JANUARY 19 



term used to express an impossible natural pheno- 

 menon; but in 1697 the Dutch navigator Willem de 

 Vlaining, when exploring the coast, captured several of 

 these birds on the largest river of West Australia, which 

 thereby received and retains the name of Swan River. 



Far more desirable, and far less commonly seen than 

 the black swan, is the South American black-necked 

 swan (Cygnus nigricollis), an exceedingly handsome 

 creature with a jet-black neck and the rest of the 

 plumage snowy white. The knob or 'berry' on the 

 beak is bright red. As this species breeds freely in 

 captivity it deserves more attention than it has received 

 hitherto, though Narbrough discovered it during his 

 voyage in 1670. 



The night of 22nd-23rd March 1919 was colder than 

 any during the preceding winter. On going down to 

 the Sanctuary Loch about 7 A.M. I found it frozen hard 

 across the lower end. In the middle of the ice were a 

 pair of swans close, side by side, and frozen in. Their 

 necks were thrown flat along their backs; the birds 

 were quite motionless, and I thought they were dead. 

 In the open water another pair of swans were swim- 

 ming freely about. My first impulse was to get a boat 

 and try to break a way through the ice to the im- 

 prisoned pair; but carnal appetite deterred me from 

 Avhat must have been a lengthy job. I had not broken 

 my fast; visions of hot coffee and other good things 

 presented themselves, and I passed on my way. Half 

 an hour later, in returning along the other side of the 

 lake, I saw the birds which I had thought defunct 

 swimming clear of the ice in full possession of their 



