CLASS IL AVES: ORDER 8. NATATORES. 



Sll 



THE MUTE SWAN. 



It is a curious feet tliat swans live to a great age ; in some instances, it is said, to nearly a hun- 

 dred years. 



The Hooper or Whistling Swan, C. ferns of Ray, C. musicMS of Bechstein, is the Cygne Sau- 

 vage of the French, Cigno Salvatico of the Italians, Singschwun of the Gorraans. It derives its 

 popular name from its loud, sonorous cry of hoop^ hoop, lioop, often repeated. It is supposed to 

 be the swan of the ancients, which was said to utter a sweet and plaintive song when dying. This, 

 as well as some other species of swan, has a low, soft note, but not reserved for the moment that 

 precedes death. This species is frequently domesticated in the north of Europe ; in a wild state 

 its migrations extend over Europe, its winter haunts, however, being in the warm parts of Asia 

 and Africa. It is about twice the size of a goose, and is perfectly white. 



The Mute Swan, C. olor, is somewhat larger than the preceding, and is of a more graceful 

 carriage; it is in fact the species chiefly domesticated as the ornament of rivers, lakes, and fount- 

 ains. It is four feet eight inches to five feet long, and weighs about thirty pounds. Its nest is 

 formed on the ground, usually on an island, near the edge of the water, and consists of a large 

 mass of reeds, rushes, and other coarse herbage; the eggs are six or seven, of a dull greenish- 

 white. During incubation the male guards the female with jealous care, and inflicts serious blows 

 .with the beak and wings upon any intruder. The young cygnets are led, or sometimes can-ied on 

 the back by the female, to the water, as soon as hatched. No spectacle can be more pleasing 

 than a pair of swans with their train of cygnets reposing or gliding upon the water. This 

 bird is found wild during summer in Northern Europe; in winter it migrates to the south; 

 it is stationary in Greece, Asia Minor, <fec. It has long been domesticated in England, and 

 formerly extensive swanneries existed on the Thames and other sheets of water. In 1625 no less 

 than two thousand swanskin one flock, were to be seen upon the Avon ! The swan was considered 

 a bird-royal, and no person was permitted to keep them, except by royal grant. The king had 

 swanneries and swanherds, not only on the Thames, but in various other parts of the kingdom. 

 All the swans were marked, each owner having a particular sign.' The statutes regulating 

 the swanneries would fill a volume. There are still several large swanneries upon the Thames, 

 chiefly belonging to the crown and to the "Dyers and Vintners'" companies. They are annually 



