THE FAUNA OF THE RAILROAD 21 



those most often found at different seasons. Half- 

 wild swans which frequent the reclaimed Brading 

 Haven in the Isle of Wight are frequently killed or 

 injured by flying against the telegraph wires along the 

 railway line which crosses the marsh. The speed and 

 force with which these birds fly is shown by the very 

 severe injuries so received ; some are killed outright, 

 and others have cut a wing off as if it had been done 

 with a knife. So many birds were lost in this way 

 that the wires have now been hung at intervals with 

 small pieces of metal to make them more easily visible, 

 and this appears to be successful. But swans are 

 singularly stupid birds, and they occasionally get 

 killed by the trains on the same piece of railway line. 

 It is only a single line, but not long since a couple 

 of cock swans chose to fight a duel between the 

 metals, and declined to move when a train came in 

 sight. The engineer blew his whistle and did all he 

 could to frighten them, but as it is against the rules 

 for a passenger train to stop under such circumstances, 

 he was obliged to go on over the swans, and one of 

 them was killed. The other, nothing daunted, re- 

 mained on the line to triumph over his fallen rival, 

 and when the train returned half-an-hour later he 

 too was run over and slain. And in death these 

 valiant warriors were honoured and united, and, like 

 the cat in the nursery rhyme, "went to London to see 

 the Queen" for their beautiful skins were made 

 into a swan's-down wrap which was worn at the first 

 Court of the season. The crows along the Great 

 Western Railway come to catch the young frogs and 



