Mute Swan. 473 



to sing before its death is as old as Pliny, who refuted it ; but it 

 is strange that the bird into which Orpheus the musician was 

 changed, and which was called the bird of Apollo, the god of 

 music, with a reputation for sweet singing which has descended 

 with it from such ancient times, should now come to be dis- 

 tinguished in England by the specific name of ' Mute ' Swan r 

 That, however, seems in reality to be its characteristic. Yarrell, 

 indeed, assures us that it has a soft low voice, rather plaintive, 

 and with little variety, but not disagreeable ; and that he ha& 

 heard it often in the spring, and sometimes later in the season, 

 when moving slowly about with its young. On the other hand, 

 Waterton altogether denies that it has any such melodious- 

 warblings. Coleridge, speaking of the superstition alluded to- 

 above, says : 



4 Swans sing before they die, 'twere no bad thing 

 Should certain persons die before they sing.' 



Before taking leave of this graceful species, let me recommend 

 all who have the opportunity to pay a visit to the Dorsetshire 

 Swannery at Abbotsbury, near Weymouth, where they will see 

 the splendid sight of from 700 to 1,500 of this magnificent bird in 

 their own breeding haunts : the particulars of which I communi- 

 cated in the Zoologist of 1877, pp. 505-511, to which I would 

 refer my readers, and will not repeat myself here. Lord Arundell 

 remarks that, ' though not rare birds, Swans may be mentioned as- 

 a feature of the country near Wardour ; as from the circum- 

 stance of there being several large pieces of water within a few 

 miles, at the Fonthills, Pythouse, etc., the Swans, four or five at a 

 time, are frequently seen on the wing, flying from one pond to 

 another; and I know of few things more impressive than the 

 metallic sound of the Swan's wing when in flight.' The specific 

 name, olor, is classical Latin for a 'Swan.' In France it is- 

 Cygne tubercule ou domesiique ; in Germany, Hocker Schwan r 

 1 Swan with a bump,' in allusion to its beak ; in Italy, Cigno 

 reale; in Sweden, Tarn Svan, ' Tame Swan ;' and in Spain, Cisne* 



