WILD SWANS 229 



power. At this time the male is exceedingly pug- 

 nacious, as he is during incubation and when the 

 young are hatched. When these are first led to 

 the water the female carries them upon her back, 

 covering them with her wings. My cygnets annually 

 flew off about November unless pinioned, and did 

 not return. They were doubtless shot in mistake 

 for wild birds. 



The last of the four British species is the Polish 

 swan, which has this distinction the cygnets have 

 white plumage like the adults. In size the Polish 

 resembles the mute, and is seen less frequently than 

 any of the others. Like them, however, it is most 

 frequent during the hardest winters; and in 1855, 

 when enormous quantities of all manner of wildfowl 

 made their appearance on the British coast, numbers 

 of Polish swans were shot or captured. It was 

 from these specimens that naturalists allowed the 

 bird to be a true species, and from the exceptional 

 plumage of the young named it Cygnus immutabilis. 



Although the chase of wild swans, especially 

 stalking, is fascinating sport, yet with the chase the 

 pleasure ends. Early in the season the birds are 

 tame, and if the vulnerable parts are hit the game is 

 easily bagged. The flesh, however, is almost useless. 



