swan inhabits Europe, Asia, and America, affecting chiefly the 

 northern regions of the globe, and appearing in small flocks of eight or ten on 

 the coasts of England and France in hard winters : but on the approach of spring 

 they quit their southern stations, and again retire northward, to breed. A few, how- 

 ever, remain in the Hebrides, the Shetland and Orkney islands. In the two latter, 

 and in the Faroe islands, large flocks of them annually arrive in October, and pass 

 the winter about the numerous fresh water lakes. Early in spring they take their 

 departure for the Arctic Regions. Great bodies of them occur on the large rivers 

 and lakes near Hudson's Bay, and those of Kamtschatka, Lapland, and Iceland. They 

 are said to resort to the last mentioned island in flocks, of about a hundred at a time, 

 in spring, and also to pour in on it from the north, in nearly the same manner, on 

 their way south, toward the close of autumn, flying very high in the air, and in 

 such compact array, that the bill of the one seems to touch the tail of the other. In 

 their flight they emit a note, which has been expressed by whoogh, ivlioogh, and 

 which is very loud, hoarse, and shrill, but not disagreeable when heard at a distance 

 and modulated by the breeze. The Icelanders compare it to the sound of the violin ; 

 and, when heard at the end of their long and dreary winter announcing the approach of 

 genial weather, it will no doubt be associated in their minds with all that is agreeable. 

 But the musical notes of the swan, and its dying strains, so often alluded to by the 

 ancient writers, have no further support than the lively imagination of the poet. 



A. olor, Lin. Tame or Mute Swan. Bill red; fleshy tubercle at 

 the base and edges of the mandibles black ; the body white. 4 

 feet long. Shaw, xii. pi. 38. 



Nothing can exceed the graceful and elegant appearance of these birds, when glid- 

 ing along the surface of the water. Multitudes of this species are found in Russia 

 and Siberia, as well as farther south, in an unreclaimed state. They likewise occur 

 without any owner, on the Trent, on the inlet of the sea near Abbotsbury in Dorset- 

 shire, and on some rivers and lakes in different parts of the British isles. Those on 

 the Thames have been for ages protected as royal property ; and it is still reckoned 



