318 NATATORES. 



markings on the sides of the neck to the back. The back 

 and wings are black, the coverts tipped with grey ; the tail 

 coverts white. The chin and throat are black ; the neck 

 bright rust colour ; a white band and a black one across the 

 breast ; and the hinder part of the belly, the vent, and the 

 under tail coverts, white. The brown bill, and the bright 

 rust colour on the front of the neck and the upper part of 

 the breast, .are the most conspicuous distinguishing charac- 

 ters ; but the bird is of so rare occurrence in this country, 

 that it is not one for which ordinary observers need to look. 

 The specimens hitherto found have been on the east side of 

 the island, and in the central and southern parts rather than 

 in the north, which is at least a sort of evidence that the bird 

 does not breed in the northern parts of western Europe. The 

 east of European Russia, and Siberia, are said to be their 

 summer haunts ; and in winter, the birds migrate by the 

 marshes of Central Asia on the Caspian and the Lake of Aral, 

 as far as Persia. But their history, like that of most of the 

 rest of the genus, is very imperfect and obscure ; and even 

 the descriptions given of the specimens met with in this 

 country, are a little contradictory in some of the particulars. 

 In Asia, they are said to migrate as far to the northward in 

 the summer as they do to the southward in the winter, their 

 nests being in the marshes, along the banks of the great 

 Siberian rivers, and even near the confluence of these with 

 the Arctic Sea. But, notwithstanding the labours of Pal- 

 las and some others, the natural history of that portion 

 of the globe still wants elucidation ; but it does not much 

 connect itself with any portion of British Natural History. 



SWANS (Cygnus). 



Though the tame swan, or mute swan (cygnus olor\ is 

 found upon most of the larger rivers, and on many lakes, 

 ponds, and ornamental pieces of water in Britain, and 



