WILD SWAN. 191 



The flight of the wild swan is lofty, bold, and rapid, 

 particularly when sailing before the wind. According 

 to Hearne, the best authority we can quote, they arrive 

 in Hudson's Bay before any of the other aquatic fowl. 

 When flyii^g with the wind, they are extremely difficult 

 to be shot; and they make their way so rapidly, that the 

 sportsman must aim ten or twelve feet before their heads. 

 (3ur author estimates, that, in a brisk gale, these birds 

 cannot fly at a less rate than 100 miles an hour; but 

 when flying across the wind, or against it, they make but 

 slow progress, and are then a noble shot. The Indians 

 and settlers prize them much, both for their flesh, their 

 quills, and their down. The former is considered ex- 

 cellent eating, and, when roasted, is equal in flavour to 

 young beef; and the cygnets are considered a great 

 delicacy. When the rivers are frozen, they resort to 

 the falls and rapids ; where, from being more concen- 

 trated, they are shot with more certainty, and in larger 

 numbers. They mcult in July and August ; and are 

 then run down by the natives, although with much 

 difficulty, as they make their w^ay wdth great swiftness 

 on the surface of the water. At these seasons they are 

 hunted in Iceland, and other parts of Asiatic Russia, 

 by horsemen and dogs, much in the same manner as 

 hares. The nest is usually built in little islets sur- 

 rounded with water : it generally contains about half a 

 dozen eggs, of a dirty white, shaded with olive green ; 

 ami so large, that one of them is enough for a moderate 

 man, without bread, or any other addition. 



The wild swan does not appear to have been met 

 with by Dr. Richardson, or, at least, it is not mentioned 

 in his account of the birds of Arctic America ; but 

 Mr. Selby, with his usual accuracy and precision, has 

 given us much valuable information on those which 

 visit the British islands. In the Orkneys and Western 

 Islands of Scotland it seems to be a regular winter 

 visiter ; but in England its appearance is not so certain, 

 being influenced by the state of the season. It is only, 

 in fact, during very severe winters, that the swans 



