33^ 



FLAMINGOES, DUCKS, AND SCREAMERS. 



of the cygnets being often white from birth, is entitled to rank as a distinct species. 

 It is, however, very probable that the distinctive features of the bird itself may be 

 due to immaturity ; while the white plumage of the cygnets may be merely an 

 effect of domestication. 

 Black-Necked The handsome black-necked swan (C nigricollis) from Chili, 



Swan. Argentina, and other southern districts of South America, is easily 

 distinguished from all the preceding by the black head and neck ; the rest of the 



BLACK SWAN. 



plumage being white, and the lores and base of the beak red. It agrees with the 

 mute swan in having the tail long and wedge-shaped ; but differs in the scalloped 

 margin of the web of the toes. 



This Australian species ((7. atratus) differs from all its congeners, 

 not only in the predominant hue of the adult plumage being blackish, 

 but also by the young having feathered lores, and likewise by the extreme short- 

 ness of the tail, and the crispness of the scapular and inner secondary feathers. 

 The naked parts of the head and the skin at the base of the beak are red, and the 



Black Swan. 



