THE TAME SWAN. 169 



during the winter are generally in much better con- 

 dition at the return of spring than those which have 

 been confined to the house. 



The females choose for their nesting-place the least 

 frequented situations on the banks of the rivers or lakes 

 which they inhabit, and build their nests in the rudest 

 manner of twigs and reeds, lined with a comfortable 

 coating of their breast feathers. They lay six or eight 

 grayish eggs, and sit for five weeks, generally in April 

 and May. As soon as the young birds are hatched, 

 they are carried by both parents to the water, and for 

 two or three weeks afterwards are borne upon their 

 backs, or placed for shelter and warmth beneath their 

 wings. The attentions of the parent birds are conti- 

 nued until the next pairing season, when the old males 

 drive the young from their society, and compel them to 

 shift for themselves. To prevent the tame ones from 

 flying away it is necessary every year to clip their quill- 

 feathers ; and this mutilation seems to deprive them not 

 only of the power, but also of the desire, to regain their 

 liberty. They accustom themselves with ease to the 

 society of man, and seem even to become attached to 

 him, probably in consequence of the kindness with which 

 they are every where treated, and the peculiar privileges 

 which they enjoy at his hands. Besides their natural 

 food, consisting of plants, insects, snails, and similar 

 productions, they eagerly devour bread and all kinds of 

 grain, and in winter are chiefly kept upon these sub- 

 stances and the same kind of provender that is given 

 to Ducks and Geese. 



Although naturally one of the most gentle and inof- 

 fensive of birds, the large size and great muscular power 

 of the Swan render it a formidable enemy when driven 

 to extremity, and compelled to act on the defensive. 

 In snch a case it is said to give battle to the Eagle, 



