724 THE TAME OR ^lUTE SWAN. 



groweth to a fowle, bigger than a mallard and less than a goose. . . . For the truth hereof 

 if any doubt, may it please them to repaire unto me, and I shall satisfie them by the 

 testimonie of good witnesses." 



The Bernicle Goose generally assembles in large flocks and haunts large salt-marshes 

 near the coast, and feeds on grasses and various alga?. It is a very wary bird and not 

 easily approached. The eggs of this species are large and white. The flesh is considered 

 CTood. The liill of the Bernicle Goose is black, with a reddish streak on each side. The 

 cheeks and tliroat are white, a black streak runs from the beak to the eye, the upper 

 parts are boldly marked with black and white, and the lower parts are white. It is 

 rather a small bird, the total length barely exceeding two feet. 



There are many other species of Geese which visit our shores in more or less abun- 

 dance, among which may be mentioned the Egyptian Goose {Chenalopex yEgijptiaca), the 

 Brent Goose {Bernicla Brenta), the Red-breasted Goose {Bernicla ruficolUs), the Canada 

 Goose {Bernicla Canadensis), the Pink-footed Goose {Anser hrachyrhynclius), remarkable 

 for its pinky feet and short and narrow beak, the White-fronted Goose {Anser erythropus), 

 and the Chinese Goose {Anser cygnoides). 



The beautiful Swans now come before our notice. There are nine or ten species of 

 these fine birds, which are well represented in the British Isles, four species being 

 acknowledged as English birds. 



Our most familiar species is the Tame or Mute Swan, so called from its silent 

 habits. This elegant and graceful bird has long been partially domesticated throughout 

 England, and enjoys legal protection to a great extent ; heavy penalties being proclaimed 

 against any one who kills a Swan without a legal right. The Swan is presumed to be a 

 royal bird, i.e. the property of the Crown, and only to be possessed by a subject under a 

 special grant. To each licence thus granted was attached a " swan mark," wdiich was cut 

 on the upper mandible of the birds, in order to show the right of the owner. Swans of a 

 certain age, not marked, become Crown property, except in some instances where a grant 

 conveys the right to seize and keep any adult Swan which has not been marked. Such 

 birds are termed "clear-billed." The "marks" are of endless variety, partly heraldic, 

 and contrived so as to pain the bird as little as possible. One of the most peculiar marks 

 is the double chevron employed by the Vintners' Company, which has given rise to 

 the well-known sign of the Swan with two necks, i.e. two nicks. The present royal mark 

 consists of five diamonds, with rounded angles, two cut longitudinally at the base of the 

 beak, and the other three transversely towards the tip. The mark granted to the 

 University of Oxford is a cross with equal arms, each arm being again crossed near 

 its extremity, and that of Cambridge is three buckles, one large, in the middle of the 

 beak, with the point towards the head, and the other two smaller at the tip, with their 

 tongues pointing in different directions. 



The process of marking the Swans is termed Swan-upping, a name which has been 

 corrupted into Swan-hopping, and is conducted with much ceremony. The technical 

 term of the Swan-mark is cigninota. Swan-upping of the Thames takes place in the 

 month of August, the first Monday in the month being set aside for the purpose, when 

 the markers of the Crown and the Dyers' and Vintners' Companies take count of all 

 Swans in the river, and mark the clear-billed birds which have reached maturity. The 

 fishermen who protect the birds and aid them in nesting are entitled to a fee for each 

 young bird. The mark of the Dyers' Company is a notch on one side of the beak. 



The food of the Swan consists mostly of vegetable substances, and the bird can 

 be readily fattened on barley, like ordinary poultry. The young birds, called cygnets, 

 ought not to be killed after November, as they then lose their fat, and the flesh becomes 

 dark and tough. Sometimes the Swan will feed upon animal food, and has been seen to 

 catch and swallow small fish, such as bleak and roach. In the spawning season the Swan 

 is a terrible enemy to the fish, haunting all the spawning-grounds, and swallowing the 

 eggs till it can eat no longer. The Swan will find out the spawn as it hangs on 

 the submerged branches, and strip them of their valuable load. They will follow the 

 carp to their breeding-grounds, and swaUow their eggs by the quart, and in many cases 



