CHAPTER XV 

 SWANS 



Naturalists divide swans into a number of different species. 

 Whether this division is correct is not known. The habits of 

 swans, and the circumstances under which they are usually 

 kept, tend to prevent the mingling of different kinds. As far 

 as the author has been able to learn, there is no evidence which 

 shows conclusively the relations of any of the supposed different 

 species. The differences between them are in some cases very 

 slight. Some of the decisions of the naturalists who have clas- 

 sified slightly different kinds as distinct species are based upon 

 examinations of very small numbers of specimens. Considering 

 the apparent resemblances of the different kinds of swans in 

 the light of what is known of species and varieties in fowls, 

 ducks, geese, and pheasants, it seems probable that the true 

 species of swans are fewer in number than the common clas- 

 sification shows, and it also seems quite possible that all swans 

 are of the same species. 



Description. The common swan, called the domestic swan, is 

 about the size of the largest domestic geese, but appears larger 

 because it has a longer neck and head and larger wings. The 

 body is also somewhat longer than that of a goose of about the 

 same weight, and the swan is a much more graceful bird than a 

 large goose. It is sometimes called the Mute Swan, to distinguish 

 it from the Whistling Swan, which is a very similar kind not 

 bred in domestication. There are other slight differences between 

 the Mute Swans and the Whistling Swans, but the difference in 

 the voice, if it really is as great as is supposed, is the only one 

 of much consequence in deciding their relations. The Mute Swan 



